by John Creasey
Roger grinned.
He opened the door and stepped out, but almost fell, because he was dizzy and his knees weren’t as strong as he had expected. He leaned against the open door, watching men from the police cars helping the dazed Didi and the driver of the lorry. Other police were heading for the back of the lorry, and Roger made himself go forward and, taking each step with great care, reached a spot from where he could see inside the truck. A Divisional CID man had climbed over the tailboard, and was lifting up a green sack; registered mail was nearly always kept in green sacks. He held up another and another, and then turned and yelled: “There are hundreds of ’em. We must have ’em all!”
“Yes,” said Sir Guy Chatworth, “we seem to have them all, Roger. Two hundred and fifty seven sacks, and the known value of the contents of forty nine of them comes to over four hundred thousand pounds. The mind of the man who conceived this is something out of the ordinary. Was Carmichael the man behind it, do you think? I can’t believe that the postman Simm was.”
“I mink Simm and the woman were the leaders,” Roger said mildly. He sat in Chatworth’s office, with a cigarette in his hand and a glass with whisky and soda in front of him. He felt much better, although not really himself. Outside, the snow had stopped, it was nearly dark, and against the light shining out of the window he could see little streams of water; the thaw had set in, and if it continued there would be no need to worry about Her Majesty’s mails tomorrow. “I don’t know Carmichael’s part for certain; he’s still unconscious.”
“Did he drug himself? Or fall out with the others at the last minute?”
“He may have fallen out with the others, but not at the last minute,” Roger said. “Directly I knew that Bryant was killed for the master key, Carmichael was out of the running as a conspirator. He could have passed that key over, or made an impression on soap or wax any time he liked; he was the last man to need to search, let alone kill for it.”
Chatworth sat very still.
“We’ll have to wait until we get his story,” he said at last. “What else has come in?”
“Plenty. The raiders were all set to go days ago but hadn’t the key. We’ve picked up four locksmiths who’ve been standing by to make keys as soon as they were given an impression. The raiders we’ve caught all tell the same story—they’re members of two East End gangs, primed for this one job. They were standing by, too, and had orders to collect the keys from a central depot this morning. Simm was crafty, and had another meeting place, in Mile End. Each man was given a key, told to raid a van at a certain spot—always at Post Offices known to handle regular consignments of valuables—and to take the swag to St John’s Wood. Each carried a GPO armband for the occasion, and a big sack—to dump the green registered sacks in.”
“You’ve got to hand them one thing,” Chatworth said heavily. “Brilliantly organised.”
Roger said: “Brilliant’s the word.”
“Don’t yet know what caused Tom Bryant’s death, I suppose?”
“No,” said Roger, “but one thing has turned up.”
“What?”
“Derek Bryant’s hands—in the Thames,” Roger said heavily. “No doubts about the prints.”
Chatworth was quiet for a long time; and then he broke the silence gruffly: “This scar print that Simm used—I’ve had a talk with Wilberforce. It shook him badly, he’s never come across it before except when trying to identify bodies that have been in the water a long time. Macabre business. Simm knew what we all know: the skin off the hands and feet of a body that’s been in water for a long time can sometimes be removed intact. Simm removed the skin of a dead man’s hand, and found how it could be preserved and toughened. And he saw the advantages of making us look for a man who didn’t exist.”
“I can guess what a kick he got out of that,” Roger said. “I always had the impression that he enjoyed making fools of us.”
“Your turn to talk about the last laugh,” Chatworth said, with a sniff. “Well, put all the pieces together as soon as you can. Do you seriously doubt whether Carmichael was involved?”
“He’s involved with Didi Ames all right,” Roger said. “But not with the robberies, or I’ll resign and buy that chicken farm.”
It took him a day to prove that he was right about Carmichael.
‘George Simm is one of three brothers,’ Roger wrote in his report, ‘and the only one who kept out of jail for so long. His family record is one of persistent antagonism to the police, and his recent statements make it clear that all his life he had planned to make one big haul and then sit back and mock the police. This attitude was reflected in at least three of his actions – the fingerprints of a dead man which he used deliberately and left behind to mystify us, the theft of registered mail from his own van, with a false print to mislead us, and the posting of the parts of Derek Bryant’s body.
‘The motive of the plot was simple.
‘It began when Simm and Deirdre Ames first got to know each other, twelve months ago. Simm used his knowledge of the Post Office procedure to make his plans. His first need was for a master key, and the raids were to take place during the Christmas mail rush, as success depended on the public’s familiarity with temporary postmen.
‘Simm’s original plan was to get the key from Carmichael, who guarded it with extreme care. Deirdre Ames’s part was to make Carmichael lose his head and persuade him to let her have the key. That failed. But Carmichael, deeply in love with the woman, did everything he could to keep her. He even spent his life’s savings on her, although he knew why she had first encouraged him. The one thing he would not do was to betray his position. His first loyalty was to the Post Office.
‘In fact, he was more careful than ever with the key when he realised what Deidre Ames wanted. He had seen Simm in the St John’s Wood house, and guessed that Simm and Deirdre Ames were in collusion.
‘Simm saw that Carmichael could ruin his plans; but realised that Cannichael was on guard against him. So Simm tried a new tack, by using Derek Bryant.
‘Derek Bryant was often in Carmichael’s office, getting instructions from the Chief Sorter about suboffice maintenance work. He was in a position to take an impression of the master key. Deirdre’s beauty went to his head. At her request, he took the impression and made a key – as a mechanic, that was easy for him. Before handing it over, however, he discovered that Deidre Ames and Simm were living together.
‘He rebelled.
‘Meanwhile, his father had discovered the association between Derek and Deirdre Ames. He tried to break it, but the woman was indifferent. By this time, Derek Bryant was desperate. He had got deeply into debt, so as to spend money on Deirdre, and his job was in jeopardy. In his desperation, he confessed to his father that, using the master key, he had stolen a registered packet which had contained a hundred pounds in one pound notes.
‘His father made him hand over the money and the key, promising to try to replace the money, and to protect Derek. This was the day before Tom Bryant’s murder. Tom took the key and the money home, hid the key, and kept the money while trying to think up a way of paying it back – perhaps even considering accepting responsibility for the theft.
(‘These details of Bryant’s part are largely conjecture,’ Roger wrote, ‘arising out of statements made by Deirdre Ames, who has been fully co-operative since her arrest, doubtless to try to save herself from a charge of accessory to murder.’)
‘Simm heard Bryant and his son talking about what they were planning, and realised that his chances were now very poor. A man of Tom Bryant’s calibre might decide to tell the authorities everything, even at the cost of his own or his son’s reputation. So Simm killed Tom Bryant. When Derek heard of his father’s death, he realised what had happened and rushed to Simm, to try to avenge his father. They met in the stationery store at River Way. Simm overpowered Derek, murdered him, and dismembered the body. He was now practically certain that the key was at Bryant’s Clapp Street house, so he sent an asso
ciate, a youth named Samuel Webber, to search the house. When Webber failed, Simm decided, in a last throw, to work on Micky Bryant. The results we now know.
‘Carmichael, aware that Simm was responsible for the murders but still desperately in love with Deirdre Ames, tried to keep aloof. He had committed no crime and he did not want to betray the woman. He discovered, through a vainglorious boast of Simm’s, that Micky was to be used. In the early hours of the morning he went to plead with the woman. His arrival was not reported, as the officer watching the house in St John’s Wood had been savagely attacked earlier in the evening, and his body was later found in the Regent’s Park Canal. So was that of Simm’s accomplice, Samuel Webber, but Carmichael was in time to save Micky Bryant. Carmichael still tried to persuade Deirdre Ames not to continue with her plans. Even when the raids began, he went to give her a last chance. His signed statement, supported by one of Simm’s other associates, says that if she betrayed Simm and gave up the haul, he – Carmichael – would not call the police.
‘Simm had expected such an ultimatum. He lay in wait for Carmichael and the CID sergeant who was trailing him and, with them both drugged and in the back of the van, went to Carmichael’s house. He intended to murder Micky Bryant, who could identify Deirdre and become a vital witness. Simm had earlier killed another associate, Wilson, who had tried to blackmail him.
‘In my opinion,’ Roger’s report finished, ‘we should not prefer a charge against Carmichael but should establish him as a police witness, and so greatly simplify the case for the prosecution.’
Roger had several copies of the report made – for Turnbull, for Chatworth, and for Kilby, who was out of the hospital after seven days. The angle of the blow, the thickness of his skull and the fact that Simm had been in a great hurry had saved his life. Simm had attacked him in the stationery store because he had kept some safebreaking tools behind the racks, which might have had his own prints on them.
Mrs Bryant took the news as Roger would have expected. At least she had Micky and the younger children and the devotion of May Harrison, who was to go and live at Clapp Street. Kilby told Roger that. Kilby seemed likely to spend a lot of time seeing that May didn’t grieve too much. There was always the good and the bad.
Two days before Christmas Roger dropped Kilby at the end of Clapp Street, and then drove back to his own home. It was a little after nine o’clock, and the boys might still be up. He hoped they were, for he wanted to see them. They were in the kitchen, Richard with a cartoon page in front of him, Scoopy standing at the table and looking at his mother as she peered into the oven. The smell of cooking was rich and appetising.
“Oh, hallo, Dad,” Scoopy said. “Isn’t Mum mean—she won’t let me have one of those mince pies.”
“I don’t want a mince pie,” Richard said. “They’re too hot.”
“You don’t mean to say you’re home for the day,” said Janet, her face flushed and her eyes gay as she straightened up from the oven. “It’s only half past nine!”
“I’m home for the night, tomorrow, Christmas Eve and the next day,” Roger told her. “All I have to do is turn in my final reports, and I can do that from here tomorrow.”
Janet’s eyes glowed.
“Oh, that’s wonderful! You can help with the last-minute shopping, and—”
“There’s one condition,” Roger interrupted. “I might find myself recalled to the Yard on urgent business unless you meet it.” He winked at the boys.
“I knew there’d be an excuse,” said Janet, resignedly. But let me hear it”
“Two mince pies for me and one each for the boys, right here and now,” said Roger.
Scoopy pounced on the pies, while Richard explored carefully for a cool one.
Afterwards, when the boys were in bed, Janet took Roger into the front room, where half a dozen parcels from relatives and friends were waiting for the boys to open on Christmas morning. He looked at them speculatively as he sipped his drink.
Series Information
Published or to be published by
House of Stratus
Dates given are those of first publication
Alternative titles in brackets
‘The Baron’ (47 titles) (writing as Anthony Morton)
‘Department ‘Z’’ (28 titles)
‘Dr. Palfrey Novels’ (34 titles)
‘Gideon of Scotland Yard’ (22 titles)
‘Inspector West’ (43 titles)
‘Sexton Blake’ (5 titles)
‘The Toff’ (59 titles)
along with:
The Masters of Bow Street
This epic novel embraces the story of the Bow Street Runners and the Marine Police, forerunners of the modern police force, who were founded by novelist Henry Fielding in 1748. They were the earliest detective force operating from the courts to enforce the decisions of magistrates. John Creasey’s account also gives a fascinating insight into family life of the time and the struggle between crime and justice, and ends with the establishment of the Metropolitan Police after the passing of Peel’s Act in 1829.
‘The Baron’ Series
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Meet the Baron (The Man in the Blue Mask) (1937)
The Baron Returns (The Return of the Blue Mask) (1937)
The Baron Again (Salute Blue Mask) (1938)
The Baron at Bay (Blue Mask at Bay) (1938)
Alias the Baron (Alias Blue Mask) (1939)
The Baron at Large (Challenge Blue Mask!) (1939)
Versus the Baron (Blue Mask Strikes Again) (1940)
Call for the Baron (Blue Mask Victorious) (1940)
The Baron Comes Back (1943)
A Case for the Baron (1945)
Reward for the Baron (1945)
Career for the Baron (1946)
Blood Diamond (The Baron and the Beggar) (1947)
Blame the Baron (1948)
A Rope for the Baron (1948)
Books for the Baron (1949)
Cry for the Baron (1950)
Trap the Baron (1950)
Attack the Baron (1951)
Shadow the Baron (1951)
Warn the Baron (1952)
The Baron Goes East (1953)
The Baron in France (1953)
Danger for the Baron (1953)
The Baron Goes Fast (1954)
Nest-Egg for the Baron (Deaf, Dumb and Blonde) (1954)
Help from the Baron (1955)
Hide the Baron (1956)
The Double Frame (Frame the Baron) (1957)
Blood Red (Red Eye for the Baron) (1958)
If Anything Happens to Hester (Black for the Baron) (1959)
Salute for the Baron (1960)
The Baron Branches Out (A Branch for the Baron) (1961)
The Baron and the Stolen Legacy (Bad for the Baron) (1962)
A Sword for the Baron (The Baron and the Mogul Swords) (1963)
The Baron on Board (The Mask of Sumi) (1964)
The Baron and the Chinese Puzzle (1964)
Sport for the Baron (1966)
Affair for the Baron (1967)
The Baron and the Missing Old Masters (1968)
The Baron and the Unfinished Portrait (1969)
Last Laugh for the Baron (1970)
The Baron Goes A-Buying (1971)
The Baron and the Arrogant Artist (1972)
Burgle the Baron (1973)
The Baron – King Maker (1975)
Love for the Baron (1979)
Doctor Palfrey Novels
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Traitor’s Doom (1942)
The Legion of the Lost (1943)
The Valley of Fear (The Perilous Country) (1943)
Dangerous Quest (1944)
Death in the Rising Sun (1945)
The Hounds of Vengeance (1945)
Shadow of Doom (1946)
The House of the Bears (1946)
Dark Harvest (19
47)
The Wings of Peace (1948)
The Sons of Satan (1948)
The Dawn of Darkness (1949)
The League of Light (1949)
The Man Who Shook the World (1950)
The Prophet of Fire (1951)
The Children of Hate (The Killers of Innocence; The Children of Despair) (1952)
The Touch of Death (1954)
The Mists of Fear (1955)
The Flood (1956)
The Plague of Silence (1958)
Dry Spell (The Drought) (1959)
The Terror (1962)
The Depths (1963)
The Sleep (1964)
The Inferno (1965)
The Famine (1967)
The Blight (1968)
The Oasis (1970)
The Smog (1970)
The Unbegotten (1971)
The Insulators (1972)
The Voiceless Ones (1973)
The Thunder-Maker (1976)
The Whirlwind (1979)
Gideon Series
(Writing as JJ Marric)
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Gideon’s Day (Gideon of Scotland Yard) (1955)
Seven Days to Death (Gideon’s Week) (1956)
Gideon’s Night (1957)
A Backwards Jump (Gideon’s Month) (1958)
Thugs and Economies (Gideon’s Staff) (1959)
Gideon Combats Influence (Gideon’s Risk) (1960)
Gideon’s Fire (1961)
A Conference for Assassins (Gideon’s March) (1962)
Travelling Crimes (Gideon’s Ride) (1963)
An Uncivilised Election (Gideon’s Vote) (1964)
Criminal Imports (Gideon’s Lot) (1965)
To Nail a Serial Killer (Gideon’s Badge) (1966)
From Murder to a Cathedral (Gideon’s Wrath) (1967)
Gideon’s River (1968)
Darkness and Confusion (Gideon’s Power) (1969)
Sport, Heat & Scotland Yard (Gideon’s Sport) (1970)
Gideon’s Art (1971)
No Relaxation at Scotland Yard (Gideon’s Men) (1972)
