Peter Lovesey - The False Inspector Dew

'And another game the next night,' put in Mr Saxon. 'And the night after. I know the way you devils work. Let them think they're winning a fortune and then slaughter them at the end with one game of black dog.'

Jack said in an aside to Walter, 'He seems to believe me now. Anyway, it's academic what would have happened after that evening, because someone murdered my wife. Inspector, I told you yesterday that I want you to find her killer. I came to you without being asked, didn't I? I gave you all the relevant information I could.'

'You didn't tell me she was your wife,' said Walter. 'Surely that was relevant?'

'Why, for heaven's sake? No-one knew it. Whoever killed her didn't kill her because she was married to me.'

'How can you be sure of that?' asked Mr Saxon. 'You must have swindled hundreds of gullible people in your time. It only wants one of them to be on this ship and have spotted you and your wife.'

'Do you think I haven't been through your passenger list to see who was aboard? I'm a professional. The pigeons I play cards with are hand-picked. I make a study of them. I don't forget them.'

'This is all very plausible,' said Mr Saxon, 'but tell me this: when was the last time you saw your wife?'

'Saturday evening, when I left the card game. I just told you.'

Mr Saxon gave the smile of a man who has baited a trap and seen his quarry walk into it. 'In that case, would you explain to the Inspector how it was that you saw the marks on her neck?'

Jack looked up at Walter. 'I think he knows.'

Walter's face betrayed nothing. He said, 'I think you ought to tell us.'

Jack gave a shrug, if you wish. On Sunday morning I heard about the woman taken from the sea. I didn't connect her with Kate. I had no reason to think anything had happened to Kate. It was only as the day went on, and I didn't see her about the ship and she didn't appear at meals, that I began to be alarmed. I went to her stateroom and got no reply. I couldn't take the risk of making my concern too public, because she may have been all right and it would have ruined our set-up. I decided the only thing to do was find a way of seeing the dead woman for myself.'

'A likely tale!' said Mr Saxon.

'It may be true,' said Walter. He asked Jack, 'How did you arrange it?'

'I went to the ship's hospital and saw the boy at the desk. He was very busy taking the names of idiots who had injured their hands trying to open portholes. I told him I was sent to collect the key to the mortuary room because I might be able to identify the body. He handed it over without a second look at me. I went below with the key.' Jack stopped and bowed his head, i never want to go through an experience like that again. The look of her — dreadful. I thought my legs wouldn't hold me up. I staggered out and up all those stairs to my room and just lay on my bed shaking with rage and distress.'

'And the key?' asked Walter.

'I must have left it in the lock.'

Walter looked at the master-at-arms and nodded. 'The doctor confirms it.'

Mr Saxon was still not satisfied. 'All this talk of distress would impress me more if I hadn't found you in the act of assaulting an innocent girl. Does a man whose wife has been killed behave like that? The distress didn't last very long, did it?'

Jack sprang from the chair with his fist raised, but Mr Saxon was too fast. He caught Jack by the wrist and swung him hard against the cell wall. He hit it obliquely, or his skull would have cracked. His shoulder took the force of the impact and he crashed to the floor with his trousers round his knees. Mr Saxon moved in to take a swing with his boot, but Walter put his hand on his chest and pushed him away.

'That's enough!'

'You saw him,' Mr Saxon rasped. 'He went for me.'

'Help him up,' said Walter with unusual authority.

Mr Saxon put his hands under Jack's armpits and bundled him into the chair with the warning, 'You'd better stick to whist in future.'

Jack used his left hand to drag his trousers over his knees into some semblance of dignity. His evening shirt was torn at the shoulder and the graze caused by his collision with the wall was oozing blood. He flexed his right hand to see if it still had mobility.

'I think you'd better get him a drink,' Walter suggested to Mr Saxon.

The master-at-arms went to the cell-door and shouted an order to his assistant.

Walter called out, if it's tea, I'll have one, too.' He turned back to Jack. 'Do you want to tell us about the girl?'

'I was coming to it. Inspector, I was deeply in love with my wife, and I won't have anyone disparage our feelings for each other.' He glared at Mr Saxon. 'Kate was a far better wife than I deserved. I didn't always treat her as well as I should have done, and I flirted a little with younger women who were not in her class. It makes me ashamed to think about it. When I knew for certain that she was dead, I just erupted with anger against the bastard who had done this thing. I don't know if it was revenge I wanted. I think it was the feeling that I owed it to Kate's memory to confront her killer. Yes, I know that isn't my job, it's yours, but this was personal. Can you imagine how you would feel if it was your wife who was murdered?'

Walter treated the question as rhetorical. He said, 'You were going to tell us why you attacked the girl.'

'Yes. When I left the smoking room on the night that Kate was murdered, Westerfield was just going off to buy a round of drinks. That would have left Kate alone at the table with Barbara. Did this occur to you, Inspector? What did those two women say to each other? Was there anything that Kate told Barbara that would help us to identify her killer?'

,'Us?'said Walter.

'He wants you to believe he was helping us all the time,' said Mr Saxon sarcastically.

'Would you see whether the tea is ready?' said Walter as if he were addressing his nurse-receptionist.

'It seemed to me that your inquiry was getting bogged down,' Jack continued. 'I decided to ask some questions myself. I wanted to see what Barbara could tell me, so last night I picked my opportunity to ask her for a dance. She seemed pleased to be asked. Naturally I couldn't question her straight away.'

'Her account of it is that you tried to force your attentions on her.'

Jack shook his head. 'It was only flirting.'

'See?' said Mr Saxon. 'He admits it.'

'I had one dance with the girl,' said Jack. 'She was with her parents. I couldn't keep coming back for more. I needed to get her outside where I could put some serious questions to her. All right, I misjudged the situation. I thought she would respond to some gentle flattery — most girls do, in my experience. But Barbara wasn't impressed. She turned her back on me when the dance ended. I should have left it at that, but I was becoming desperate to find out whether she could tell me anything. When the evening came to an end, I followed her to her stateroom. I stopped her by the door and tried to explain why I was there, but she panicked. She started to scream. It frightened me. I pushed her into the room and slammed the door behind me. I suppose she thought I was going to attack her. I just wanted to calm her down so that I could talk to her. I put my hand over her mouth to stop the screaming, but that only frightened her more. I was still struggling with her when he burst in.' Jack indicated Mr Saxon, now standing just inside the cell door, teatray in hand.

Walter collected the two steaming mugs of tea and handed one to Jack. 'You can't really blame Mr Saxon for locking you up. You behaved very rashly.'

'You do believe me, Inspector?'

'I suppose I do. It seems consistent with what other people have told me.'

'Will you release me, then?'

'I think it would be prudent if I spoke to the captain and some of the people involved, don't you? It might be a shock if they saw you at liberty.'