“Well, I’ll tell you. Past that little town there flows a river, the Arun, and in that river one day was found the body of a young woman. The medical evidence was that she had been drowned and as there were no signs of violence or other suspicious circumstances a verdict of accidental death was returned. But, French,”—Mitchell leaned forward and became very impressive—“she was employed in the box office of a big London cinema!”
French stared.
“Good Lord, sir! Another one?”
“Well, what do you think? And there’s more in it than that. This girl, Agatha Frinton, was alone in the world, at least no relatives could be discovered; she was living in a boarding house, and the landlady stated that she had seemed very depressed for some ten days before her death.”
“It’s another case of the same,” French declared with an oath. “As sure as we’re alive, it is! Don’t you think so, sir?”
“It’s certainly suggestive. It looks to me like the last time your friends wanted a recruit for their little scheme, whatever it is.”
“That’s what I think. It’s going to be a big case, this. The further you go into it, the bigger it grows. That’s three girls we believe they’ve murdered and goodness knows how many more there may be that we haven’t got on to yet.”
“I have a man on that,” Mitchell declared. “He’s looking up the files. I told him to go for any cases of the death of girls in box offices of places of amusement, including accidents, suicides, and murders. That should cover it?”
“That’ll cover it all right. But there’s another point, sir. We believe they murdered Thurza Darke because they found out that she had been at the Yard and they suspected she was going to give them away. Had this other girl, this Agatha Frinton, been to the Yard?”
“Quite right, French,” Mitchell approved. “I have a man on that too. He’s making a list of girls who lodged complaints which might apply. There’s this girl, Agatha Frinton, and also that other, Eileen Tucker, to start with. But it doesn’t follow that they need have actually called here. A first step might have been what Sherlock Holmes used to call oscillation on the pavement. They might have come and looked at the door and their courage might have failed them at the last minute. But if the gang saw them do that it might be enough.”
“It would indicate what was in the girl’s mind,” French agreed.
“Quite. Now there is another thing, French. Can we learn anything from the geography of the affair?”
French looked his question.
“Here we have murders taking place at Caterham, Arundel, and Lee-on-the-Solent. As geography doesn’t seem to be your long suit, hand over the atlas and let’s look them up. See,” he went on when the places had been found, “when you add London they make a curve: London, Caterham, Arundel, and Lee: something like three, four, five, and six on a clock. Anything in that?”
French pondered, then slowly shook his head.
“Well, bear it in mind,” Mitchell advised. “Later it may give you a hint as to this precious gang’s headquarters.”
“Then, sir, I am to take up the case?”
“Certainly. Get right on with it at once.”
“Very good, sir. I’ll go round to the cinema and Thurza Darke’s boarding house again now I’m here, but I fancy my best hopes are at Portsmouth. There’s quite a chance that they may have left traces when they were getting the body into the sea.”
“Quite. It shouldn’t take you long to bring them in. You’ve plenty to go on. You have the descriptions of at least three of the gang and you have these three murders to go into, for I think we may take it this Arundel affair was part of it.”
“I’ll get at it immediately. I suppose,” French hesitated, “you’ve no idea what they might be up to?”
“I’m afraid not. Some way of robbing the cinemas occurs to one at once, but I don’t see how it could be done on a big enough scale to be worth while.”
“That’s what I thought. In fact I don’t see how it could be done at all.”
“You’ll get an idea before long, I fancy. Well, get ahead, French. If you get tied up at Portsmouth you can try Arundel and if you make a mess of that you can move on to Caterham. Between them all you should pull the job off.”
French felt a small glow of appreciation for his chief as he left the room. Mitchell was certainly a man to work for. He knew his job from A to Z and his power of getting straight to the heart of things was little short of uncanny. He was as straight as they are made and when he could legitimately do so he always supported his men. Moreover he made allowances for human weakness and beneath his somewhat short manner there was a very real vein of kindliness. French had never met anyone whom he would rather serve under.
He lost no time in getting to work. Beginning with the boarding house, he interviewed not only Mrs. Peters, but the servants and some of the boarders with whom the deceased girl had been on specially intimate terms. Unfortunately from them he learnt nothing. Nor did a meticulous search of Miss Darke’s belongings give better results. Then he drove to Mr. Arrowsmith’s office and interrogated the typist, Jennie Cox. From her he obtained a good deal of information as to the dead girl’s life, but again none of it threw light on his present problem.
By the time he had finished with Miss Cox the Milan was open and after lunch he went there to continue his inquiries. Here after considerable trouble he learned one new fact, not indeed an important one, but still something.
An attendant whom he had not seen on his previous visit had been on duty in the entrance hall on the night on which Miss Darke had disappeared.
