Design For Murder

by Francis Durbridge

  The Assistant Commissioner held up his hand.

  ‘I still haven’t finished,’ he said. ‘What do you think brought us to Sittingbourne, Wyatt?’

  Wyatt frowned.

  ‘I haven’t the least idea,’ he said.

  Sir James puffed out a stream of smoke.

  ‘You remember Mildred Gillow,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Of course,’ nodded Wyatt. ‘She worked with me on the Ariman job – smart little blonde – one of the best women police I ever came across when it came to tailing a suspect – next to Sally, of course!’

  Sir James could not repress a smile, for the romance between Lionel Wyatt and policewoman Sally Spender had been the talk of the Yard for weeks. Sally had been very temperamental, and it had taken a lot of persistence on Wyatt’s part to persuade her to abandon her career for the less exciting duties of the home. In fact, he never ceased to marvel secretly at the manner in which she had settled down to life on the small-holding.

  ‘Sally used to know Mildred Gillow quite well, too,’ went on Wyatt. ‘Nothing wrong with her, I hope?’

  Sir James shook his head.

  ‘She hasn’t been too well, lately. Hasn’t been sleeping – generally off colour. She was given a few days special sick leave, and was due back on duty two days ago. She spent the leave with an aunt in Sittingbourne, and left there in good time to catch a train to report for duty … but she never arrived. This morning, her father received a bracelet of hers, with a small slip of paper wrapped round it. Here it is.’

  Sir James took out his wallet, extracted a piece of paper and passed it over to Wyatt, who examined it carefully, then handed it back.

  ‘Why pick on this “Mr Rossiter” stunt?’ he mused with a puzzled frown.

  ‘He’s probably trying to confuse us,’ said Lathom. ‘When he was over here before, he was known as Ariman – that was a touch of vanity all right, but he left no messages lying around. He’s out to keep us guessing, and this “Mr Rossiter” business is one way of sidetracking us. As a matter of fact, there was a petty blackmailer named Rossiter operating when Ariman was last over here, but we know for certain he’s been going straight ever since he came out of Wandsworth two years ago. And he was never the type to go through with murder and then advertise the fact!’

  Wyatt carefully knocked the ashes out of his pipe.

  ‘So you’ve been down to Sittingbourne to check up with Mildred Gillow’s aunt, I take it,’ he said. ‘Did you have any luck?’ Almost as soon as he had spoken, he felt himself blushing.

  ‘I’m sorry, sir,’ he said to Perivale. ‘It’s no business of mine, of course. But I wouldn’t like to think anything had happened to Mildred and—’

  ‘It’s all right, Wyatt,’ interrupted Sir James, waving aside the apology. ‘This matter may well concern you very closely indeed. In fact, you may be able to help us more than anyone – you know this customer better than any of us. It was you who chased him out of the country.’ He hesitated a moment, then asked: ‘Wyatt, d’you think Ariman knew Mildred Gillow was helping you?’

  ‘Certainly,’ replied Wyatt at once. ‘He made at least one attempt to get her out of the way.’

  Sir James and Chief Inspector Lathom exchanged a significant glance which did not escape Wyatt.

  ‘You think “Mr Rossiter”, alias Ariman, has been gunning for Mildred, and that maybe he’ll try and settle a few old scores with me?’ he demanded with a faint grin.

  ‘That would be yet another confirmation that Ariman and Mr Rossiter are one and the same person,’ Sir James reminded him.

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Wyatt thoughtfully, ‘I suppose it would. But what am I supposed to do about it?’

  Sir James shifted rather uneasily in his chair.

  ‘You can listen to the rest of my story, and then give us the benefit of your advice, if nothing else,’ he suggested in a tone that carried a hint of mild reproof.

  ‘Of course, Sir James,’ said Wyatt at once. ‘I’m only too willing to help, but I’m rather out of touch these days. Smoking out bees is more in my line.’

  ‘All the same, something might occur to you …’ Wyatt took Sir James’ glass and refilled it. Lathom, however, refused a second glass. When he had returned to his chair, Wyatt demanded with obvious interest:

  ‘Is there anything else about Mildred Gillow, Sir James? Did you find anything at her aunt’s place?’

  ‘Nothing of any importance except an empty medicine bottle on the shelf in her bedroom. We took it down to the local chemist, who had made up the prescription, and got him to look up the doctor’s name in his book. It was a Doctor G. H. Fraser, in Wimpole Street.’

  ‘Do you know the doctor?’

  Sir James shook his head.

  ‘And the prescription?’

  ‘Just a sedative.’

  ‘Then why was the bottle so important?’

  ‘Because,’ explained Sir James deliberately, ‘a prescription was found on the dead body of Barbara Willis, made out by the same doctor.’

  Wyatt thoughtfully smoothed the bowl of his pipe against, the palm of his hand.

  ‘That’s certainly a point,’ he agreed. ‘Have you interviewed this doctor yet?’

  It was Lathom’s turn to speak.

  ‘I did telephone the doctor as a matter of routine, before we found the bottle, but there was no reply. It’ll be my first port of call when we get back to Town.’

  ‘I hope nothing’s happened to Mildred,’ said Wyatt with a thoughtful frown. ‘Sally would be upset; they were great chums in the old days. It’s a nasty business all round – isn’t there any sign of a motive in the other girl’s death?’

  Sir James shrugged.

  ‘All I can tell you is that Barbara Willis’ body was found at a little Devonshire fishing village called Shorecombe, not far from Dawlish. A Norwegian named Hugo Linder was out fishing with one of the locals, an old chap called Bill Tyson. Linder was on holiday there – I believe he still is.’

  ‘Have you questioned him?’

  ‘Yes, he seems reasonable enough. Both he and the old boy got rather a nasty shock, and I think it genuinely upset them.’

  Wyatt nodded absently, picturing the two men hauling at their nets and suddenly revealing the ghastly sight of the dead girl’s body.

  ‘Was it death by drowning?’ he asked.

  ‘No, the girl had been strangled. The body had been in the water somewhere between five and eight hours, as far as we could judge.’

  Wyatt picked up his pencil and began doodling on his scribbling pad. The Ariman case had worried him more than any of his others, and the memories of it disturbed him uneasily. He felt he needed another drink, but dismissed the idea, for he realized it would only upset him on this hot afternoon.

  ‘What about this Norwegian, Linder?’ he queried. ‘Have you checked up on him?’

  ‘He’s all right as far as we can trace,’ replied Lathom. ‘He’s been over here since 1933 – quite respectable.’

  Wyatt leaned back against his desk and looked at his visitors speculatively.

  ‘I can see I shall have to start reading the papers more closely again,’ he murmured. ‘I’ll be very interested to follow this case, and I’m sure I wish you luck. Now, if you’d like a basket of strawberries to take back with you …’

  ‘Just a minute, Wyatt,’ interposed Sir James. ‘You don’t seriously think we’ve delayed getting back to Town by two hours just to come down here and talk over old times.’

  Wyatt could not repress a smile.

  ‘It was good of you to look in and warn me that my old friend Ariman’s on the warpath again,’ he said pleasantly. ‘But I don’t think he’ll have any time to worry about me now I’m no longer getting under his feet. He never bothered very much about small fry. All the same, I’ll be on my guard, and I’ll give Fred Porter the tip – you know he’s working here?’

  He got to his feet.

  ‘I won’t detain you any longer, Sir James, if you want to get movin
g. I can see the inspector is bursting to get back on the scent.’

  Sir James made no move to go.

  ‘Sit down a minute, Wyatt,’ he said somewhat brusquely. ‘I didn’t come down here to warn you; I know you are quite capable of looking after yourself. I came here to make a suggestion.’

  ‘I beg your pardon, sir,’ apologized Wyatt. ‘If I can help in any way to trace Mildred Gillow … though I’m a bit out of touch lately. She writes to Sally at Christmas I think …’

  Sir James stubbed out his cigarette.

  ‘Mildred Gillow is only one aspect of this case,’ he replied abruptly. ‘If it’s really this fellow Ariman back on the job, we’ll need all our biggest guns. And that includes you, Wyatt. I’d like you to come back on the strength as long as Ariman is at large.’

  Wyatt shook his head slowly.

  ‘That wants thinking over, Sir James. I appreciate your offer, but I’d have to discuss it with Sally.’

  ‘Where is she?’ demanded Perivale impatiently. ‘I’ll talk to her. We can use her, too – she’ll be very useful …’

  ‘I’d sooner put it to her myself, if you don’t mind, Sir James,’ replied Wyatt, who was more than a little impressed by the note of urgency in his superior’s tone. ‘She’s out shopping in Faversham, but I’ll put it to her the minute she gets back. Of course, we can’t really leave this place, but perhaps I could get some help from the Agricultural Committee.’

  ‘I might be able to pull some weight there,’ nodded Sir James thoughtfully. ‘How d’you feel about getting back into harness?’

  Wyatt gave a slight shrug.

  ‘Maybe you won’t want me when you’ve got me. I’m a bit of a crock these days, you know, sir.’

  ‘It’s your brain we need; not your legs,’ Sir James told him.

  ‘And what about Chief Inspector Lathom?’ queried Wyatt. ‘How would he feel about having a stranger barging in on his case?’

  Lathom’s inscrutable features gave no hint as to how he felt, and before he could reply Sir James said:

  ‘You can play a lone hand as much as you like, Wyatt. Or ask for help whenever you feel you need it. It won’t be a case of your butting in; Lathom will remain in charge and look after the desk work and keep you au fait with the latest developments. We’d like to think we’ve got you up our sleeve as a master card when things get hot.’

  ‘I’ll telephone you as soon as I’ve had a talk with Sally,’ promised Wyatt, and Sir James levered himself somewhat reluctantly out of his armchair.

  ‘Are you sure you won’t stay to tea?’ asked Wyatt. ‘It won’t take Fred ten minutes to lay everything on …’

  ‘No, thanks, Wyatt. We must get back at once. There are a lot of things to follow up at that end. I’ll expect you to telephone me before this time tomorrow, then we can decide on some plans for you if you care to take on this job. I’m relying on you to talk Sally into it.’

  Wyatt accompanied his visitors out to their car, enquiring after one or two of his former colleagues at the Yard, and welcoming this rare opportunity to talk shop, which was not often vouchsafed to him nowadays, for Sally hardly ever referred to the old days. She always believed in living in the present, and all her energies seemed to be absorbed in running the smallholding.

  When he had waved goodbye to them, he limped back to the front porch and sank into a deck-chair. He had forgotten all about the form that was waiting to be filled up; instead, his brain was awhirl with the recollections of the Ariman case. He was still sitting there when their ancient but solid coupé drew up outside, and Sally flung open the door.

  ‘Hi there!’ she called. ‘Wake up and give me a hand with the parcels!’

  He got up and went slowly towards the car, taking in her trim figure, with neat blue shirt open at the neck, which somehow made her look amazingly cool even after a six-mile drive and two hours’ shopping on a warm afternoon.

  ‘Hallo, Sally … you’re back,’ he murmured lamely. ‘Have a good time?’

  ‘Nothing special.’ She smiled at him … it was a frank, welcoming smile that shone from the depths of her unusual grey eyes, and was reserved only for her husband.

  ‘What have you been up to?’ she wanted to know. ‘I hope you filled in that form, and wrote that letter to the poultry food people …’

  ‘I’ve had visitors,’ he interposed. ‘An old friend of yours.’

  ‘So you’ve done nothing except snooze in a deck-chair. Didn’t they stay for tea? And who was this old friend?’

  ‘Sir James Perivale, no less. He had to get back to Town in a hurry.’

  Sally puckered her shapely lips into a low whistle of surprise. ‘Whatever brought him here?’ she wanted to know.

  ‘He was down at Sittingbourne, and thought he’d like to see how we’re getting on,’ replied her husband evasively, as he gathered up an armful of parcels.

  ‘I’d like to have seen the Chief again,’ said Sally. ‘How was he?’

  ‘He looked quite fit. Said he was very sorry to miss you, but he had to rush off. The old boy’s absolutely tireless. He’s busy on a case that Mildred’s mixed up in.’

  Sally paused in the act of collecting her shopping basket from the back of the car.

  ‘Mildred? I haven’t heard from her for some time. What’s she up to nowadays?’

  ‘Nobody seems to know,’ replied Wyatt. ‘You see, she happens to have disappeared. Let’s go in and have some tea, and I’ll tell you all about it.’

  In the kitchen they found Fred Porter, with a face like the rising sun, just pouring out some tea. He stayed long enough to drink one large cup, then went back to hoeing his beans. Fred was a man of few words when his mind was intent upon a job of work, so Sally quickly prepared a tray and carried it into the sitting-room, where her husband had returned to his desk in the corner.

  ‘I suppose you wouldn’t have any idea how many ducklings we have under six months?’ he enquired.

  ‘Thirty-four,’ she replied without a moment’s hesitation, pulling up a small table and starting to pour out the tea. ‘Now, what’s all this about Mildred?’

  He told her all about the strange disappearances of the two girls, and of the death of Barbara Willis. But he did not mention the Chief’s invitation, for he wanted to clarify the situation a litttle more in his own mind. After tea, he returned to his form-filling, while Sally fed the livestock and did a dozen other odd jobs that had accumulated during her shopping expedition.

  Fred came in, washed himself, and cooked his own supper. He had a little room of his own, where he presently retired, and Wyatt suggested to Sally that they might go to the pictures in Faversham, as there was just time to catch the last house.

  The main feature was one of those fast-moving American crime epics, concerning the adventures of a tough ‘private eye’, who found himself embroiled in a chain of bizarre situations of growing intensity, and remaining as tough as ever even when the girl practically threw herself into his arms for the final fade-out.

  Wyatt found it quite stimulating, and as they walked to the car park he determined to tell Sally about Sir James’ proposition on the way home. But it was not until they had left the outskirts of the town behind, and he was cautiously steering the car through the dusky country lanes, that he came really to the point.

  ‘So that’s what was in the wind this afternoon,’ said Sally after he had finished. She made no further comment for two or three minutes. The car’s headlights picked up a young rabbit which scurried ahead of them for a hundred yards, then suddenly swerved into the hedgerow.

  ‘What d’you make of it, Sally?’ he asked. ‘The Chief wants you in on it, too – and I told him I wouldn’t do anything without consulting you.’

  ‘I’m glad of that,’ she replied. ‘Because you’re certainly not going to do anything. We’re not breaking up our happy home for the Home Secretary himself!’

  ‘But wait a minute, Sally,’ he began to protest, but she shook her head quite decisively.

&
nbsp; ‘You know perfectly well the doctors said you weren’t to go taking chances with that leg of yours,’ she reminded him.

  ‘He says he only needs my brains,’ he reminded her.

  ‘I dare say he says that,’ sniffed Sally, ‘but you know as well as I do that if you started in on a case, you’d always be pushing your nose into the most dangerous corners. It isn’t fair, Lionel … just as we’ve settled down so nicely here.’

  Lionel Wyatt sighed. He supposed Sally would have her way, as usual. Not that there wasn’t something to be said for her point of view. A woman hankered after a settled sort of home and a husband around, not a man who was gadding all over the country and getting mixed up with unpleasant customers at every turn.

  ‘Well, I won’t phone the Chief till tomorrow anyhow. I reckon it won’t do any harm to sleep on it,’ he said presently, as they came to the familiar turning that led to their little farm.

  ‘Fred’s closed the yard gate again, damn him!’ muttered Wyatt under his breath. ‘He might have left it for me.’ He opened the car door and got out to open the gate. After he had done so, Sally saw him leave the glaring cone of the headlights and pick up something from the grass verge beside the road.

  He came back to the car and switched on the dashboard light to examine his find. It was a neat lady’s leather handbag.

  ‘Is this yours?’ he asked.

  Sally shook her head.

  ‘I don’t make a habit of leaving my handbags at the side of the road,’ she replied rather pertly.

  ‘You’ve left them in all sorts of places,’ he grinned. ‘Remember that time you left one in the witness box at the Old Bailey?’ He fumbled with the clasp of the bag and carefully opened it. The contents gave no indication of the owner; there was a lipstick, mirror, powder compact, a handkerchief, a stub of pencil and a book of stamps. He was about to replace the stamps when something caught his eye and he held the buff-coloured book closer to the light.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Sally.

  ‘There’s a name scribbled here rather faintly … “Doctor Fraser”.’

  ‘That’s the name Sir James mentioned, isn’t it? The one they found on the prescription belonging to Barbara Willis.’