gloomy-looking men he had ever seen. So profoundly disillusioned did he appear that Calgary felt tempted to suppose that Superintendent Huish's career had been one long series of failures. He was surprised to discover on a later occasion that Superintendent Huish had been extremely successful professionally. Huish saw a lean, prematurely grey-haired man with slightly stooping shoulders, a sensitive face and a singularly attractive smile.
'You don't know who I am, I'm afraid,' Calgary began.
'Oh, we know all about you, Dr. Calgary,' said Huish. 'You're the joker in the pack who queered the Argyle case.' A rather unexpected smile lifted the corners of his sad-looking mouth.
'You can hardly regard me favourably then,' said Calgary .
'It's all in the day's work,' said Superintendent Huish. 'It seemed a clear case and nobody can be blamed for thinking it so. But these things happen,' he went on. 'They're sent to try us, so my old mother used to say. We don't bear malice, Dr. Calgary. After all, we do stand for Justice, don't we?'
'So I've always believed, and shall continue to believe,' said Calgary . 'To no man will we deny justice,' he murmured softly.
'Magna Carta,' said Superintendent Huish.
'Yes,' said Calgary , 'quoted to me by Miss Tina Argyle.'
Superintendent Huish's eyebrows rose.
'Indeed. You surprise me. That young lady, I should say, has not been particularly active in helping the wheels of justice to turn.'
'Now why do you say that?' asked Calgary .
'Frankly,' said Huish, 'for withholding information. There's no doubt about that.'
'Why?' asked Calgary .
'Well, it's a family business,' said Huish. 'Families stick together. But what was it you wanted to see me about?' he continued.
'I want information,' said Calgary . 'About the Argyle case?'
'Yes. I realise that I must seem to you to be butting in, in a matter that's not my concern –'
'Well, it is your concern in a way, isn't it?
'Ah, you do appreciate that. Yes. I feel responsible. Responsible for bringing trouble.'
'You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, as the French say,' said Huish.
'There are things I want to know,' said Calgary .
'Such as?'
'I'd like a great deal more information about Jacko Argyle.'
'About Jacko Argyle. Well, now, I didn't expect you to say that.'
'He'd got a bad record, I know,' said Calgary . 'What I want is a few details from it'
'Well, that's simple enough,' said Huish. 'He'd been on probation twice. On another occasion, for embezzlement of funds, he was just saved by being able to put up the money in time.'
'The budding young criminal, in fact?' asked Calgary .
'Quite right, sir,' said Huish. 'Not a murderer, as you've made clear to us, but a good many other things. Nothing, mind you, on a grand scale. He hadn't got the brains or the nerve to put up a big swindle. Just a small-time criminal. Pinching money out of tills, wheedling it out of women.'
'And he was good at that,' said Calgary . 'Wheedling money out of women, I mean.'
'And a very nice safe line it is,' said Superintendent Huish. 'Women fell for him very easily. Middle-aged or elderly were the ones he usually went for. You'd be surprised how gullible that type of woman can be. He put over a very pretty line. Got them to believe he was passionately in love with them. There's nothing a woman won't believe if she wants to.'
'And then?' asked Calgary . Huish shrugged his shoulders.
'Well, sooner or later they were disillusioned. But they don't prosecute, you know. They don't want to tell the world that they've been fooled. Yes, it's a pretty safe line.'
'Was there ever blackmail?' Calgary asked.
'Not that we know of,' said Huish. 'Mind you, I wouldn't have put it past him. Not out and out blackmail, I'd say. Just a hint or two, perhaps. Letters. Foolish letters. Things their husbands wouldn't like to know about. He'd be able to keep a woman quiet that way.'
'I see,' said Calgary .
'Is that all you wanted to know?' asked Huish.
'There's one member of the Argyle family I haven't met yet,' said Calgary . 'The eldest daughter.'
'Ah, Mrs. Durrant.'
'I went to her house, but it was shut up. They told me she and her husband were away.'
'They are at Sunny Point.' 'Still there?'
'Yes. He wanted to stay on. Mr. Durrant,' added Huish, 'is doing a bit of detecting, I understand.'
'He's a cripple, isn't he?'
'Yes, polio. Very sad. He hasn't much to do with his time, poor chap. That's why he's taken up this murder business so eagerly. Thinks he's on to something, too.'
'And is he?' asked Calgary . Huish shrugged his shoulders.
'He might be, at that,' he said. 'He's a better chance that we have, you know. He knows the family and he's a man with a good deal of intuition as well as intelligence.'
'Do you think he'll get anywhere?'
'Possibly,' said Huish, 'but he won't tell us if he does. They'll keep it all in the family.'
'Do you yourself know who's guilty, Superintendent?' 'You mustn't ask me things like that, Dr. Calgary.' 'Meaning that you do know?'
'One can think one knows a thing,' said Huish slowly, 'but if you haven't got evidence there's not much you can do about it, is there?'
'And you're not likely to get the evidence you want?'
'Oh, we're very patient,' Huish said. 'We shall go on trying.'
'What's going to happen to them all if you don't succeed?' said Calgary , leaning forward. 'Have you thought of that?'
Huish looked at him.
'That's what's worrying you, is it, sir?'
'They've got to know,' said Calgary . 'Whatever else happens, they've got to know.'
'Don't you think they do know?'
Calgary shook his head.
'No,' he said slowly, 'that's the tragedy.'
II
'Oo,' said Maureen Clegg, 'it's you again!'
'I'm very, very sorry to bother you,' said Calgary .
'Oh, but you're not bothering me a bit. Come in. It's my day off.'
That fact Calgary had already found out, and was the reason for his being here.
'I'm expecting Joe back in a minute,' said Maureen. 'I haven't seen any more about Jacko in the papers. I mean not since it said how he got a free pardon and a bit about a question being asked in Parliament and then saying that it was quite clear he didn't do it. But there's nothing more about what the police are doing and who really did it? Can't they find out?'
'Have you still no idea yourself?'
'Well, I haven't really,' said Maureen. 'I shouldn't be surprised, though, if it was the other brother. Very queer and moody he is. Joe sees him sometimes driving people around. He works for the Bence Group, you know. He's rather good-looking but terribly moody, I should think. Joe heard a rumour he was going out to Persia or somewhere and that looks bad, I think, don't you?'
'I don't see why it should look bad, Mrs. Clegg.'
'Well, it's one of those places the police can't get at you, isn't it?'
'You think that he is running away?'
'He may feel he's got to.'
