by Laura Walker
'Can you confirm that he was at home the morning after Lord Galitzi’s party?'
'I can, he was at home all morning.'
'Was he in the room with you the night the diamonds disappeared, the whole time that you were awake?'
'He was.'
'Are you certain of that?'
'Yes. You should trust the word of a lady.'
'What are you afraid of, Mrs Dukesbury?'
'Nothing.'
'Then why all the performance? You were fine until I started to question your husband.'
'I don’t know what you’re talking about.' She was close to hysterics by this time.
'What are you hiding?'
'I told you. Nothing.'
'I would advise you to be forthcoming now, because I will find out what it is you are hiding eventually and when I do, you will be in trouble for withholding information from the police.'
She screamed hysterically.
'Get him out. Get him out of my sight.'
She fainted away on the floor with a thud.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
John Dukesbury came bursting into the room and was at his wife’s side along with Maria Cassanetti and they tried to revive her. The other guests followed them in one by one.
'What on earth is going on, Mikey?' Lady Amelia cried in astonishment.
'She has over exerted herself, that is all Lady Galitzi.'
'Such a drama queen.' Aida said folding her arms.
'This is all rather fun.' George said leaning over Aida’s shoulder.
'Back off please, everyone. I want you all assembled in the drawing room now, please.' Hadley cried.
The guests were ushered out except for Mr Dukesbury and Maria who tended to Celia.
'Inspector.' Mrs Hutchington called edging her way through the crowd.
'Yes, what is it?' Hadley said shortly.
'The telephone for you, Sir.'
'I’ll be right there.'
He picked up the telephone left off the receiver in the hallway downstairs.
'Hadley.'
'Inspector?' Came the cockney accent of the bar tender at George’s club down the line.
'Yes.'
'He’s here, Sir. I have detained him and he says he is eager to speak with you. Name of Grind.'
'I’ll come right away.' He replaced the receiver and called for Scallop.
*
Mr Grind was seated at the bar with a glass of whisky. He looked up when they walked in.
'Detective Inspector Hadley and Detective Sergeant Scallop.' Hadley said.
'Can I get you a drink, Inspector?' He asked in a gravelly voice.
He patted the chair beside him but Hadley declined.
'No, thank you, Mr Grind. We will crack on if you have no objection?' He said leaning on the bar.
'None whatever, Inspector. Fire away.'
'When did you first come into contact with George Sanderson?'
'Here in London.'
'Not in Hertfordshire?'
'No.'
'How long ago was this?'
'A couple of weeks ago.'
'What happened?'
'It was at the other club George frequents occasionally. The Joelle Lovelle. French place. Rather dodgy, if you know what I mean?'
Hadley nodded.
'Same place his father attends regularly.' He said.
'Anyway, he came swaggering in one day, obviously still drunk from this place and he played at the table until he was beat, same as always, couldn’t pay. I was there waiting for another debt. I approached him and said he ought to cough up but he legged it. Been watching him ever since but you know how these gentlemen are, Inspector. Far too elusive and high minded.'
'How much money did he owe?'
'Oh, he has accumulated quite a fair price. The estimated amount of ten thousand pounds.'
Hadley was staggered.
'Did he ever mention payment by another means than money?'
'I don’t follow you.'
'Like diamonds or jewellery, for instance?'
'He said his mother and sister had some fine jewellery. Worth a packet between them those two ladies.'
'The morning of the twenty-first, which was a Monday, was he here?'
'I am almost certain he was, Inspector.' He said after thinking it over for a moment.
'About what time did he arrive?'
'About a quarter past ten.' He said after another pause.
'Did he seem flustered in anyway to you?'
'Not that I noticed. He never does.'
'Do you know what kind of car he was driving?'
'He nearly always walked. I presumed he did on this occasion.'
'Did you see a black saloon car anywhere near the premises when you left?'
He shook his head.
'No, can’t help you there, Inspector.'
'Do you know a John Dukesbury at all?'
'Banker, isn’t he? Yes, I know him.'
'Does he have a debt with you?'
'No. Not a gambler, I would know if he was. I know all the gamblers around here. It's a good thing too as that wouldn't look too clever, a banker who gambles away money.'
'You have been most helpful, Mr Grind.'
'The pleasure is all mine, Inspector.'
'George lied about being at home that morning but that could have been shame over the gambling. His family don’t yet know that he still has a gambling problem. He could still have tried to gun me down on the bridge that morning, however.' Hadley said as they walked to the car.
'He could, Sir, and he could be planning to use the diamonds as payment for his debts. It would be more convenient than using his mother and sister’s jewellery.'
The officer on duty at the station came through over the radio as they fastened their seatbelts.
'We finally have a lead on the black saloon car for you, Sir.'
'And?'
'It was a rental as we suspected, Sir, and we have a description of the person who hired it on the morning of the twenty-first.'
'Let's have it.'
'It was a blonde woman, Sir.'
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Hadley and Scallop raced back to Sewsbury Hall after hearing the description of the driver of the black saloon car and screeched to a halt on the driveway. The guests looked out in alarm and survey the scene. They jumped out and headed straight for the drawing room.
'Where is your wife?' Hadley asked sternly marching up to John Dukesbury.
'She is ill, Inspector.'
'No wonder she is ill. I need her in the drawing room now.'
John Dukesbury sighed but seeing that it was no use arguing he disappeared out of the room.
'What is this about, Inspector?' Mrs Sanderson asked.
'It’s about the theft of the Galitzi diamonds. I am pretty sure we will know who the thief is by the end of this afternoon.' He replied quietly.
He paced about the drawing room with his hands behind his back. All eyes were upon him from various places in the drawing room. Celia came down with a tear-stained face but quietly took the seat Maria Cassanetti saved for her.
'Now, the diamonds were stolen by someone in this room and that someone needed money, as well as a reputation to keep up. Stealing the diamonds was the perfect means of doing just that.' Hadley began.
Lord Galitzi glared around the room at all the guests in turn.
'We’re dying to know who, Inspector.' Alan Sanderson said smugly.
'Going back to the party at Lord Galitzi’s on the morning of the twenty-first. All the guests here today were also at that party, but there was one guest in particular who overheard a conversation I had with Miss Sanderson at the dining table.'
Aida looked up and blushed.
'Miss Sanderson and I were discussing criminology. Now from that discussion someone, who must have been sitting beside me at the time, perceived that I was working for the police and they had seen me speaking to Lord Galitzi earlier in the evening and so they had guessed from thi
s that I was there to investigate who had their eye on the diamonds.'
'Are you suggesting that Aida is the thief, Inspector?' Mrs Sanderson asked defensively.
'Miss Sanderson is not the thief, no, dear lady. I said the thief over heard a conversation I was having with Miss Sanderson, not that she is the thief. Going back to the point. The thief then sent a note to the station that claimed it was from Lord Galitzi asking me to meet him on the bridge. A black saloon car that had been hired from a local garage came hurtling along and fired at me. Is that not so, Mrs Dukesbury?' He said suddenly turning around to face Celia.
She was calmer now than before and she could look him in the face steadily.
'You’re not suggesting Celia fired at you.' John Dukesbury cried.
'I’m not suggesting it, I know it. She was described by the garage owner as the lady who hired the car.'
'Preposterous.' John Dukesbury cried.
'Be quiet, John. He’s right, I shot at him.' Celia cried jumping out of her seat.
'What?' John cried in amazement.
'I am no thief, though. I couldn’t go ahead with it.' She said turning to her husband.
'What. You didn’t steal them then.' Galitzi cried springing towards her.
'I didn’t, I wanted to but somebody got there before me. When I looked in the safe they were already gone.'
'Why Celia?' John Dukesbury asked.
'I wanted to help. You were resorting to black mail and it was all my fault for getting you into debt in the first place. I knew you’d thought about stealing them or something worse. I knew you hid the gun for me.' She cried hysterically and fell into her husband’s arms who tried to soothe her.
'Well, Mikey, is it true? Did she not steal them?' Lady Amelia cried.
'I don’t believe so, my Lady. No, this was a crime of opportunity that is all. I know that because when the thief tried to make it look like a break-in, it was too carefully placed. It must have been an after- thought. The thief panicked. The person who took those diamonds knew of their existence a long time before they thought of stealing them. Mrs Dukesbury is guilty of thinking about stealing them, that is all. As well as trying to kill me, of course.'
'I was only trying to frighten you away.' Celia cried over her husband’s shoulder.
'I don’t think she would have shot you, Inspector. She is right, I found the gun in her handbag and after what you had told me about the shooting on the bridge, I presumed Celia had stolen the diamonds and so I hid it upstairs in our room once I’d heard about the attempted shooting.'
'Then who was it, Hadley?' Galitzi asked impatiently.
'I had an inkling that it was one of two people. I was hoping that one of them would give themselves away when I mentioned the conversation at the party, because this person was also intent on what I was saying that evening. I was right. The person flinched just enough for me to tell the thief apart from the rest.'
He turned around sharply and came face to face with George Sanderson!
George laughed uncontrollably.
Aida studied his face fearfully.
'Me, Inspector.' He said after pulling himself together.
'George, you didn’t.' Aida cried.
'He has nothing on me.'
'Oh, but I do, Mr Sanderson. I can tell you where the diamonds were hidden for a start.' Hadley said quietly.
'Were hidden?' He cried turning pale.
'Sergeant.' Hadley called.
The Sergeant in question appeared in the doorway and held up a wet plastic bag.
'You can’t have, I was very discreet and I hid them well.' George cried wildly.
'They were found in the river this morning.' Hadley said.
Aida touched her brother's arm but he threw her off.
'Back away, please, Miss Sanderson. We have our thief.' Hadley said gently.
Aida ran to her mother who took her in her arms where she nestled her face which was wet with tears.
'George. How could you do this to our family and you. Both of you disgust me.' Mrs Sanderson cried in shame looking from her husband to her son.
'Don’t you put the blame on me, Mother. This is your doing.'
'You little rat.' Galitzi cried springing towards him.
'Manne, please.' Lady Amelia said arresting his arm.
'How did he get hold of my safe combination? That's what I'd like to know.' Galitzi asked calming down a little.
'I’m a whizz hand at safes. Aren’t I, Father?' George said.
Mr Sanderson wisely remained silent.
'You never did get over your gambling problem, did you, George? You spotted your opportunity to steal them and made it look like a break-in, before Mrs Hutchington came to lock up the windows. She saw you on the landing and that is what you wanted so that it would be presumed that the thief got in through one of the windows. At first thought, I presumed your reason for moving to London was to steal the diamonds, but that was before I found out you owed a debt of ten thousand pounds to Mr Grind.' Hadley explained.
There was a gasp around the company at the amount of debt he owed.
'You also, like Mrs Dukesbury, had worked out that I was working for the police and that set your mind thinking of the diamonds to cover that debt. It wasn’t until you were at Sewsbury Hall, however, and saw me here and you knew Lord Galitzi had brought the diamonds with him, that you thought of actually stealing them. Do you have anything else to add?'
'How did you know the diamonds were in the river? I removed them there before you found them in my room.' George asked fiercely.
'I didn’t. You have just told me that.'
'Wait a minute. The Sergeant.'
He angrily leaped forwards to try and reach him but Hadley grabbed him by the arm and Scallop came to his assistance.
'George Sanderson, I am arresting you for the theft of the Galitzi diamonds. You don’t have to say anything, but anything you do say will be given in evidence and used against you in court.' Hadley said cuffing his hands behind his back.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
'Well done, Hadley. I knew I could count on you. Drinks all round.' Galitzi exclaimed in his drawing room that evening when Hadley came to pay them a visit.
'It’s such a relief to have them back and to have all the horrid business behind us. Thank you, Mikey.' Lady Amelia said.
'The pleasure is all mine, my Lady.' Hadley said with a bow.
'It was only that trick you pulled at the end why we got them back again. Pure genius.' Galitzi said handing him a glass of whisky and nudging him, causing him to spill some of it on the carpet yet again.
'Indeed, it was. It was a lucky guess on my part and if George had not been forthcoming, they would still be there now.'
'It was wonderful. That is why your friendship is so worth having.' Lady Amelia said.
'There is one thing that’s puzzling me though, old chap. How did you know it was George and not Celia Dukesbury? She did shoot at you?' Galitzi asked.
'I had an inkling it was George after speaking with Mr Grind about his huge debt. George had lied to me about his whereabouts and about his gambling problem which made me suspicious of him. Knowing how gamblers work it did not seem likely that he would have planned it that far in advance. They usually act on impulse. That and the conveniently placed evidence of a break-in which was most definitely not planned. My suspicions about George increased when I heard that it was Celia Dukesbury who had hired that car. I then knew that the two incidents could not be connected.'
'How, Mikey?' Lady Amelia asked.
'Celia Dukesbury could not have stolen the diamonds, of that I was certain. The reason being was because when I interviewed her I saw fear in her eyes but not guilt. I knew she was hiding something but it wasn’t theft. I think that had she stolen the diamonds she would have confessed everything to me there and then.'
'Genius. Absolute genius, Hadley.' Galitzi exclaimed.
*
When Hadley got back to his apartment he found Aida Sanderson w
aiting for him outside. She wore a simple floral patterned cotton dress and white shawl she held tightly wrapped around her.
'Might I speak with you?' She said with lowered eyes.
'Of course.' He said opening the door.
Hadley stepped aside allowing her to enter ahead of him and then followed her inside. He thought back to the cold manner of their parting at Sewsbury Hall.
She turned her body towards him but kept her eyes still lowered to his feet.
'I have come to say goodbye.' She said quietly.
'Goodbye? What do you mean goodbye?' He asked feeling his voice shaking.
He reached out and tried to take her in his arms but she pulled away from him putting up her hands.
'Don’t touch me.' She cried distressed.
Hadley watched her silently the tears springing to his eyes.
'I am going away to Brussels with Mama.' She said after composing herself again.
'Brussels? You can’t, it’s too far away.' He cried.
'I have to go, I can’t stay here. George has caused a scandal here too and on a much larger scale than the one he caused in Hertfordshire.'
'But I love you.' He said trying to reach her again.
'No, you don’t. You cannot, not after..' She broke off.
'I know you blame me for arresting George but what could I do?'
'This is not about George, he got his just deserts. It’s because of what I told you before, because of what I did.'
'I don’t care about that, I told you.'
'You would eventually. You would look at me and be disappointed. I am not as good as you and I would bring you down. Already people are talking about my family. What would people say if you, a police inspector, were to be involved with one of the Sanderson family?'
Hadley shook his head.
'It doesn’t matter to me what people say. I am not exactly liked myself as a policeman and as to being disappointed with you, I could never be that. No man could ever be disappointed in you.'
'It doesn’t change anything. The fact remains that we are just too different, we are worlds apart. I have to go, Mama doesn’t know I’m here. Take care of yourself, Mikey.' She touched his cheek briefly and turned away towards the door.
He barred her way with his arm.
'Please stay.' He whispered desperately feeling the tears fall down his cheeks now.
She pushed him away coldly and left his apartment.
