The Riddle at Gipsy's Mile (An Angela Marchmont Mystery 4) (14 page)

He looked at her and Angela nodded.

‘
But the police don
’
t like that one bit,
’
he went on.
‘
If it ever came out, this place could be closed down for good.
’

‘
The policeman who is investigating this murder is not in
terested in closing the club down,
’
said Angela.
‘
And besides, all we need is a name. Whether or not she was doing anything illegal and whether it was sanctioned by the club is irrelevant.
’

‘
I guess so,
’
said Alvie.
‘
How did she die?
’
he asked suddenly.

‘
S
he was poisoned with arsenic, then after she died someone smashed her face in so it was completely unrecognizable and disposed of her body in a ditch.
’
She said it quite deliberately, hoping to get a reaction.

Alvie bit his lip.

‘
Is there a girl missing fr
om here, Alvie?
’
asked Angela gently.

He looked down at the floor for a moment, as though debating with himself.

‘
Lita,
’
he said finally.
‘
Her name was Lita.
’

Angela was about to inquire further when she became aware of a sudden disturbance taking place across the other side of the room. She turned, and her eyes opened wide as she saw a group of twenty or thirty policemen in uniform pushing their way through th
e
crowd.

‘
Not again,
’
said Alvie in resignation.

One of the policemen blew his whistle as he made his way towards the stage. He motioned and shouted to the band to stop playing. Some of them stopped at once, but others took a little longer to notice. One by
one, they gradually fell silent, except for one poor trombonist who was lost in the music; he carried on playing merrily and bobbing up and down in time until a constable grabbed the instrument and pulled it out of his hand. Alvie
’
s look changed from con
s
ternation to amusement at the sight of his band-mate
’
s astonished expression.

A police sergeant got up onto the stage and bellowed,
‘
Ladies and gentlemen, this club has been found to be in breach of His Majesty
’
s licensing laws and shall close immediately.
Please collect your belongings and leave.
’

There were groans, as well as several shrieks from some of the more excitable members of the audience, but most people rose obediently and made for the door. The exodus was proceeding in an orderly fashion when s
uddenly there was a loud screeching, and a tiny Chinese woman could be seen, struggling in the grip of two policemen. What happened next Angela was never entirely sure, but shortly afterwards there were screams and yells, and a group of people began scuff
l
ing on the floor. This set off something of a panic, and there was a general stampede for the exit. Angela felt herself buffeted from all sides as hundreds of people headed for the door at the same time, but before she could react she was knocked off her
f
eet and almost fell to the floor. Fortunately, Alvie was still with her, and caught her just before she could be trampled in the rush, but there was no time to thank him as he pulled her out of the crowd and up onto the stage. From there she could see Mrs.
Chang being borne away by the police. To Angela
’
s astonishment, she also spotted Freddy, who was in the process of being subdued by two policemen with the aid of a truncheon.

‘
Good God!
’
she exclaimed.
‘
Whatever is going on?
’

She hurried down from the sta
ge, ignoring Alvie
’
s warnings, and ran towards the disturbance.

‘
Freddy!
’
she cried, as she watched him being dragged away in handcuffs.

Freddy had no chance to reply before he was carried off. A policeman barred Angela
’
s way.

‘
You can collect him in the m
orning,
’
he said.
‘
I dare say a night in the cells will do him a power of good.
’

‘
But
—’
began Angela, but it was no good. The policeman shook his head and would not let her pass. Angela looked about her desperately as the sea of people surged towards the d
oor, then hurried back to her table to collect her little bag. It was not there, but fortunately she found it on the floor after a brief hunt.

Another policeman came and chivvied her out of the place, and after a few uncomfortable minutes Angela found hers
elf out in the cold street without her coat and hat. All about her were groups of people equally bereft and complaining loudly. She spotted Alvie standing with one or two of his band-mates, as well as a waiter and one of the hostesses. They were trying to
persuade a policeman to let them back in to collect their things.

‘
No,
’
said the policeman firmly.
‘
Nobody is to come back in. I
’
ve had my orders. You can come back tomorrow and fetch them. Now, get along with you.
’

Alvie turned away in disgust and walked
off. Angela stopped him as he passed her.

‘
I haven
’
t thanked you for saving me from being trampled to death,
’
she said.

He smiled.

‘
No problem,
’
he said.
‘
I guess William wouldn
’
t have been too happy to find himself without a job.
’

‘
Shall
you
be without on
e now?
’

‘
Naw,
’
he drawled.
‘
Mrs. Chang will be out by tomorrow, and we
’
ll open up again in a few days, busier than ever. It
’
s happened before, and it
’
ll happen again.
’

‘
Rather an erratic way to earn a living, don
’
t you think?
’

He shrugged.

‘
It
’
s a good pla
ce to work,
’
he said.
‘
They play fair
—
and pay fair.
’

‘
Alvie, when can I talk to you again about Lita?
’

He looked at her seriously, stroking his chin in thought.

‘
Listen,
’
he said finally.
‘
I don
’
t know much about her myself, but she was friendly with a cou
ple of the girls here. I
’
ll see if I can get one of them to talk to you.
’

‘
I
’
d be awfully grateful,
’
said Angela. The night air was chill and she wrapped her arms about herself.
‘
And now, I really ought to get home. I
’
m cold, and I
’
ve had rather more excit
ement this evening than I was expecting.
’

Alvie laughed and helped her to find a taxi, which took some time given the number of people milling about in the street. They shook hands as she got in, and he promised to let her know as soon as possible when the
y could talk again. The taxi-driver looked surprised when Angela told him to take her to Mount Street, and she supposed she was looking rather disreputable, being without a coat or hat and having been handed into the taxi by a black man some years younger
than herself. Her appearance was of little concern to her, however, since she was more worried about Freddy. Why had he been arrested?

The next morning she rose and breakfasted early. To her great disgust she felt a cold coming on, no doubt caused by her a
dventure of the night before. Her maid, Marthe, wanted her to remain at home and rest, but she refused with decision and called for William, who presented himself promptly.

‘
We must go to Bow Street magistrates
’
court this morning,
’
she said as he stood before her. William raised his eyebrows inquiringly and she went on,
‘
I have to go and
—
er
—
spring
Mr. Pilkington-Soames.
’

William
’
s eyebrows rose further.

‘
Sounds like it was an interesting night, ma
’
am,
’
he said.
‘
What happened?
’

‘
I
’
m
not entirely sure,
’
said Mrs. Marchmont.
‘
It started with a police raid and ended with a stampede and in my losing my coat.
’

‘
Did you talk to Alvie?
’
he asked eagerly.
‘
Did he tell you anything about the girl?
’

‘
I spoke to him, but not for long, as the po
lice rather interrupted things,
’
replied Angela.
‘
However, he knew her, and may be able to persuade one of the other girls to speak to me.
’

‘
Let
’
s hope so,
’
said William, and they went out.

Bow Street magistrates
’
court was filled with a raggle-taggle asso
rtment of people who were waiting about for the various cases to be called. The crowd included several reporters, who were presumably waiting to see Mrs. Chang. Angela went in and sat through several cases of petty theft, public drunkenness and loitering
w
ith intent. It was all rather dull.

Finally, Freddy was brought in, as well as, to her astonishment, Gertie and her friend Walter. They were a sorry sight. Freddy had a black eye, while Walter had a swollen lip. Gertie
’
s make-up was smeared and she was car
rying a crushed peacock feather, but she looked defiant. Angela caught Freddy
’
s eye and waved. He raised a hand limply in reply, looking thoroughly fed up.

‘
Who are these people?
’
said the magistrate, eyeing them with disfavour. His clerk passed him the ne
xt case sheet and he applied his spectacles to his eyes.
‘
Frederick Herbert Pilkington-Soames, Walter Peregrine Anstruther, and
—
what
’
s this? Gertie McAloon? Is that your full name, young lady?
’

‘
No,
’
said Gertie shortly.

‘
Then what
is
your full name?
’

Gert
ie glared at him for a second.

‘
Lady Gertrude Jacqueline Lucrè
ce Myrtle Sandford-Romilly-McAloon,
’
she said all in a rush.

Several reporters sat up with interest, and Freddy looked at her in surprise.

‘
Good heavens,
’
he said,
‘
that
’
s rather a mouthful.
’

‘
I
’
ll say,
’
she said out of the corner of her mouth.

‘
Quiet!
’
said the magistrate, although he looked taken aback.
‘
Did you get that down?
’
he said to the clerk.

‘
I think so,
’
said the clerk.

‘
What are the charges against these
—
er
—
young people?
’
said the mag
istrate.

‘
Drunk and disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer, m
’
lud,
’
said the clerk.

The defendants looked sulky.

‘
And how do you plead?
’
said the magistrate.

‘
Not guilty,
’
said Freddy.

‘
Not guilty,
’
said Gertie.

‘
N-not guilty,
’
said Walter.

The
magistrate sighed in exasperation.

‘
Could somebody please tell me what happened?
’
he said.

A sergeant of police stepped up to the stand. He appeared to have a sore ear, for he kept on touching it and wincing. He took out a notebook and read:

‘
On the evening of Tuesday the 20th of September, we were carrying out our duties as members of His Majesty
’
s Constabulary, to wit
—’

‘
Yes, yes,
’
said the magistrate impatiently.
‘
I know what they are. Just tell me what happened.
’