staff if they undertook their own enquiry.”
“By whom? Were any of them free of suspicion?”
“That, of course, is the difficulty. They weren’t then and they aren’t now. I imagine that Etienne adopted the Head Beak’s strategy. You know, ‘If the boy who’s responsible will come to my study after prep in confidence and return the documents no more will be heard of the matter.’ It never worked at school. I don’t suppose it was more successful at Peverells. It was obviously an inside job, and it isn’t as if they employ a large staff, only about twenty-five people in addition to the five partners. Most of them are old faithfuls of course, and the story is that the few who aren’t have alibis.”
“So it’s still a mystery.”
“And so is the second incident. The second serious incident—there have probably been minor mischiefs which they’ve managed to keep quiet about. This one concerns Stilgoe so it’s just as well that so far they’ve managed to keep it from him and it hasn’t become public property. The old boy really would have something to feed his paranoia. Apparently when the page proofs had been read and a number of alterations agreed with Stilgoe they were packaged and left overnight under the counter in the reception office where they were due to be collected next morning. Someone opened the package and tampered with them, changed a number of the names, alteredpunctuation, deleted a couple of sentences. Fortunately the printer who received them was intelligent and thought some of the changes odd, so he telephoned to check. The partners have managed, God knows how, to keep this contretemps secret from most of the staff at Innocent House and, of course, from Stilgoe. It would have been extremely damaging to the firm if it had got out. I understand all parcels and papers are locked up overnight now and no doubt they’ve tightened security in other ways.”
Dalgliesh wondered whether the perpetrator had from the first intended the alterations to be discovered. They seemed to have been made with very little attempt to deceive. It surely wouldn’t have been difficult to alter the page proofs in a way which would seriously damage the book without arousing the suspicions of the printer. It was odd, too, that the poison pen hadn’t mentioned the alterations to Stilgoe’s proofs. Either he or she hadn’t known, which would absolve the five partners, or the poison pen had wanted to frighten Stilgoe but not to provide evidence which would justify him in withdrawing the book. It was an interesting little mystery but not one on which he proposed to waste the time of a senior police officer.
Nothing more was said about the Peverell Press until they were taking their coffee in the library. Ackroyd leaned forward and asked a little anxiously, “Can I tell Lord Stilgoe that you’ll try to reassure his wife?”
“I’m sorry, Conrad, but no. I’ll get him a note to say that the police have no cause to suspect foul play in any of the cases which concern him. I doubt whether it will do much good if his wife is superstitious, but that is her misfortune and his problem.”
“And the other trouble at Innocent House?”
“If Gerard Etienne believes that the law is being brokenand wants the police to investigate he must get in touch with his local station.”
“Just like anybody else?”
“Precisely.”
“You wouldn’t be prepared to go to Innocent House and have an informal word with him?”
“No, Conrad. Not even for a sight of the Wyatt ceiling.”
5
On the afternoon of Sonia Clements’ cremation Gabriel Dauntsey and Frances Peverell shared a taxi from the crematorium back to number 12 Innocent Walk. Frances was very silent on the journey, sitting a little apart from Dauntsey, gazing out of the window. She was hatless, the light brown hair a shining helmet which curved to touch the collar of her grey coat. Her shoes, tights and handbag were black, and there was a black chiffon scarf
“By whom? Were any of them free of suspicion?”
“That, of course, is the difficulty. They weren’t then and they aren’t now. I imagine that Etienne adopted the Head Beak’s strategy. You know, ‘If the boy who’s responsible will come to my study after prep in confidence and return the documents no more will be heard of the matter.’ It never worked at school. I don’t suppose it was more successful at Peverells. It was obviously an inside job, and it isn’t as if they employ a large staff, only about twenty-five people in addition to the five partners. Most of them are old faithfuls of course, and the story is that the few who aren’t have alibis.”
“So it’s still a mystery.”
“And so is the second incident. The second serious incident—there have probably been minor mischiefs which they’ve managed to keep quiet about. This one concerns Stilgoe so it’s just as well that so far they’ve managed to keep it from him and it hasn’t become public property. The old boy really would have something to feed his paranoia. Apparently when the page proofs had been read and a number of alterations agreed with Stilgoe they were packaged and left overnight under the counter in the reception office where they were due to be collected next morning. Someone opened the package and tampered with them, changed a number of the names, alteredpunctuation, deleted a couple of sentences. Fortunately the printer who received them was intelligent and thought some of the changes odd, so he telephoned to check. The partners have managed, God knows how, to keep this contretemps secret from most of the staff at Innocent House and, of course, from Stilgoe. It would have been extremely damaging to the firm if it had got out. I understand all parcels and papers are locked up overnight now and no doubt they’ve tightened security in other ways.”
Dalgliesh wondered whether the perpetrator had from the first intended the alterations to be discovered. They seemed to have been made with very little attempt to deceive. It surely wouldn’t have been difficult to alter the page proofs in a way which would seriously damage the book without arousing the suspicions of the printer. It was odd, too, that the poison pen hadn’t mentioned the alterations to Stilgoe’s proofs. Either he or she hadn’t known, which would absolve the five partners, or the poison pen had wanted to frighten Stilgoe but not to provide evidence which would justify him in withdrawing the book. It was an interesting little mystery but not one on which he proposed to waste the time of a senior police officer.
Nothing more was said about the Peverell Press until they were taking their coffee in the library. Ackroyd leaned forward and asked a little anxiously, “Can I tell Lord Stilgoe that you’ll try to reassure his wife?”
“I’m sorry, Conrad, but no. I’ll get him a note to say that the police have no cause to suspect foul play in any of the cases which concern him. I doubt whether it will do much good if his wife is superstitious, but that is her misfortune and his problem.”
“And the other trouble at Innocent House?”
“If Gerard Etienne believes that the law is being brokenand wants the police to investigate he must get in touch with his local station.”
“Just like anybody else?”
“Precisely.”
“You wouldn’t be prepared to go to Innocent House and have an informal word with him?”
“No, Conrad. Not even for a sight of the Wyatt ceiling.”
5
On the afternoon of Sonia Clements’ cremation Gabriel Dauntsey and Frances Peverell shared a taxi from the crematorium back to number 12 Innocent Walk. Frances was very silent on the journey, sitting a little apart from Dauntsey, gazing out of the window. She was hatless, the light brown hair a shining helmet which curved to touch the collar of her grey coat. Her shoes, tights and handbag were black, and there was a black chiffon scarf
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