‘How much time do you spend in London?’
‘None at all, really,’ replied Fine. ‘The last occasion was when I came to see you at Scotland Yard. I must say,’ he added, ‘that it was more comfortable being questioned there than in surroundings like these. You didn’t make me feel under suspicion last time.’
‘Is that what I’m doing now, sir?’
‘I don’t think you came to Brighton just to see the pier.’
A new side to Howard Fine was emerging. He was petulant and waspish. His hatred of Herbert Stone was no longer concealed. Keedy was mildly unsettled by him. Since he had such a natural passion for the opposite sex, he could not understand a man who spurned it in favour of his own. Fine was calm, watchful and secretive. As he looked into the tailor’s inscrutable face, Keedy had no idea what he was thinking. He fell back on a direct question.
‘Are you sorry that Jacob Stein is dead?’
‘No,’ answered Fine, ‘I don’t believe that I am.’
‘Why is that, sir?’
‘It’s because his brother will suffer as a result.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ asked Keedy. ‘It’s been suggested that Mr Stone might somehow be implicated in the murder.’
Fine was astonished. ‘Who gave you that idea?’
‘I can see that you don’t agree with it.’
‘I do and I don’t, Sergeant.’
‘You can’t have it both ways, sir.’
‘Then let me clarify my comment,’ said Fine, leaning forward. ‘I don’t agree that Mr Stone was responsible for his brother’s death. There’s no reward for him in it and that petty tyrant is driven by the lure of reward. At the same time, however, there’s something else you ought to consider. The man is certainly capable of murder.’
‘What makes you think that, Mr Fine?’
‘He made death threats to me.’
Keedy blinked. ‘Did he do so to your face?’
‘Oh, yes, and he didn’t let it rest there. To prove that he was in earnest,’ confided Fine, ‘he had me beaten up one night by a hired thug. I was in hospital for two days.’
‘Did you report this to the police?’
The tailor shot him a look. ‘They’re not anxious to help people like me, Sergeant. You should know that. Besides, I had no proof that Mr Stone was behind the assault. I heeded the warning,’ said Fine, ‘and got out of London altogether. He can’t touch me down here.’
It was Alice Marmion’s turn to do yard duty during the mid-morning break. Ordinarily, she would have spent her time preventing any arguments between the children from escalating into fights or picking up those who fell down in the playground. In fact, there were very few incidents calling for her attention, so she was given time to brood about what had happened the previous evening. The discussion with her mother about Joe Keedy had left her feeling resentful and she tried to understand why. She could not blame Ellen. Every mother wanted her daughter to marry a suitable man and raise a family. It was natural and expected. When she was younger, Alice had shared the same ambitions.
But the right man had failed to appear and children remained only a distant possibility. What upset Alice was the way that her mother subtly reminded her that time was against her. Most of her contemporaries were either married or engaged. Several were pushing perambulators. As she thought about it now, she realised that her age was the problem. She was too old to stay at home and have her life shaped by her parents. Loving and supportive as they were, they were also a handicap. Keedy’s brief visit had given her great pleasure. She should have been allowed to wallow in her memory of it. Instead, Alice was forced into a spat with her mother. No relationship with a man could blossom with someone looking over her shoulder like that.
She had to move. That was the realisation that dawned on her. Alice had outgrown her family, yet stayed within its bosom. She needed a place of her own, even if it was only a bedsitter. It was something she could readily afford. Though she gave her mother a token rent each week, most of her salary was saved. Her expenditure was relatively small. Buying herself some freedom would be a wise investment. The longer she thought about it, the more convinced she became. There had been a time when Vera Dowling, who also lived with her parents, had suggested that they might find accommodation together. That arrangement had no appeal for Alice. Much as she liked her friend, she did not want her social life to be hampered by her. If she and Vera lived together, Alice could never invite a man to tea. Her friend would be in the way, another form of obstruction.
It was the moment to strike out on her own. On top of one important decision, Alice now made another. She would tell her parents that she was looking for somewhere else to live. It would give her freedom to grow. Her mother would protest but her father would be more sympathetic to the notion. He would also do something that made her tingle all over. He would pass on the news to Joe Keedy.
‘Are you back already?’ asked Harvey Marmion.
‘It’s almost noon, Inspector,’ said Keedy.
‘Is it? Where the hell has the morning gone?’
‘Most of mine was spent on the train.’
‘That was preferable to starting the day by going three rounds with Herbert Stone. He was camped in the commissioner’s office when I got here.’
‘What’s his complaint this time?’
‘It’s a genuine one — someone set fire to his car.’
Marmion gave him an edited version of the conversation with Stone. He explained that detectives had been unable to find any telling clues at the garage but were still searching. Keedy was interested to hear that new names had come into play as potential suspects. The people concerned were being tracked down and interviewed so that they could be eliminated from the investigation.
They were in Marmion’s office. He was behind his desk and Keedy flopped into the chair opposite him. It was the sergeant’s turn to describe his morning. Referring to notes he’d made on his way back to London, he talked about his meeting with Howard Fine. When he mentioned the beating taken by the tailor, Marmion was roused.
‘Why didn’t he mention that to you before?’
‘I think I’ve worked that out, Inspector,’ said Keedy. ‘He didn’t want to tell me the reason he’d been threatened because it would have been too embarrassing for him. Now that I’ve had an insight into his private life, Fine was ready to talk about the incident.’
‘Do you believe he was telling the truth?’
‘I’m certain of it.’
‘Well,’ said Marmion, thinking it over, ‘it certainly gives him a strong motive for wanting to hit back at Mr Stone.’
‘He almost burst out laughing when I told him about the car.’
‘Wait until he hears that it was set on fire.’
‘I knew nothing about that when I spoke to him,’ said Keedy. He looked at the sheet of cartridge paper in front of the inspector. ‘What have you got there?’
‘It’s a plan of the shop in Jermyn Street,’ explained Marmion. ‘I did a rough sketch based on my visit there yesterday. Come and have a look, Joe.’
Keedy got to his feet and walked behind the desk. Standing behind the inspector, he peered over his shoulder at a ground floor plan. The names of the rooms had been marked. Keedy was surprised there were so many of them. Moving the sheet aside, Marmion pulled out the one underneath it. The second sketch was of the first floor of the building. Once again, rooms were named and the position of the safe marked in the office. When the two sheets were side by side, Keedy scrutinised them.
‘What do you notice?’ asked Marmion.
Keedy grinned. ‘I notice that you’d never make a living as an architect,’ he said with a grin. ‘None of the lines are straight and it’s obviously not drawn to scale. One of Alice’s pupils could do better than that.’
‘Accuracy doesn’t matter. Study it with care.’
‘What am I supposed to be looking for?’ said Keedy.
