having the occasional drink in the hotel bar on his evening off,
and he’s managed to pick up a few snippets of information. He’s convinced that
Rosemary uses the time when she’s in the hotel to make a long-distance phone
call.
She often drops
in at the bank before going on to the Majestic, and comes out carrying a small
packet of coins. The harman has told Williams that she always uses one of the
two phone boxes in the corridor opposite the reception desk. She never allows
the call to be put through the hotel switchboard, always dials direct.’
“So how do we
discover who she’s calling?” I asked.
“We wait for
Williams to find an opportunity to use some of those skills he didn’t learn at
butlers’ school.”
“But how long
might that take?”
“No way of
knowing, but Williams is due for a spot of leave in a couple of weeks, so he’ll
be able to bring us up to date.” When Williams arrived back in Bradford at the
end of the month I began asking him questions even before he had time to put
his suitcase down.
He was full of
interesting information about Rosemary, and even the smallest detail fascinated
me.
She had put on
weight. I was pleased. She seemed lonely and depressed. I was delighted. She
was spending my money fast. I wasn’t exactly ecstatic. But, more to the point,
Williams was convinced that if Rosemary had any contact with Jeremy Alexander,
it had to be when she visited the hotel every Friday and placed that
direct-dial call.
But he still
hadn’t worked out how to discover who, or where, she was phoning.
By the time
Williams returned to the south of France a fortnight later I knew more about my
ex-wife than I had ever done when we were married.
As happens so
often in the real world, the next move came when I least expected it. It must
have been about 2.30 on a Monday afternoon when the phone rang.
Donald picked up
the receiver, and was surprised to hear Williams’s voice on the other end of
the line. He switched him on to the squawk box and said, “All three of us are
listening, so you’d better begin by telling us why you’re ringing when it’s not
your day off.”
“I’ve been
sacked,” were Williams’s opening words.
“Playing around
with the maid, were you?” was Donald’s first reaction.
“I only wish,
chief, but I’m afraid it’s far more stupid than that. I was driving Ms Kershaw
into town this morning, when I had to stop at a red light. While I was waiting
for the lights to change, a man crossed the road in front of the car. He
stopped and stared at me.
I recognised him
immediately, and prayed the lights would turn to green before he could place
me. But he walked back, looked at me again, and smiled. I shook my head at him,
but he came over to the driver’s side, tapped on the window, and said, “How are
you, Inspector Williams?”‘ “Who was it?” demanded Donald.
“Neil Case.
Remember him, chief ?”
“Could I ever
forget him?
“Never-on-the-Case
Neil”,” said Donald. “I might have guessed.”
“I didn’t
acknowledge him, of course, and as Ms Kershaw said nothing, I thought I might
have got away with it. But as soon as we arrived back at the house she told me
to come and see her in the study, and without even asking for an explanation
she dismissed me. She ordered me to be packed and off the premises within the
hour, or she’d call the local police.”
“Damn. Back to
square one,” said Donald.
“Not quite,”
said Williams.
“What do you
mean? If you’re no longer in the house, we no longer have a point of contact.
Worse, we can’t play the butler card again, because she’s bound to be on her
guard from now on.”
“I know all that, chief,” said Williams, ‘but suspecting that I was
a policeman caused her to panic, and she went straight to her bedroom and made
a phone call. As I wasn’t afraid of being found out any longer, I picked up the
extension in the corridor and listened in. All I heard was a woman’s voice
and he’s managed to pick up a few snippets of information. He’s convinced that
Rosemary uses the time when she’s in the hotel to make a long-distance phone
call.
She often drops
in at the bank before going on to the Majestic, and comes out carrying a small
packet of coins. The harman has told Williams that she always uses one of the
two phone boxes in the corridor opposite the reception desk. She never allows
the call to be put through the hotel switchboard, always dials direct.’
“So how do we
discover who she’s calling?” I asked.
“We wait for
Williams to find an opportunity to use some of those skills he didn’t learn at
butlers’ school.”
“But how long
might that take?”
“No way of
knowing, but Williams is due for a spot of leave in a couple of weeks, so he’ll
be able to bring us up to date.” When Williams arrived back in Bradford at the
end of the month I began asking him questions even before he had time to put
his suitcase down.
He was full of
interesting information about Rosemary, and even the smallest detail fascinated
me.
She had put on
weight. I was pleased. She seemed lonely and depressed. I was delighted. She
was spending my money fast. I wasn’t exactly ecstatic. But, more to the point,
Williams was convinced that if Rosemary had any contact with Jeremy Alexander,
it had to be when she visited the hotel every Friday and placed that
direct-dial call.
But he still
hadn’t worked out how to discover who, or where, she was phoning.
By the time
Williams returned to the south of France a fortnight later I knew more about my
ex-wife than I had ever done when we were married.
As happens so
often in the real world, the next move came when I least expected it. It must
have been about 2.30 on a Monday afternoon when the phone rang.
Donald picked up
the receiver, and was surprised to hear Williams’s voice on the other end of
the line. He switched him on to the squawk box and said, “All three of us are
listening, so you’d better begin by telling us why you’re ringing when it’s not
your day off.”
“I’ve been
sacked,” were Williams’s opening words.
“Playing around
with the maid, were you?” was Donald’s first reaction.
“I only wish,
chief, but I’m afraid it’s far more stupid than that. I was driving Ms Kershaw
into town this morning, when I had to stop at a red light. While I was waiting
for the lights to change, a man crossed the road in front of the car. He
stopped and stared at me.
I recognised him
immediately, and prayed the lights would turn to green before he could place
me. But he walked back, looked at me again, and smiled. I shook my head at him,
but he came over to the driver’s side, tapped on the window, and said, “How are
you, Inspector Williams?”‘ “Who was it?” demanded Donald.
“Neil Case.
Remember him, chief ?”
“Could I ever
forget him?
“Never-on-the-Case
Neil”,” said Donald. “I might have guessed.”
“I didn’t
acknowledge him, of course, and as Ms Kershaw said nothing, I thought I might
have got away with it. But as soon as we arrived back at the house she told me
to come and see her in the study, and without even asking for an explanation
she dismissed me. She ordered me to be packed and off the premises within the
hour, or she’d call the local police.”
“Damn. Back to
square one,” said Donald.
“Not quite,”
said Williams.
“What do you
mean? If you’re no longer in the house, we no longer have a point of contact.
Worse, we can’t play the butler card again, because she’s bound to be on her
guard from now on.”
“I know all that, chief,” said Williams, ‘but suspecting that I was
a policeman caused her to panic, and she went straight to her bedroom and made
a phone call. As I wasn’t afraid of being found out any longer, I picked up the
extension in the corridor and listened in. All I heard was a woman’s voice
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