A Private View

by Michael Innes

  ‘And now Braunkopf came along, secured all Limbert’s work from his executors, and opened his exhibition at the Da Vinci. Zhitkov was uneasy: probably his whole unlikely story was being questioned by people higher up in his own organization; and before the exhibition opened he tried, it seems, to get the picture photographed. A glance at that would probably convince his bosses that here really was Waterbath, and they would at once buy the painting. Steptoe’s people got wind of this, mistakenly supposed that it was the police who were making inquiries, and were confirmed in that view when I happened to drop into the Da Vinci myself. So they took a chance, and recovered the picture there and then. It so happened that I gave Zhitkov his first news of its disappearance from the Da Vinci. Naturally, he was startled and upset. He must have suspected that Cherry had got ahead of him after all. But what, he must have asked himself, if that wasn’t so? Nobody could really want to steal a Limbert. Was there any other explanation? Perhaps he had been about when Steptoe paid that visit to Limbert, and knew about the sort of racket he was mixed up with. Certainly by yesterday evening he had worked his way to the truth. And his friends in the green Humber were preparing to pounce on old Moe’s junk shop, when old Moe’s friends nipped in and carried the Vermeer off in their van – and myself as well. But meanwhile Zhitkov had been feeling nervous about Cherry; had decided to try coming to terms with him; had made, and then failed to keep, an appointment at the Thomas Carlyle; and in the end had gone through the interview that Judith overheard. And that is pretty nearly the end of the story.’

  Appleby had got to his feet and was pacing about the room. He seemed to have caught from the Duke an urge to take intermittent glances through the window. For a moment he was silent and preoccupied. Then he continued his recital.

  ‘Or say that is the beginning of the final chase. The van is making for some confederate who keeps an aeroplane near Fawley. The men with it are uneasy, for the operation is an emergency one, and they have got away only after fighting off an unknown stranger – myself – in the darkness of Steptoe’s shop. They must be wondering just where they stand, and it can’t be long before they see that they are being trailed. Behind them, as we know, are Zhitkov’s folk in the Humber, and a spy of Cherry’s on a motorbike. Their first thought will be that here are the police. But soon they must have doubts about that. The police wouldn’t trail them indefinitely; they would simply pull them up short. They can’t make it out.

  And so begins with them the panic that brings the van eventually to bay in that quarry. Meanwhile Cherry’s spy has contacted his chief, and Cherry and Zhitkov, having patched up an agreement, hurtle across country to be in at the kill. And there was quite a lot of killing.’

  ‘There might have been even more.’ Judith, who had joined the Duke by the fireplace, frowned into the flames. ‘But, John, haven’t you missed something out? What about Hildebert Braunkopf and his Baby Austin?’

  ‘As to that, he must tell you himself.’ Appleby, still at the window, tapped the glass. ‘For here he is. And bringing something to the Duke.’

  ‘Bringing me something?’ The Duke of Horton swung round. ‘You can’t mean–’

  Appleby chuckled – and only Judith knew what vast relief there was in the sound. ‘Certainly. The chef-d’oeuvre of Gavin Limbert, to be hung in the picture gallery of Scamnum Court. What more could a respectable picture-dealer desire?’

  They had all crowded to the window. And there, sure enough, was Mr Hildebert Braunkopf or Brown, driving sedately past the long row of police cars in an ancient Austin Seven. And there was a large parcel cocked in the back.

  It was half an hour later. They were standing in the picture gallery before an empty space on the wall. Near at hand, under the big Velasquez, and leaning against a magnificent Spanish chest, was the ambiguous work of art which the ingenuity of Mr Braunkopf had christened The Fifth and Sixth Days of Creation. The Duke of Horton gave it a long look. ‘We’ll hang it,’ he said.

  ‘Hang it!’ Cadover was scandalized. ‘Does your Grace realize–’

  ‘We’ll hang it for five minutes. I’m always on the lookout, you know, for a bit of history to add to Scamnum. The occasion when we hung the country’s top secret between Frans Hals’ Fishwife and Hobbema’s Fountain in a Glade will be distinctly one of them. Bagot, fetch a stepladder.’

  Cadover looked doubtfully at his chief and saw that the point was to be conceded. ‘If that’s to be the way of it,’ he said handsomely, ‘I hope your Grace will let me lend a hand. Later, of course, it must be taken away under escort, and whoever does the cleaning for you will be under the supervision of the police.’

  ‘To be sure, my dear fellow.’ The Duke turned to Appleby. ‘I don’t quite understand about Brown.’

  ‘Last night he must have decided to investigate Steptoe on his own. He is, one must remember, a very enterprising man.’

  ‘Certainly he is. Tried to sell me all those dam’ Limberts, lock, stock, and barrel. Sorry, m’dear.’

  ‘And not having one of his three four big new Daimler cars precisely at hand, he got out his little Austin. When the procession started, he followed along. I could see out of the back of the van, you know, and after a while I recognized him. I’d found the picture – the hunt through the van took me about half an hour – and made certain preparations. I didn’t like the look of the Humber, or of the motorcyclist either. But I decided that, if I got the opportunity, I’d take a chance and trust Brown. A big military convoy did the trick; the procession got out of order for a time, and there was the Austin, crawling along directly behind me. So I crossed my fingers and tumbled the picture out.’

  ‘Tumbled the picture out? But I thought–’

  ‘The position was much as it had been in this gallery at the time of the theft. What was available to me was a long, narrow slit which it would just go through.’ Appleby paused. ‘By the way, I put a message on the wrapping.’ He bent down. ‘And here it is. I don’t doubt that when Brown has had breakfast he will modestly call your attention to it. I’m afraid I require your indemnity. But I thought it might just turn the scale.’ He held up a piece of stout paper and they read:

  WITH CARE

  This package contains

  A VALUABLE PAINTING

  stolen by thieves and now

  recovered by a police officer

  who has been forced to abandon it during a chase.

  It is the property of

  THE DUKE OF HORTON, KG

  of Scamnum Court

  who on the return of his property will be

  MOST GRATEFUL

  and pay

  £500 REWARD

  Note on Inspector (later, Sir John) Appleby Series

  John Appleby first appears in Death at the President’s Lodging, by which time he has risen to the rank of Inspector in the police force. A cerebral detective, with ready wit, charm and good manners, he rose from humble origins to being educated at ‘St Anthony’s College’, Oxford, prior to joining the police as an ordinary constable.

  Having decided to take early retirement just after World War II, he nonetheless continued his police career at a later stage and is subsequently appointed an Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police at Scotland Yard, where his crime solving talents are put to good use, despite the lofty administrative position. Final retirement from the police force (as Commissioner and Sir John Appleby) does not, however, diminish Appleby’s taste for solving crime and he continues to be active, Appleby and the Ospreys marking his final appearance in the late 1980’s.

  In Appleby’s End he meets Judith Raven, whom he marries and who has an involvement in many subsequent cases, as does their son Bobby and other members of his family.

  Appleby Titles in order of first publication

  These titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

  1. Death at the President’s Lodging Also as: Seven Suspects 1936

  2. Hamlet! Revenge 1937

  3. Lament for a Maker 1
938

  4. Stop Press Also as: The Spider Strikes 1939

  5. The Secret Vanguard 1940

  6. Their Came Both Mist and Snow Also as: A Comedy of Terrors 1940

  7. Appleby on Ararat 1941

  8. The Daffodil Affair 1942

  9. The Weight of the Evidence 1943

  10. Appleby’s End 1945

  11. A Night of Errors 1947

  12. Operation Pax Also as: The Paper Thunderbolt 1951

  13. A Private View Also as: One Man Show and Murder is an Art 1952

  14. Appleby Talking Also as: Dead Man’s Shoes 1954

  15. Appleby Talks Again 1956

  16. Appleby Plays Chicken Also as: Death on a Quiet Day 1957

  17. The Long Farewell 1958

  18. Hare Sitting Up 1959

  19. Silence Observed 1961

  20. A Connoisseur’s Case Also as: The Crabtree Affair 1962

  21. The Bloody Wood 1966

  22. Appleby at Allington Also as: Death by Water 1968

  23. A Family Affair Also as: Picture of Guilt 1969

  24. Death at the Chase 1970

  25. An Awkward Lie 1971

  26. The Open House 1972

  27. Appleby’s Answer 1973

  28. Appleby’s Other Story 1974

  29. The Appleby File 1975

  30. The Gay Phoenix 1976

  31. The Ampersand Papers 1978

  32. Shieks and Adders 1982

  33. Appleby and Honeybath 1983

  34. Carson’s Conspiracy 1984

  35. Appleby and the Ospreys 1986

  Honeybath Titles in order of first publication

  These titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

  1. The Mysterious Commission 1974

  2. Honeybath’s Haven 1977

  3. Lord Mullion’s Secret 1981

  4. Appleby and Honeybath 1983

  Synopses (Both Series & ‘Stand-alone’ Titles)

  Published by House of Stratus

  The Ampersand Papers

  While Appleby is strolling along a Cornish beach, he narrowly escapes being struck by a body falling down a cliff. The body is that of Dr Sutch, an archivist, and he has fallen from the North Tower of Treskinnick Castle, home of Lord Ampersand. Two possible motivations present themselves to Appleby – the Ampersand gold, treasure from an Armada galleon; and the Ampersand papers, valuable family documents that have associations with Wordsworth and Shelley.

  Appleby and Honeybath

  Every English mansion has a locked room, and Grinton Hall is no exception – the library has hidden doors and passages…and a corpse. But when the corpse goes missing, Sir John Appleby and Charles Honeybath have an even more perplexing case on their hands – just how did it disappear when the doors and windows were securely locked? A bevy of helpful houseguests offer endless assistance, but the two detectives suspect that they are concealing vital information. Could the treasures on the library shelves be so valuable that someone would murder for them?

  Appleby and the Ospreys

  Clusters, a great country house, is troubled by bats, as Lord and Lady Osprey complain to their guests, who include first rate detective, Sir John Appleby. In the matter of bats, Appleby is indifferent, but he is soon faced with a real challenge – the murder of Lord Osprey, stabbed with an ornate dagger in the library.

  Appleby at Allington

  Sir John Appleby dines one evening at Allington Park, the Georgian home of his acquaintance Owain Allington, who is new to the area. His curiosity is aroused when Allington mentions his nephew and heir to the estate, Martin Allington, whose name Appleby recognises. The evening comes to an end but just as Appleby is leaving, they find a dead man – electrocuted in the son et lumière box which had been installed in the grounds.

  The Appleby File

  There are fifteen stories in this compelling collection, including: Poltergeist – when Appleby’s wife tells him that her aunt is experiencing trouble with a Poltergeist, he is amused but dismissive, until he discovers that several priceless artefacts have been smashed as a result; A Question of Confidence – when Bobby Appleby’s friend, Brian Button, is caught up in a scandalous murder in Oxford, Bobby’s famous detective father is their first port of call; The Ascham – an abandoned car on a narrow lane intrigues Appleby and his wife, but even more intriguing is the medieval castle they stumble upon.

  Appleby on Ararat

  Inspector Appleby is stranded on a very strange island, with a rather odd bunch of people – too many men, too few women (and one of them too attractive) cause a deal of trouble. But that is nothing compared to later developments, including the body afloat in the water, and the attack by local inhabitants.

  Appleby Plays Chicken

  David was hiking across Dartmoor, pleased to have escaped the oppressively juvenile and sometimes perilous behaviour of his fellow undergraduates. As far as he could tell, he was the only human being for miles – but it turns out that he was the only living human being for miles. At least, that is what he presumed when he found a dead man on top of the tor.

  Appleby Talking

  Arbuthnot is paying for a rash decision – he recently married a beautiful but slightly amoral girl whose crazy antics caught his rather cynical professional interest. His wife has taken a lover, Rupert Slade, and Arbuthnot wants nothing more than to see him dead – but the last thing he expected was that he’d walk into his living room and find just that!

  Inspector Appleby shares the details of this and many other fascinating crimes in this un-missable collection.

  Appleby Talks Again

  Ralph Dangerfield, an Edwardian playwright who belonged to the smartest young set of his day, kept a scandalous diary recording the intimate details of his own life and those of his friends. After his death, it was believed that his mother had burnt the incriminating evidence, but fifty years later, a famous collector of literary curiosities claims to have the diary in his possession and threatens to blackmail fashionable London with belated secrets about people now in respectable old age. Sir John Appleby reveals how he uncovered this unscrupulous crime and talks about his key role in seventeen more intriguing cases.

  Appleby’s Answer

  Author of detective novels, Priscilla Pringle, is pleased to find that she is sharing a railway compartment with a gentleman who happens to be reading one of her books – Murder in the Cathedral. He is military officer, Captain Bulkington, who recognises Miss Pringle and offers her £500 to collaborate on a detective novel. To everyone’s surprise, Miss Pringle is rather taken with Captain Bulkington – is she out of her depth?

  Appleby’s End

  Appleby’s End was the name of the station where Detective Inspector John Appleby got off the train from Scotland Yard. But that was not the only coincidence. Everything that happened from then on related back to stories by Ranulph Raven, Victorian novelist – animals were replaced by marble effigies, someone received a tombstone telling him when he would die, and a servant was found buried up to his neck in snow, dead. Why did Ranulph Raven’s mysterious descendants make such a point of inviting Appleby to spend the night at their house?

  Appleby’s Other Story

  During a walk to Elvedon House, palatial home of the Tythertons, Sir John Appleby and Chief Constable Colonel Pride are stunned to find a police van and two cars parked outside. Wealthy Maurice Tytherton has been found shot dead, and Appleby is faced with a number of suspects – Alice Tytherton, flirtatious, younger wife of the deceased; Egon Raffaello, disreputable art dealer; and the prodigal son, Mark Tytherton, who has just returned from Argentina. Could the death be linked to the robbery of some paintings several years ago?

  An Awkward Lie

  Sir John Appleby’s son, Bobby, assumes his father’s detective role in this baffling crime. When Bobby finds a dead man, in a bunker on a golf course, he notices something rather strange – the first finger of the man’s right hand is missing. A young girl approaches the scene and offers to watch the
body while Bobby goes for help, but when he returns with the police in tow, the body and the girl are missing.

  The Bloody Wood

  An assorted party of guests have gathered at Charne, home of Charles Martineau and his ailing wife, Grace, including Sir John Appleby and his wife, Judith. Appleby’s suspicions are soon aroused with the odd behaviour of Charles, and the curious last request of Grace – who desires that upon her death, Charles marries her favourite niece, Martine. When Charles and Grace die on the same day, foul play is suspected.

  Carson’s Conspiracy

  Businessman Carl Carson decides to make a dash for South America to escape the economic slump, leaving his home and his barmy wife. But he has a problem – if his company were seen to be drawing in its horns, it wouldn’t last a week. His solution is his wife’s favourite delusion – an imaginary son, named Robin. Carson plans to stage a fictitious kidnapping – after all, what could be more natural than a father liquidating his assets to pay the ransom demand? Unfortunately, Carson has a rather astute neighbour – Sir John Appleby, ex-Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

  A Change of Heir

  George Gadberry, ‘resting actor’, packs his bags and heads for obscurity when the Tax Inspector beckons. Then he receives a mysterious invitation and a proposition that could lead to enormous riches. Wealthy imbiber, Nicholas Comberford, wants George to impersonate him in order to secure a place in the will of fabulously affluent Great-Aunt Prudence, who lives in a Cistercian monastery and won’t allow a single drop of liquor in the place. Gadberry’s luck seems to have changed – but at what cost?