Peter Lovesey - The False Inspector Dew

'How is Barbara — did I really hurt her?'

'She is bearing up well.'

'I'd like to apologise to her.'

'Let's not rush things, Mr Gordon.'

'Will you speak to her yourself?'

'I think I had better.'

'Will you ask her what Kate said to her after the game of whist?'

'She has told me already.'

'She has? Is it significant?'

'Who knows?' said Walter cryptically.

'She didn't mention any man by name — anyone she had noticed on the ship?'

'Only you.'

Jack sighed. 'I suppose it was too much to hope that she would have named her killer. So all this happened for nothing.'

'You might take that point of view,' said Walter. 'Personally, I don't. It's done a lot for the morale of the passengers and crew to hear that we have a man in the cells. There's quite a carnival air on deck this morning. Everyone is much more friendly than before.'

'But I'm not the strangler!'

'It seems a pity to disappoint them. Would you like a second cup of tea?'

'I want to get out of here.'

'I can understand that,' said Walter with obvious sincerity.

'I've told you what happened. Don't you believe me?'

'Try to keep calm, Mr Gordon. You must understand that I have to consider what to do. I have a responsibility for the safety of over two thousand people. We can make things more comfortable for you, I am sure. Did they give you any breakfast?'

'I demand to see the captain.'

'You're in no position to make demands. The captain has other things on his mind now. There are warnings of squalls ahead. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll have to verify your state- ment. It will take an hour or two, I'm certain. In the meantime I'd like the key of your stateroom.'

'I've got that,' said Mr Saxon.

'What do you want it for?' asked Jack. 'To see if the playing cards are in there as I told you?'

'No. To send you down a change of clothes. Those look dreadfully out of place.'

Marjorie had insisted that Barbara spent the morning resting in her stateroom. As it was grey outside and the wind was markedly cooler, she was not deprived too much. Moreover she was gratified by a personal visit from Captain Rostron, who expressed his deep concern about the frightening experience she had undergone. There were visits, too, from the ship's doctor and Inspector Dew. She was promised that the bruising on her neck would be gone before they reached New York. The Inspector talked about the weather.

The visitor who pleased her most arrived towards noon. He was carrying an enormous box of candies. It was Paul. Her mother showed him in, and stayed, out of decorum.

Paul was desperately worried over Barbara. It showed in the tiny creases round his eyes and the husky quality of his voice. 'I can't begin to say how wretched I feel about what happened,' he told her. 'If I hadn't been so stupid as to leave the dance early, he would never have approached you.'

'You weren't to know what he was planning.'

'I was totally taken up with my own foolheaded mood, Barbara. I won't forgive myself for that. Thank God your screams were heard. Are you really unhurt apart from the bruising?'

'Yes. It wasn't much.'

'It must have been terrifying for you. Appalling. Who would have thought that Jack Gordon would turn out to be the strangler? I took him for a typical English gentleman. It's incredible after he behaved so well over my billfold. It beats me, Barbara, it really does.'

'It was difficult for me to understand.'

'Yes, what made him choose you as his victim?'

Marjorie could not contain herself at this. She said acidly, 'For heaven's sake, how would Barbara know the answer to that?'

Paul blushed deeply. 'What I meant to say is that I can think of no possible reason why he should want to attack Barbara.'

'You can't?' said Marjorie. 'Don't you have a pair of eyes in your head?'

Now it was Barbara's turn to blush. She said, 'Mother, will you stop saying things that embarrass me? Paul has come here with the very sweetest motives and brought me these beautiful candies, and you have to spoil it by yapping at him.'

It was a significant moment in Marjorie's relationship with her daughter. For the first time, she admitted that she was at fault, i'm sorry — I spoke out of turn. I guess I'm a little overwrought about what happened last night.'

'I guess we all are,' said Paul. 'Barbara, with all this happening I'm sure you won't have been thinking about tonight. It's a fancy dress ball. If you feel well enough to come, nothing would make me happier than to escort you.'

'You're quite right,' said Barbara, it went out of my mind. Yes, it'll do me good to think about something else. I'd love to be your partner.'

When Walter left the cells he was confident of finding his way up to the passenger accommodation. He was sure that he remembered the route through the lower decks that Mr Saxon had used to bring him down. It was a mystery to him exactly where he went wrong, but in a matter of a few minutes he admitted to himself that he was lost. He could not even tell fore from aft. Where he expected to find companionways there were bulkheads. Worse, this section of the ship was apparently uninhabited.

He tried a door, hoping to find stairs to the deck above. There was a spiral staircase, but it led down to what was evidently one of the main holds. It was as big as a warehouse and stacked high with boxes and crates containing stores of food. He moved through that into a second hold. It smelt so strongly of oil that he supposed he must have reached the engine-room until he saw a line of motor-cars ranged before him, roped to the deck and secured with wooden blocks under the wheels. One was a brand new Lanchester saloon. Walter liked cars. He had always wanted to own a Lanchester. He tried the driver's door and found it open. He got inside and put his hands on the steering wheel. With the steady drone of the Mauretania's turbines somewhere below him, it was easy to imagine that the car was in motion, zooming through country lanes. He sounded the horn. It was a beautiful vehicle, inside and out.

Someone jerked open the door and shouted as if Walter were deaf, 'What the hell do you think you're doing?'

Walter took stock. The man was dressed in an overall. It was a very large overall, open at the chest because he was so broad that there was no possibility of the buttons meeting the holes intended for them. The gap was filled by a crop of black hair extending upwards in amazing exuberance to the top of his head, with only a nose and a pair of fierce brown eyes to indicate that this was an example of homo sapiens.

Walter said, 'Ah, you heard me signalling, then. Very good.'

The man in the overall said, 'Get out of that car.'

Walter obeyed. He was six foot tall himself, but he only came up to the shoulder of the overalls. He said, 'Chief Inspector Dew, late Scotland Yard.' When this seemed to make no impression he added, 'Investigations. Captain's orders. Do you happen to know who owns this vehicle?'

The man shook his head.

'It ought to be locked,' said Walter, it really ought to be locked.' He walked round to the back of the Lanchester and tried the handle of the luggage compartment. It opened, i don't like to see valuable property improperly secured.' He slammed the lid down, i'll have to report this. Which is the quickest way up to the bridge from here?'

The man pointed to a door and Walter nodded and went through it without another word being passed between them.

By noon, when the ship's whistle sent vibrations through the upper decks, there was standing room only in the smoking room, and not much of that. The announcement of the number of miles covered in the previous twenty-four hours aroused extraordinary excitement each day, not from pride in the Mauretania's performance so much as interest in the outcome of the auction pool. The passengers' anticipation had been fuelled after dinner the previous evening when the auction of the twenty numbers had raised thousands of dollars, spurred on by a personable chairman and attentive smoking room stewards, who took ten per cent of the winnings.