Bloodhounds

He put his hand over the mouthpiece. 'You didn't hear any of this, Julie.' In a moment, the manager was back in contact. Diamond now put on a caring expression, listened and then said, 'Well, this does sound like a try-on. Most of her current balance, you say?… It looks as if we may be onto something rather unpleasant. You won't mind me asking. Have there been any other four-figure debits on the account recently?… Indeed!.. But by the lady herself at your branch? One can't argue with that. Between you and me, I wish I lived in such style. This does look like a one-off. Look, I'd better get back to this chappie right away. Rest assured that we'll stop it at this end and get a proper investigation under way directly. Doubtless you'll be hearing from Head Office shortly… Not at all. It's our job to keep a lookout. Thanks.' He put down the phone and told Julie, 'She's been drawing a thousand a week in cash for at least a year. What are the odds on blackmail?'

Julie's thinking hadn't got past the thousand a week. 'That's a stack of money to get through.'

'Every week. You couldn't do it.'

'Couldn't I?' she said. 'Give me the chance.'

'Let's keep our minds on the job, shall we?'

She smiled. 'What next, then? Back to Miss Chilmark?'

'Not tonight. I want to interview Shirley-Ann Miller.'

She didn't often query a decision, but this one seemed hard to justify. 'Do we need to bother? I mean, if Miss Chilmark was being blackmailed…'

'We don't know if she was.'

'You brought it up, Mr. Diamond,' she reminded him. 'It may not be true, but it's worth putting to her, surely?'

'This morning you were prodding me into visiting all the suspects.'

'Yes, but nothing was happening then. Now we're inundated. You must have heard about this new riddle sent to the press this afternoon.'

'I was informed by the Assistant Chief Constable,' he said with an air of martyrdom. 'When did you hear about this?'

'Only a short while ago. It's all over the front page of the Chronicle. The desk sergeant had a copy.'

'Into print already? And what do you make of it?' he asked.

Julie shook her head. 'Sounds very like the other riddles to me, except that they were about the Penny Black. Could be some publicity seeker, I suppose. I mean, I thought we'd agreed that Sid wrote the others. We have the writing on the paper bag as evidence. True, it was just a list of rhyming words and not lines of verse, but I thought that was pretty conclusive.'

'So did I until an hour ago,' said Diamond. 'All we've got is conflicting evidence, Julie. An impossible murder in a locked room, a dead man who continues to taunt us with riddles and a woman who lives in a basement and gets through a grand a week. You were right about the other suspects. We want the whole picture. Get your coat.'

They'd done enough walking for one day, Diamond decided; this time, they inched toward Russell Street in the evening line of traffic. He used the time constructively, justifying the decision to visit Shirley-Ann Miller. At this stage of the investigation she was the least likely suspect, he cheerfully conceded, but she was potentially the most valuable witness. As a newcomer to the Bloodhounds, she must have observed each of the members acutely, getting those first impressions, alert to the dynamics of the group, the antagonisms and suspicions, linkups and alliances that undoubtedly existed. In the two meetings she had attended, she may well have seen the crucial events that led to the murder. By all accounts she was not reticent. Her recollections ought to be worth having.

It was after five when they rang the bell at the Russell Street flat. An appetizing smell wafted from the interior the moment Shirley-Ann Miller opened the door. Her PVC apron was quite a knockout, the lifesize image of a torso and thighs clad in a black basque and suspenders and worn in the appropriate position. Unfortunately Shirley-Ann's large round spectacles and pale features under the helmet of dark hair didn't square too well with the rest of the effect.

'Obviously not a convenient time to call,' Diamond mentioned apologetically after introducing himself and Julie.

'Oh my God!' Shirley-Ann looked down at the apron and tried to cover it with her hands. 'I forgot I had this on. What on earth must you be thinking? It isn't mine, actually.' She reached for the bow at the back, tugged off the apron, and bundled it onto a chair before escorting her guests to the back of the house.

'I meant your cooking,' Diamond explained. 'Don't let it burn.'

'It's all right. It's only a beef casserole I took from the freezer. I can give it as long as I like.' She showed them into an open-plan area where the aroma was well-nigh irresistible. This was a once-gracious, high-ceilinged Georgian reception room now ruined by a divider, a central shelf unit that failed to mask a kitchen sink, refrigerator, and dishwasher. On the near side of the unit was a carpeted living area with armchairs, television, and low tables cluttered with newspapers, books, junk mail, and crockery.

'Do sit down. Just park everything on the floor. You'll have to take me as you find me. With both of us working, Bert and me, it's difficult to keep up with the housework.'

'Bert being…'

'My partner. That's the whole point, really, that we're partners. When two of you share a place, it's two homes squeezed into one. Neither of you wants to throw anything away in case the relationship comes to an end, so you end up with two of everything. It's only been six months. Tea?'

Julie had tuned in to the quick tempo of Shirley-Ann's speech, and she spoke for them both. 'Please.'

The rate of words actually increased, at no cost to the beautiful articulation. 'Bert does his best to keep the place in order. He's much more orderly than I am, but he isn't here as much, so my untidy habits win the day. You don't need to tell me what this is about,' she said, crossing to the kitchen area to fill the kettle. 'I expected you before this. Well, I've talked to one of your sergeants already, and he told me to expect another interview. Not that I can help very much. I don't believe I spoke a single word to the poor man who was killed, and that's pretty unusual for me.'

'You joined this group, the Bloodhounds, quite recently.'

'I've only been twice. Quite an experience, both times. Had no idea what I was letting myself in for.'

'What prompted you to go along?'

'Force of circumstance, really. Bert is out most evenings at the Sports and Leisure Center, where he works. That's when it's used most, so he has to be there. It's all very well having a gorgeous hunk for a lover, but you pay a price. I do a lot of reading in the evenings, only there are limits. When I heard about the Bloodhounds, it sounded right up my street.'

'How did you hear?'

'From one of those little booklets listing what's on in Bath. Bert brought one home from the Center, knowing how I wallow in detective stories and thrillers. He's never moved on from James Bond, which he knows like some people know their Bible, I may say. They're not for women, those books. Bert doesn't like anything else, so our conversations about reading are rather limited. Anyway, I went along to the meeting, and they were glad I joined, I think. They could do with some new members. I was told quite a number have left since it was set up. You have to be a real enthusiast.' She picked some mugs off the floor and took them to the kitchen sink to wash.

'Did you know any of the others before you joined?' Diamond asked. He had found a rocking chair and cleared it of golfing magazines. Julie, too, had made herself a space and was seated in a deep armchair.

'No. They were all new faces to me. But they went out of their way to be friendly. Some of them did, anyway. Jessica- that's Jessica Shaw, who owns that art gallery in Northumberland Place-took me for a drink at the end of the first meeting, and I also had an invitation to the preview at her gallery this week. Then Polly Wycherley-she's the chair, and one of the founder-members-invited me for a coffee at Le Parisien a day or two later. I've had coffee twice with Polly. I think she takes her duties seriously.'

'What do you mean?'

'The second time was the morning after poor Sid Towers was killed. Polly came up to me when I was at work. I was only handing out leaflets about the bus tour, so it was easy to take a few minutes off. It was the first I'd heard about what happened. Polly had been interviewed by some of your people that very morning, and she was worried because she'd made some ghastly, insensitive remark about Sid before they told her the bad news.'

'What remark was that?'

'I don't remember. No, wait, I do. She told them he was dead wood, meaning he didn't contribute very much