by Jim Eldridge
‘Someone very high up,’ said Daniel. ‘There are lots of very important and influential people who were involved with Caroline Dixon and her fundraising.’
‘Superintendent Armstrong?’
‘Oh, much higher than him,’ said Daniel. ‘He’s just a cog in the machine.’
‘But surely the truth will come out when Gerald Carr is put on trial for her murder.’
‘I think that’s unlikely to happen,’ said Daniel. ‘The last thing anyone at the top will want will be the truth coming out. There are reputations to be protected, and high among them will be that of Caroline Dixon, philanthropist extraordinaire.’
‘So what will happen to Gerald Carr? And the two men who abducted me?’
Daniel shrugged. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if they were offered lucrative employment abroad, possibly in one of the colonies.’
‘But they are killers!’
‘It wouldn’t be the first cover-up that’s taken place to protect the reputations of the rich and powerful.’
Abigail pursed her lips in annoyance as she scanned the papers and reported, ‘I see that our names aren’t included in any way. Instead, Superintendent Armstrong gets all the credit. Not even John Feather!’
‘The superintendent is ambitious,’ Daniel reminded her. A noise from the hallway caught his ear. ‘That sounds like the post.’
He went out to the hallway and reappeared with an expensive-looking envelope, which he opened.
‘Well, well,’ he said with a smile, and he handed the letter to Abigail. ‘It seems we have been invited to meet the prime minister. He requests our presence urgently today.’
Abigail looked at the letter, puzzled.
‘Why?’ she asked. ‘Why does the prime minister want to see us?’
‘I believe it relates to what we were just talking about,’ said Daniel. ‘If I’m right and Gerald Carr and Caroline Dixon’s henchmen are to be offered immunity, providing they go to some distant land, under threat of execution if they ever return, and with Caroline Dixon, Harry Michaels, the two watchmen and various others involved in the case conveniently dead, that leaves just we two as members of the public with the knowledge of what actually happened. John Feather and the other police officers will be bound by a pledge of silence.’
‘You can’t mean we are to be offered sanctuary abroad in exchange for our silence?’
‘No.’ Daniel grinned. ‘The importance of the country’s reputation will be explained to us. And then you will be presented with a piece of paper which you will be asked to sign.’
‘Why me?’ asked Abigail. ‘Why not you?’
‘Because I’ve already signed the Official Secrets Act. I was required to sign it during the Jack the Ripper investigation, as was the rest of Abberline’s squad, to stop us talking about certain prominent people who were under suspicion.’
‘I’ve never heard of it,’ said Abigail.
‘Most people haven’t,’ said Daniel. ‘It was passed by an Act of Parliament in 1889.’
‘And if I refuse to sign?’ demanded Abigail, annoyed.
‘It’s unlikely you will be allowed to leave the country ever again. So, no leading a dig in Egypt for Mr Conan Doyle. No future explorations anywhere. And you could well be jailed.’
‘But that’s an infringement of my civil liberties!’ burst out Abigail. ‘My rights as a citizen!’
‘Yes,’ agreed Daniel. He took the letter from her. ‘So, what is it to be? Your signature, or martyrdom?’
‘You may be completely wrong,’ said Abigail. ‘He could be asking to see us to congratulate us on our work on this case.’
‘He could,’ said Daniel. ‘But I bet you he isn’t. But, if I’m wrong, I shall take you for a meal at whichever restaurant you care to name.’
‘And if I’m wrong?’
‘Then you take me for a meal at my choice of eating house.’
Abigail eyed him warily. ‘This is going to be Stevensons’ Pie and Mash Shop, isn’t it.’ She gave a sigh. ‘All right. But what does one wear to meet a prime minister?’
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AUTHOR BIO
Jim Eldridge was born in central London towards the end of World War II, and survived attacks by V2 rockets on the Kings Cross area where he lived. In 1971 he sold his first sitcom, starring Arthur Lowe, to the BBC and had his first book commissioned. Since then he has had more than one hundred books published, with sales of over three million copies. He lives in Kent with his wife.
jimeldridge.com
BY JIM ELDRIDGE
Museum Mysteries series
Murder at the Fitzwilliam
Murder at the British Museum
Murder at the Ashmolean
Murder at the Manchester Museum
Murder at the Natural History Museum
Murder at Madame Tussauds
Hotel Mysteries series
Murder at the Ritz
COPYRIGHT
Allison & Busby Limited
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This ebook edition published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2021.
Copyright © 2021 by Jim Eldridge
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–2780–3
