Hardcastle's Frustration (23 page)

‘Oh, I see.' Webb appeared relieved. ‘How can I help you, then?'

‘Is there a member of your staff, a floor waiter perhaps, who provided room service for Mr Powers?'

‘I'll find out.' Once again, Webb turned to his telephone and conducted a brief conversation. A few minutes later, a waiter appeared in the office.

‘You wanted me, sir?'

‘Yes, Hubbard, perhaps you can assist this police officer. He's making enquiries about a Mr Vincent Powers who was a guest here on the night of the eighth of February.'

‘Oh, I do remember that gentleman, sir,' said the waiter warmly.

‘Why particularly do you remember him, Mr Hubbard?' asked Hardcastle.

‘He was a very generous gentleman, sir,' said Hubbard, glancing nervously at the manager. ‘I took him a bottle of champagne, the Pol Roger 1906 – that costs seventeen shillings and sixpence a bottle here in the hotel – and caviar, sir. He tipped me a five-pound note and asked me to ensure that he wasn't disturbed, sir.'

‘What time was this?'

‘About ten o'clock, sir. In the evening, of course.'

‘Was there a young lady in the apartment, Mr Hubbard?' asked Marriott.

‘I didn't see one, sir, but Mr Powers did ask for two glasses when he ordered the champagne.'

‘Thank you, Mr Hubbard,' said Hardcastle. ‘You've been most helpful.' He turned to the manager after Hubbard had been dismissed, and added, ‘I'll not trouble you further, Mr Webb.'

‘I hope you don't think that this hotel makes a habit of allowing loose women on its premises, Inspector.' By the tenor of his response, Webb was very concerned about his licence and the reputation of his establishment.

‘Your secret's safe with me, Mr Webb,' said Hardcastle.

But he could only guess at how uncomfortable for the unfortunate Hubbard would be his interview with Webb, for failing to report that two glasses had been ordered with champagne destined for a room occupied by one man.

‘Did we really learn anything from yesterday's talk with Daisy Benson, sir?' The following morning, Marriott was discussing the case with Hardcastle in the latter's office at Cannon Row police station. ‘Or from what Hubbard, the floor waiter at the hotel, told us?'

‘I think we did, Marriott,' said Hardcastle thoughtfully. He sat back in his chair, puffing contentedly at his pipe. ‘There are two things that interest me. Firstly, Powers has a lot of money and I don't think that this story about diamond mines in South Africa holds much water. It's all flimflam in my opinion and I think that Powers is a villain, a confidence trickster most likely. Secondly, Daisy Benson said that she'd mentioned Ronald Parker to Powers, but I think she told him an awful lot about Parker. God knows why, though. So, I ask myself, is there a connection between Powers and Parker?'

‘What sort of connection were you thinking about, sir?' By now, Marriott was completely mystified by the DDI's line of reasoning, the more so as he kept harping on the fact that Daisy Benson knew both men: Powers and the victim.

‘I don't know, Marriott, and it's probably nothing. After all, I can't see an unfit, mild-mannered gas company clerk getting mixed up with Powers except through Daisy Benson, and she's the only link. And as she seems to have a lot of so-called lodgers, I don't think there's much to be gained from pursuing it. It's a coincidence.'

But Hardcastle's contradictory arguments with himself were interrupted by the arrival of Aubrey Drew.

‘Sorry to intrude, sir.'

‘What is it, Mr Drew?'

‘Superintendent Quinn would like a few words at your convenience, sir.'

‘Any idea what it's about, Mr Drew?'

‘I'm afraid not, sir. Mr Quinn doesn't generally confide in the messenger,' said Drew, risking a grin.

‘I suppose I'd better see him now, then. In the meantime, Mr Drew, there is something that you might be able to do for me.'

‘What's that, sir?'

‘This man Powers . . .' Hardcastle went on to explain what he and Marriott had learned from their interviews with Daisy Benson and the staff of the Kingston Hotel. ‘Seeing as how you're an accomplished Special Branch inspector with fingers in all sorts of pies, so to speak, do you know any South African diplomats? I suppose they must have some sort of office here. But it would have to be someone who might be able to shed some light on whether there's any truth in this diamond story that Powers is putting about, or whether he was known there as an actor.'

‘I do have one or two contacts at the legation who might be able to help, sir.' Drew glanced at his watch. ‘I'll get up to Morley's Hotel right now. It's only a short walk.'

‘What's Morley's Hotel got to do with it?' Hardcastle wondered if this was yet another Special Branch smokescreen designed to cover the truth.

‘It's where the South African legation people have taken rooms, sir, pending the acquisition of proper accommodation for their high commission.'

‘Is that so? Well, I can't be expected to know what happens on Bow Street's ground,' grumbled Hardcastle, mildly irritated by what Drew had just told him. Although it was true that Morley's Hotel was on E Division, it was immediately adjacent to Trafalgar Square and, therefore, only a matter of a couple of yards outside Hardcastle's area of responsibility. He was, nevertheless, annoyed at being unaware that South African diplomats had offices there.

‘Any idea why your guv'nor is so interested in Vincent Powers, Charlie?' asked Drew, once Hardcastle had left for his interview with the head of Special Branch. ‘As far as I can make out, the man's only a jobbing actor with a good conceit of himself.'

‘Not really, Aubrey,' said Marriott. ‘From what he was saying just now, I thought he'd given up on Powers, but he does sometimes come up with an idea that solves a murder for him. In fact, it's more often than just sometimes.'

‘I've asked to see you, Mr Hardcastle, because I think it is necessary to tell you that yesterday evening my officers arrested Lawrence Mortimer for spying. It has been established that his real name is Gerhard von Kleiber and he holds the rank of
Hauptmann
in the German Army.'

‘That must be a very rewarding result, sir.'

‘Yes, it is. Mrs Parker informed us that she was meeting von Kleiber at the roller skating rink in order to hand him some of the falsified documents prepared by MI5. It was most fortunate that when he was detained by my officers he also had photographs of the naval installations at Portsmouth Harbour in his possession.' In a rare display of humour, Quinn chuckled and then added, ‘And one of the photographs he took at Portsmouth was of Nelson's flagship HMS
Victory
. I just hope that he thought it was one of our latest dreadnoughts. However,' he continued, becoming serious once more, ‘I've not brought you here to tell you that. It means that you're now free to interview Mrs Parker at any time you wish.'

‘Thank you, sir, that'll be a great help.' Hardcastle paused at the door. ‘What will happen to Mortimer, sir?'

‘He'll be shot early one morning at the Tower of London, Mr Hardcastle,' said Quinn, as though a trial was a mere formality.

‘Shot, sir? Not hanged? I thought spies were hanged.'

‘No, von Kleiber will be shot. It's one of the privileges of being an army officer. By the way,' continued Quinn, dismissing Kleiber's fate as a mere bagatelle, ‘you can send Mr Drew back immediately.'

‘Very good, sir.' Hardcastle thought it unwise to explain that he had just sent Drew on an errand unconnected to his proper duties. But he was saved from doing so by Quinn's next remark.

‘On second thoughts, tomorrow morning will do.'

D
etective Inspector Charles Stockley Collins, the fingerprint expert, was waiting for Hardcastle when he returned from his interview with Quinn.

‘I've got the results of my examination of the letter about Parker's exemption that you found in his piano, Ernie, such as they are.'

‘Anything that's likely to help me, Charlie?'

‘I took dabs from Parker's body when he was taken into the mortuary and I can tell you that they're definitely not on the letter.'

‘So he hadn't seen it,' reflected Hardcastle. ‘That would explain why he told his wife that was he trying to get to Holland.'

‘But there are four other sets on the letter, as yet unidentified.'

Hardcastle thought about that for a moment. ‘Well,' he said, ‘the most likely other people who could have handled it are Mrs Parker, Makepeace at the Ministry of National Service and maybe his clerk or whoever put it in the envelope. But the fourth set . . .?' He sighed at the endless options. ‘Possibly they belong to the murderer, but I doubt that I'd be that lucky.'

‘What would you like me to do, then, Ernie?'

‘Could you get one of your assistants to take the prints of Makepeace and his clerk? The Ministry of National Service's offices are in St James's Square. And then there's Mrs Parker at Kingston, but they might be on record.'

‘Not in my collection they're not, Ernie,' said Collins adamantly, as though Hardcastle had accused him of an oversight.

‘No, I didn't suppose they would be, but I think I might know where they are,' said Hardcastle mysteriously. ‘But I'm not allowed to tell you, Charlie,' he added, with a laugh.

Collins laughed too, but saw through Hardcastle's secrecy immediately. ‘Have you been mixing with Special Branch again, Ernie?'

‘Something like that,' said Hardcastle.

‘All right, Ernie, leave it with me.'

It was late afternoon when Drew returned.

‘I got an answer of sorts about Powers, sir.'

‘Sit down, Mr Drew.' Hardcastle closed the docket he was reading and pushed it aside.

‘I don't know whether this will be of any assistance, sir, but my contact at the South African legation was very interested in Vincent Powers. Although the name of Powers was not familiar to him, he drew my attention to a man called Jan de Ritzen who is wanted by the South African Police for the murder of a British officer in Kimberley. And a warrant for his arrest has been issued in Bloemfontein.'

‘What does any of this have to do with Powers, Mr Drew?' asked Hardcastle. ‘although Daisy Benson said that Powers had mentioned something about mining diamonds in Kimberley.'

‘That more or less confirms what I was told, sir,' said Drew. ‘From the description of Powers and his way of life that I was able to give my contact, he seemed to think that de Ritzen and Powers might be one and the same. When diamonds were first discovered in Kimberley there was a rush and all manner of people turned up hoping to make their fortune. It seemed that de Ritzen was one of the men who made a great deal of money. But “The Rush”, as it was called, also attracted a large number of undesirables, including a small army of prostitutes.'

‘Can we get to the point, Mr Drew,' said Hardcastle impatiently.

‘Apparently there was some dispute between de Ritzen and the British officer, a Captain Angus Sinclair of the Black Watch, over a quantity of diamonds that Sinclair maintained were his. Apparently, British officers were allowed to stake a claim after the war was over, and Captain Sinclair made such a claim. But there was a heated argument over whether de Ritzen's diamonds were his own or Sinclair's. Apparently their claims bordered each other. However, that proved to be of little consequence compared with a later argument that arose between the two over a prostitute named Dolores de Wet, a white Afrikaans woman. Both men were having intimate relations with the woman, and to cut a long story short de Ritzen is alleged to have murdered Sinclair in a drunken rage of jealousy before fleeing South Africa with a quantity of diamonds. He has not been seen since.'

‘There's not much evidence there to prove that Powers and de Ritzen are the same man, though, is there?'

‘The only other connection, sir, is that de Ritzen was very keen on amateur dramatics and often talked of one day becoming a professional actor, going to Cape Town and opening a theatre. However, the police in Cape Town made enquiries, but could find no trace of him.'

Hardcastle leaned back in his chair, placed his hands behind his head and contemplated his nicotine-stained ceiling for some time. Then he shot forward. ‘If Powers
is
de Ritzen,' he said, ‘it's also possible that he murdered Ronald Parker, although I can't see what reason he could have had for killing him except jealousy. And if he's murdered once over a woman, he might've done it again. In my book, Mr Drew,' he said, ‘once a murderer always a murderer. A leopard don't change his spots, so to speak.'

‘I suppose that's a possibility, sir.' Although Drew was a very good Special Branch officer, he would have been the first to admit that he did not know a great deal about the finer points of murder investigation.

‘By the way, Mr Drew, Superintendent Quinn wants you back again tomorrow morning. I suppose you've heard that Lawrence Mortimer was arrested for spying yesterday.'

‘Yes, I did know that, sir.'

‘Thought you might,' murmured Hardcastle. ‘But there is something you can do for me. I've no doubt that Mortimer's fingerprints were taken when he was arrested, but is it likely that Mrs Parker's fingerprints were also taken when she was set up to trap Mortimer? I imagine it would've been done for the purposes of elimination when the documents Mrs Parker handed to Mortimer were examined.'

‘I'd say it was highly likely, sir. I'll find out for you. I imagine that you'd like to know as soon as possible.'

‘Yes, I would. Perhaps if there is such a set, you could hand them to Detective Inspector Collins of the Fingerprint Bureau, together with Mortimer's.'

‘I'll get on to it straightaway, sir,' said Drew. ‘I presume it's something to do with the letter you found in Ronald Parker's piano.'