‘Just a little longer,’ she said with a mischievous smile.
‘Hmmm,’ I said, as Bert helped her into the car.
‘Where to now, m’lady?’ he said once we were all settled.
‘Two trips for you now, Bert dear,’ said Lady Hardcastle. ‘First you need to drop me off at my solicitors’ offices in Small Street, then you need to take Armstrong to the police station.’
‘Finally turning her in, eh, m’lady?’
‘It has to be done, Bert. She’s a menace to society.’
‘Right you are, m’lady,’ he said with a grin.
‘I can hear you, you know,’ I said.
‘Splendid,’ she said. ‘In that case you can listen well to your instructions. I shall be asking my solicitor to look into a few matters for me and while I’m doing that you’re to visit dear Inspector Sunderland and make him fully acquainted with latest developments. Then I want you to invite him to lunch at The Hayrick tomorrow.’
‘Market day,’ I said.
‘Market, as you so rightly say, day. Yes. And tell him to bring a couple of friends. The burlier the better.’
‘You expect him to be able to make an arrest, my lady?’ I said.
‘If all goes according to plan, pet, he should be able to cart the villain away with him.’
‘I shall advise him of the possible need for a black maria, my lady.’
‘Good girl.’
‘And then lunch?’
‘I say,’ she said. ‘What a good idea. We should have invited Sim.’
‘I’m not sure he could spare the time, my lady. He looked snowed-under.’
‘Good point, pet, good point. I say, Bert?’
‘Yes, m’lady?’ he said, looking up at her in his rearview mirror.
‘Do you have lunch?’
‘Yes thank you, m’lady. Mrs Brown packed me some sandwiches.’
‘Splendid. In that case, Florence dear, I might treat you to a slap-up feed at a suitable hotel.’
‘I say,’ I said. ‘Thank you, my lady.’
‘Think nothing of it, pet,’ she said. ‘Bert?’
‘My lady?’ he said.
‘Where do you recommend for lunch in the city?’
‘There’s a place the mistress goes to,’ he said. ‘But I couldn’t swear as it would be to your taste.’
‘Dash it all,’ she said, ‘let’s try it. If it’s ghastly we can entirely fail to mention it, and if it’s a triumph, we can tell her what splendid taste she has and she’ll be giddy as a schoolgirl.’
‘Very good, m’lady,’ he said as we rounded a corner into a narrow street. ‘Small Street, m’lady.’
‘Very,’ I said.
‘It’s ahead there on the left,’ said Lady Hardcastle. ‘Green door.’
‘Very good, m’lady,’ said Bert as he inched the car along the narrow street and stopped outside the offices of “Pentelow, Paddock, Playfair & Pugh, Solicitors”.
Bert slipped out to open the door for Lady Hardcastle who stepped onto the pavement without a hint of difficulty.
‘Bridewell Street is just around the corner, Bert,’ she said, adjusting her hat. ‘Drop Armstrong at the police station and wait there; I’ll walk round to you when I’ve finished here.’
‘Very good, m’lady,’ said Bert.
Lady Hardcastle bent down to look into the back of the car and I opened the window. ‘I shouldn’t be too long, pet,’ she said. ‘Tell Inspector Sunderland anything he wants to know and blame me for any gaps in your knowledge.’
‘Right-o, my lady,’ I said.
She turned towards the green door and I saw her stepping inside as Bert drove off.
At police headquarters, I stood at the front desk waiting patiently for the extravagantly-bearded sergeant to notice me. After half a minute I cleared my throat.
The sergeant looked up briefly from his ledger, took in my plain overcoat and hat, and returned at once to his columns of figures. ‘Be with you in a moment, miss,’ he said, distractedly.
I waited another minute, watching the time pass on the large clock on the wall above the sergeant’s head. I cleared my throat again.
The sergeant looked up impatiently. ‘I said I would be with you in a moment, miss.’
‘You did, Sergeant,’ I said, calmly. ‘And several moments have passed. I shan’t take up much of your time; I just wish to see Inspector Sunderland.’
‘Do you, indeed?’ he said. ‘Well I dare say the inspector’s a very busy man. And so am I. Please wait a moment.’ He returned to the ledger once more.
‘The thing is, you see, that I’m really rather busy myself,’ I said, still calmly and politely. ‘I see there’s a bell beside you there. I would wager that all you need do is to ring it and an eager young messenger will appear. You might then instruct him to carry word to Inspector Sunderland that Miss Armstrong wishes to speak to him. It would have taken you less time to do that than it has so far taken you to play this silly game of “I’m More Important Than You”.’
I smiled sweetly.
‘Now listen here, you impertinent–’
There were footsteps on the stairs to my right and two men came into view, chatting amiably. One of them was Inspector Sunderland.
‘Miss Armstrong!’ he said with evident surprise. ‘Fancy seeing you here. I thought you were going to telephone.’
I turned my back on the still-fuming desk sergeant. ‘Good morning, Inspector,’ I said. ‘I believe there might have been some talk of telephones but Lady Hardcastle happened to be in the area so I’ve come to bring our news in person.’
‘There’s news?’ he said raising one eyebrow.
‘Some, sir. And a fair amount of infuriating winking and just-you-wait-and-see-ing.’
He laughed. ‘Come upstairs, I’ll find a room where we can talk privately.’ He turned to the younger man who had accompanied him down the stairs. ‘I’ll leave it in your hands, Portman. And get some uniformed constables to check the sewers. They’re getting in there somehow.’
The young man nodded his assent and marched briskly out of the station.
‘This way, Miss Armstrong,’ said Inspector Sunderland and started walking back up the stairs. He turned back after a few steps. ‘Tea for two, please, Sergeant. Interview Room Three, I think.’
The sergeant mumbled his resentful acknowledgement.
I followed the inspector up the stairs and along a linoleum-floored corridor to a door with a frosted glass window upon which the words “Interview Room 3” were written in black.
‘Come on in,’ said the inspector, opening the door. ‘We’ll not be interrupted in here.’
I followed him into the bare room and we sat at opposite sides of the table.
‘It’s not quite as comfortable as your dining room,’ he said, pulling his notebook from his jacket pocket. ‘But it’s all we have.’
‘It’s fine, Inspector,’ I said with a smile. ‘It’s not the first police interview room I’ve been in.’
‘No, miss, I don’t expect it is. Though I don’t suppose you’ve sat on that side of the table before.’
‘Oh, you’d be surprised, Inspector,’ I said. ‘Not so often in England, but foreign police forces haven’t always been quite as pleased to see us over the years as one might have hoped.’