‘I was delayed at the last moment. I’m afraid.’
‘Well, at least you’re here now. Tell me – do you have any news of that deplorable Winifred Tomkins?’
‘I do, as a matter of fact,’ said Carys. ‘I called at the house this morning to see why she and her husband were absent from the play.’
‘What did they say?’
‘That they didn’t relish the idea of spending a couple of hours being asked about the theft of that coffee pot. To listen to Winifred talk, you’d have thought there’d been a death in the family.’
Martha smirked. ‘She’s been really hurt by this, hasn’t she?’
‘Yes, Lady Pryde.’
‘That will teach her to criticise me! I hope that someone has taken that ludicrous coffee pot hundreds of miles away from here.’
‘Then I have to disappoint you,’ said Carys, ‘because I was given the firm impression that it’s still here in Cardiff.’
‘What makes you think that?’
‘It was their behaviour this morning. As I arrived at their house, I was given a letter for them by a shabby-looking fellow who’d been skulking at the bottom of their drive. He asked me to deliver it then scurried off.’
‘Who was this mysterious individual?’
‘He was clearly no friend of Winifred and her husband or he’d have delivered the letter himself. When I handed the missive over,’ Carys continued, ‘Clifford Tomkins went out of the room to read it. The next minute, he put his head back into the room to summon his wife. He looked apprehensive.’
‘What did you make of it, Miss Evans?’
‘I fancy that the letter might have had some connection with the stolen coffee pot. This is mere speculation, of course, and I may be well wide of the mark but supposing the thief wishes to sell it back to Winifred?’
‘Sell it back?’ repeated Martha in annoyance.
‘At a high price, I daresay.’
‘So she may have her coffee pot, after all. This is dire news.’
‘It’s not news, Lady Pryde – it’s pure guesswork on my part.’
‘Either way, it’s still very disturbing.’
‘Good evening, Miss Evans,’ said Pryde, descending on them with a broad smile. ‘I’m so glad that you’ve joined us at last.’
‘Thank you, Sir David,’ said Carys.
‘My wife always says that being late is a lady’s privilege.’
‘I stayed at the cathedral this afternoon rather longer than I intended to – Llandaff is so beautiful in the sunshine.’
‘I agree, Miss Evans. It’s always a pleasure to visit.’ He saw the grimace of Martha’s face. ‘You look as if you’ve just eaten something very disagreeable, my dear. Has something upset you?’
‘Yes,’ grunted Martha. ‘That silver coffee pot is still in Cardiff.’
Victor Leeming was a robust man but he had still been shaken up by the attack. Spurning the offer of a meal, all that he wanted to do was to return to the hotel room to rest. Colbeck accompanied him there, leaving the sergeant propped up on pillows so that there was no pressure on the back of his head. The inspector then returned to the lounge to talk with Stockdale over a drink. They went methodically through all the facts at their disposal. Colbeck ventured one possible conclusion.
‘I keep coming back to the name of Carys Evans,’ he said.
‘No,’ argued Stockdale, ‘I’ve been thinking about that. I reckon that Carys is far too ladylike to get tangled up in serious crimes.’
‘She’s not too ladylike to become someone else’s mistress and we know that she was actually in the hotel at the time of the murder.’
‘There may be an explanation for that, Inspector. Sir David Pryde is a major shareholder in this hotel. One of his perquisites is to have a room permanently reserved for any business associate who visits the town.’
‘Are you telling me that he and Miss Evans might have made use of that hotel room on the day in question?’
‘It’s only a suggestion.’
‘Would they be quite so blatant? Why risk being seen together in broad daylight when they could arrange a rendezvous after dark in a less public place? No, I fancy she was here for another purpose.’
‘It’s the question of motive that troubles me, Inspector.’
‘Miss Evans has expensive tastes,’ said Colbeck. ‘She loves silver above all else and, I suspect, would have no scruples about stealing that coffee pot in order to cause a flutter in the Tomkins household. Though she claims to be a friend of Winifred Tomkins, she is more than ready to ridicule her.’
‘The one thing that does support the theory,’ said Stockdale, reflectively, ‘is that Carys is eminently capable of luring a man into a hotel room simply by looking into his eyes. I can tell you that I would not need a second invitation from her.’
‘She is a very striking lady and that would incline me to absolve her of any real suspicion.’
‘Why?’
‘Carys Evans is a woman of quality. She moves among the elite here in Cardiff. If – for the sake of argument – we accept that the killer is Stephen Voke, then we encounter a problem. Would someone like Miss Evans concoct a plot with a young silversmith? How did she meet him? What would she see in such a person?’
‘You answered that question earlier, Inspector. She dotes on silver. Who better to woo her than a talented silversmith?’
‘But she already seems to have all that she needs.’
‘Women always want more,’ said Stockdale, cynically.
‘She seems to live very comfortably.’
‘Much of what you saw there was provided by her admirers. Sir David is only the latest to enjoy her favours. There have been others, squeezed for what she can get out of them and then discarded. I bow to none in my esteem for her,’ said the superintendent, ‘but I never forget that she is, in essence, a heartless predator.’
‘Is she capable of being party to a murder?’
The question hung unanswered in the air. Archelaus Pugh came over to them with a letter in his hand. He gave it to Colbeck.
‘This has just arrived for you, Inspector,’ said Pugh.
‘Who brought it?’
‘I can’t tell you, sir. It was simply tossed into the foyer.’
As the manager withdrew, Colbeck opened the letter and read the message that was written in large capitals. It berated him for sending someone in place of Clifford Tomkins with the ransom money and gave strict instructions for a second exchange. When he had finished it, he passed it over to Stockdale.
‘Is it from the killer?’ asked the superintendent.
‘Yes,’ replied Colbeck. ‘He’s doubled the price of the coffee pot and insists that Mrs Tomkins hands over the money next time. As you can see from the taunts made to me, he – or she – knows exactly who I am and why I’m here. That will make things much more difficult.’
CHAPTER TEN
Clifford and Winifred Tomkins had shared a frosty breakfast during which neither of them spoke. It was only when the plates had been cleared away that she finally broke the silence.
‘I must say that I find your attitude very hurtful, Clifford.’
‘I did not get where I am by throwing money away,’ he said, pompously. ‘I’ll not be duped a second time.’
‘How little you must care for my feelings!’ she complained.
‘Your well-being has been the major concern of our marriage.’
‘Then why do you turn against me now?’
‘I’m not turning against you,’ he said, trying to appease her with a flabby smile, ‘but you must see sense, Winifred. The thief has no intention of parting with the silver coffee pot. He simply wishes to grab as much money as he can from us. We’ve already had it dangled in front of our eyes once and you saw what happened.’