News of Paul Temple

CHAPTER II

Concerning Z.4

1

Temple was the first to appreciate that there was a serious element to the situation. He recognised an urgent note in Sir Graham’s voice. Obviously, the Chief Commissioner was not anxious to have his identity revealed. As there was every indication of Steve starting an inquiry of this nature, Temple suddenly broke into a rather nonsensical chuckle.

‘Really, sir, we must beg your forgiveness,’ he grinned. ‘By Timothy, I’ve never seen anything like it…’ He regarded Sir Graham quizzically, his head on one side. ‘The same chin, the same nose…Why, he’s just like old Forbes, isn’t he, Steve? The absolute “spit” of old Forbes – just look at his hair…well, I’m damned!’

He contrived to shoot a warning glance at Steve while Ernie Weston was looking at Sir Graham.

‘What the devil is all this about?’ snapped Forbes irritably, addressing the landlord. ‘Who are this lady and gentleman?’

Ernie Weston was palpably perplexed.

‘A Mr and Mrs Temple, sir,’ he informed Sir Graham. ‘Arrived about half an hour ago.’ He looked at each of them in turn. ‘There seems to have been some sort of mistake, doesn’t there?’ he suggested.

‘I thought you said they wanted to see me,’ growled Forbes.

‘Well, ’e said ’e did want to see you,’ protested Ernie. He turned on Temple rather fiercely. ‘I say, what’s the game?’ he almost snarled. ‘You said I was to give a message to…’

‘It’s all right,’ laughed Temple. ‘There’s nothing to get excited about. This gentleman reminded us of someone else, that’s all.’

Ernie made no effort to move. ‘But this is the gent you wanted to see – Mr Richmond—’ he began in puzzled tones.

By this time, Steve had begun to realise the position.

He broke off suddenly, as if realising Weston’s presence for the first time. ‘It’s all right, Weston,’ he murmured casually. But Ernie was obviously loath to accept this dismissal.

‘We don’t serve dinner after a quarter to,’ he announced.

‘We shall bear that in mind,’ replied Temple, politely holding the door for him.

‘All right,’ said the landlord, retreating reluctantly.

Temple watched him down the corridor, then carefully closed the door. Steve sank on the bed with a sigh of relief, while Sir Graham perched on the arm of a chair.

‘Sir Graham, I’m most terribly sorry,’ Temple apologised. ‘It was extremely stupid of us both to blurt out like that.’

‘That’s all right,’ said Forbes gruffly. ‘You covered it up well.’ He ruminated rather gloomily for a few seconds, then suddenly asked: ‘What the devil are you two doing here?’

Temple and Steve exchanged a brief smile.

‘Well, if it comes to that—’ began the novelist.

‘I know, I know!’ Forbes forestalled him. ‘Don’t ask me, Temple. Don’t ask me!’ He drew a hand across his forehead rather wearily, then continued: ‘But seriously, what made you two visit Inverdale? You couldn’t have had an inkling…it isn’t possible…’

‘You remember we told you we were coming to Scotland,’ Steve reminded him.

‘So you did. Yes, I’d forgotten about that,’ Sir Graham admitted. But there was a dubious note in his voice.

‘Sir Graham, don’t you think you might tell us why you are staying here under the name of Richmond?’ suggested Temple mildly.

‘Yes, that’s another thing, Temple. You asked to see Mr John Richmond. I am John Richmond, though how the devil—’

‘Paul, give him the letter,’ interrupted Steve. ‘Then we can go down to dinner.’ There was a note of urgency in her voice.

‘What letter?’ demanded Forbes quickly, looking from one to the other.

‘A letter from a young man named Lindsay—David Lindsay,’ explained Temple.

‘For me?’ queried Forbes in some surprise.

Temple nodded.

‘I don’t know anyone named David Lindsay. There must be some mistake.’

Steve was quite taken aback. ‘You don’t know anyone called Lindsay?’ she repeated in amazement.

‘No,’ said Forbes decisively.

‘Is there another John Richmond staying here?’

‘Not to my knowledge.’

‘Then this letter must be for you,’ declared Steve.

Temple, who had been pacing the room, his hands deep in his trouser pockets, looked up and smiled.

‘This gets brighter and brighter!’ he said. ‘First of all I meet the delightful Mrs Moffat, then the excitable Mr Lindsay, and later—’

‘Mrs Moffat?’ interrupted Forbes. ‘You mean the woman in the village?’

‘That’s right,’ nodded Temple. ‘The dark-eyed beauty with a sister in Peckham.’ Sir Graham pondered upon this for a moment, then asked: ‘How did you meet Mrs Moffat?’

Temple was gazing thoughtfully out of the window at the view so highly praised by his hostess, so Steve began to explain.

‘On our way here, Sir Graham, we got lost. We stopped in the village, and to make absolutely certain of getting on the right road—’

‘I popped into Mrs Moffat’s,’ put in Temple suddenly becoming aware of the conversation once more. ‘Just as I was on the verge of leaving, in barged the young fellow I was telling you about – David Lindsay. He was obviously excited and rather worried about something. To cut a long story short, he asked me if I was coming into Inverdale, and whether I’d deliver a letter for him to a Mr John Richmond, who happened to be staying at the “Royal Gate”. Naturally, I agreed to do so. On the way here, however, two men stopped us—’

Sir Graham looked up sharply. ‘Can you describe them?’

‘There was a man who called himself Doctor Laurence van Draper, and another, rather military-looking chap, who said that he was Major Lindsay, father of the young man who gave me the letter. They told us a rather one-sided story about the young fellow being a bit mental, and more or less demanded the letter. They were quite nice about it, but obviously meant business.’

‘What happened?’ demanded Forbes eagerly.

‘Well, Paul happened to buy a packet of postcards, which Mrs Moffat fortunately popped into an envelope,’ smiled Steve.

‘You don’t mean you gave them the postcards?’ asked Forbes, jumping up.

‘I’m afraid so,’ Temple replied evenly.

‘Well, I’m damned!’ Forbes sank back and slapped his thigh in approval. Temple wandered off to the window again.

‘Now listen, Temple. This is most important. I want you to describe that young man as closely as possible.’

Temple swung round.

‘You mean Lindsay? Oh, he was about five feet ten – dark – good-looking—’

‘Rather like Frank Lawton, the film actor,’ supplied Steve.

‘My God, it’s Hammond all right!’ ejaculated Forbes, thumping his fist on the table. ‘Now, of course, I understand.’

Temple had crossed to a chair and picked up the jacket he had been wearing earlier in the day. As he dived into an inside pocket, a look of concern spread over his features.

‘Darling, what is it?’ asked Steve.

‘The letter…’ gasped Temple.

Forbes went across to him quickly. ‘Temple, you don’t mean to say—’

‘It’s gone,’ announced Temple quietly.

‘Gone!’ echoed Steve. ‘But, Paul, it couldn’t possibly—’

‘You didn’t make a mistake about those postcards, Temple?’ suggested Sir Graham.

‘No. I had the letter when I arrived here. I’m absolutely certain of that. When I was unpacking, I changed into this old sports coat and left the other on the chair.’

‘That letter’s important, Temple,’ said Sir Graham in some anxiety. ‘It’s desperately important, and we’ve got to get it back.’

Temple’s brain was working quickly.

‘Those men – van Draper and the fellow who called himself Major Lindsay – they must have contacted someone here at the “Royal Gate”…’

Forbes nodded thoughtfully.

‘Who did you see when you arrived?’ he asked.

‘A porter helped us with the luggage, then Weston and his wife brought us upstairs.’

Temple carefully examined the contents of every pocket without result.

‘Paul, there’s Doctor Steiner,’ Steve suddenly reminded him. ‘He came in here after Weston and—’

‘By Timothy, yes! And he stood over by that chair for quite a while. But how could he possibly know—’

‘Steiner?’ put in Forbes. ‘Who exactly is Doctor Steiner?’

‘He’s a Professor of Philosophy at Philadelphia University,’ said Temple. ‘We met him on the Golden Clipper, coming over here.’

‘What’s he doing in Scotland?’

‘He’s on holiday. As soon as he spotted our names in the register he came up here.’ Temple paused and puckered his brow.

‘By Timothy! I’m a prize jackass if you like!’ he ejaculated.

‘What do you mean?’ asked Steve.

‘Steve, don’t you remember? I didn’t sign a register. The book was full. Weston made me sign on a sheet of notepaper. He put the paper in a drawer, so I don’t see how Steiner could possibly have—’

‘Then he knew you were coming here,’ cried Forbes. ‘He was waiting for you – waiting for the letter!’

‘Just a minute. Not so fast, Sir Graham,’ softly interposed Temple.

‘Why should Doctor Steiner, a respectable university professor, want that letter?’ asked Steve.

‘I presume you have only his word for his identity,’ said Forbes. ‘What’s his nationality?’

‘Oh, obviously Austrian, I should say. Most probably Viennese,’ said Temple.

‘Well, it seems a remarkable coincidence that he should be staying here the very night that Noel Hammond—’

‘Who is Noel Hammond?’ demanded Temple. ‘And who’s this man Draper? And who the devil is—’

‘I can’t tell you now, Temple,’ snapped Forbes. ‘Come to my room after dinner—no, I’ll come down here. It will be safer. We must get that letter back – no matter what happens we must get that letter!’

He regarded them both with a grim smile. ‘I think you will be interested to know why I came to Scotland instead of going to the South of France.’

He turned to the door. ‘I’ll see you both here, in about an hour.’

‘Yes, all right,’ agreed Temple.

After Forbes had departed, Temple carefully folded his coat and placed it in a drawer. Neither spoke for a minute or two, then Steve suggested they should go down to dinner. Her husband was busy unlocking a suitcase, and did not appear to be listening.

‘Is anything the matter, Steve?’ he said suddenly.

‘No – nothing,’ she replied with a tiny gulp, but he could see that her eyes were slightly misty.

‘You’re worried, aren’t you?’ he challenged her, taking hold of her shoulders and looking at her closely. ‘You’re upset about this business.’

‘Yes,’ admitted Steve at length.

‘Why?’

She sighed.

‘Well, so many things have started like this, haven’t they? The Front Page Men, that awful business with the Knave of Diamonds, and—’

Temple gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. ‘Darling, if you want to leave here first thing in the morning – we leave. And nothing on earth will stop us.’

‘You’re very sweet,’ whispered Steve gently, rubbing her cheek against his rough tweed coat. Somewhere below a gong boomed insistently. Temple smiled.

‘I rather fancy that’s for our benefit,’ he said.

2

An hour later two men knocked cautiously at the door of Mrs Moffat’s shop. They seemed reluctant to be seen, but they need not have feared, for practically every person in that tiny hamlet was in bed, though it was little after nine. There was a sound of bolts being withdrawn, and Mrs Moffat eventually peered through the few inches between door and lintel. When she recognised them she opened the door swiftly, and they went inside.

‘What happened?’ she demanded quickly, setting the flickering candle on the counter and facing them.

‘We missed him,’ growled van Draper.

Mrs Moffat eyed them suspiciously.

‘It’s no good hiding things, Draper,’ said Guest. ‘She’ll have to know sooner or later.’

‘Something went wrong?’ speculated Mrs Moffat, leaning an elbow on the counter.

Guest nodded. ‘We stopped the car and dished out a cock and bull story about Lindsay being out of his mind. They seemed to swallow it all right, but…’

He took the packet of postcards from his pocket.

‘Instead of handing over the letter, he presented us with these damn things!’

Mrs Moffat recognised the envelope with a grim smile. Taking out the postcards, she carefully replaced them on the stand.

‘That was canny of ye both, I must say,’ was her only comment.

‘We can’t stand here all night,’ snorted van Draper impatiently. ‘Let’s go upstairs.’

But Mrs Moffat did not offer to move.

‘Why are ye both so anxious to get that letter?’ she persisted. ‘What was in it?’

‘I’ve had my suspicions about Lindsay for a long time,’ said van Draper. ‘Tonight they were—’

‘My God!’ cried Mrs Moffat suddenly, her face grotesquely distorted by the guttering candlelight. ‘Ye don’t mean to say he’s—’

‘His name is Hammond – Noel Hammond,’ replied van Draper with savage deliberation. ‘He’s a British Agent. We ought to have checked up on him long ago, instead of accepting one person’s word.’

‘But Z.2 recommended him,’ insisted Mrs Moffat. ‘She swore he was safe.’

‘The little fool was taken in by him,’ said Guest contemptuously.

‘Z.2. That’s Iris Archer, isn’t it?’ queried van Draper thoughtfully. ‘She’s always liable to fall for that type. That’s her one weakness. We should have realised that.’

Mrs Moffat set her lips in a firm line of disapproval. ‘You have always said that Lindsay was a good man at his job,’ she reminded them.

‘Hardwick always said so,’ van Draper agreed. ‘Though just lately they don’t seem to have been hitting it off too well.’

‘Well, whatever happens, we’ve got to get Lindsay,’ declared Guest in ruthless tones.

‘That’s imperative,’ said van Draper.

‘Why is it so imperative?’ Mrs Moffat wanted to know.

‘Why?’ spluttered van Draper impatiently. ‘Good God, woman, don’t you realise that Lindsay can blow up the whole bag of tricks? He’s been working with Hardwick on the screen…he knows about us – about Z.4—’

‘About Z.4?’ put in Mrs Moffat rapidly. ‘What exactly does he know about Z.4?’

‘He knows that Z.4 is behind Hardwick,’ said van Draper slowly. ‘Also that Z.4 is at the head of the greatest espionage organisation in Europe.’

‘But does he know who Z.4 is?’ pursued Mrs Moffat.

Guest shrugged his shoulders. ‘Do any of us?’

‘That’s not the point,’ van Draper cut in. ‘Lindsay or Hammond, whichever you like to call him, knows a great deal too much. There’s Hardwick to start with…’

‘And don’t you think the British Intelligence people know about Hardwick?’ suggested Mrs Moffat.

‘Of course they do,’ retorted van Draper. ‘But fortunately for us they don’t attach any importance to him – yet.’

‘And after receiving Hammond’s letter they might?’

‘Precisely.’

‘I wonder who this man…Richmond is?’ speculated Guest.

‘I don’t know – but if he’s got that letter we’ve got to get him before he leaves.’

‘I shouldn’t be surprised if Lindsay hasn’t seen Richmond himself,’ theorised Mrs Moffat.

‘No,’ interrupted van Draper. ‘Lindsay would keep clear of the village. I’m sure of that. He’d reckon on us keeping an eye on the “Royal Gate” – that’s why he didn’t ask our friend for a lift.’

‘You know, I’ve got a hunch that Lindsay might return,’ said Guest thoughtfully.

‘You mean—here?’ queried Mrs Moffat, rather taken aback.

‘Yes, here.’

‘Why should he?’

‘Well, in the first place,’ Guest elaborated, ‘he doesn’t suspect that you happen to be one of us, and he’ll probably be anxious to try and contact Richmond by telephone.’

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the telephone rang.

‘I have it switched through upstairs,’ explained Mrs Moffat succinctly. ‘We’d all better go up.’

She picked up the candle and led the way towards the crude staircase, and they gingerly climbed up to the top landing. The telephone rang again, louder now, and Mrs Moffat opened the door of a small room which was built in the roof of the cottage. Roughly furnished with a divan, a table and two or three chairs, it was lighted by a small dormer window in the daytime.

Mrs Moffat picked up the telephone, which stood on the floor at the side of the divan.

‘Hello?…Yes…When did you arrive?…When?…I see.’ She covered the mouthpiece for a moment and whispered to the two men: ‘It’s Z.2.’

‘Yes, I’m listening,’ she spoke into the instrument again. ‘Who?’ Her face became noticeably alert, even in that dim light. ‘…Paul Temple?’ she repeated somewhat incredulously. ‘What’s he like?…Yes, describe him quickly…yes—’

‘Ask her to come down here,’ broke in van Draper urgently. ‘She might know something about Richmond.’

Mrs Moffat nodded.

‘We want to see you…yes, straight away. Get here as soon as you can.’ She replaced the receiver.

‘So that was Z.2,’ murmured Guest thoughtfully. ‘I rather thought she was out of things.’

‘We needed her on this job. Z.4 ordered her up here,’ said van Draper.

Mrs Moffat was busy lighting a rather smoky oil lamp. When she had it working to her satisfaction she turned and asked them: ‘Do ye know who the gentleman was who handed ye the postcards?’

‘Not the faintest idea,’ snapped van Draper. He thought he saw a gleam of amusement in her cold eyes. ‘Who was it?’ he demanded suspiciously.

‘Paul Temple,’ replied Mrs Moffat simply.

‘Phew! Paul Temple!’ whistled Guest. ‘My God, if Temple’s on this job we can expect fireworks.’

‘What the devil is Paul Temple doing here?’ demanded van Draper fiercely.

Mrs Moffat gave the merest lift of the shoulders, but did not reply. Instead, she busied herself with the lamp once more.

‘You don’t suppose Temple happens to be Richmond, by any chance?’ suggested Guest. ‘That would account for his switching the postcards.’

‘Lindsay would have recognised him,’ said Mrs Moffat, without turning.

‘Not necessarily,’ persisted the other. ‘After all, none of us know who Z.4 is, but we take orders from him – or her.’

‘We should hear something about Richmond from Z.2,’ decided van Draper after a moody silence. ‘If she’s staying at the “Royal Gate”, then obviously she must have seen Richmond.’

‘Sh!’ called Mrs Moffat suddenly. Her keen ears had detected the lifting of the front door latch, and this was suddenly confirmed by the ringing of the shop bell.

‘Who can it be at this time?’ asked van Draper.

‘I shan’t be long,’ said Mrs Moffat, making for the door.

‘Wait!’ ordered van Draper.

She paused. ‘Well?’

‘It might be Lindsay. If he wants to use the telephone – it’s in order now. You understand?’

She nodded. They heard her descend in leisurely fashion, and presently voices floated up from below.

‘It’s Hammond!’ whispered Guest, and his confederate nodded.

‘Somehow or other, I thought he’d turn up,’ murmured van Draper. ‘Right from the beginning I had a feeling we’d get him. Is your gun here?’

Guest nodded. ‘If only Temple hadn’t tricked us over that letter, we’d be sitting pretty now we’ve got Hammond,’ said Guest.

Van Draper motioned him to be silent as footsteps were heard on the stairs.

‘You never told me you had the ’phone connected up here,’ Lindsay was saying as the door swung open.

‘Hello, Lindsay! Surprised?’ said van Draper.

‘Why, hello, Van, I didn’t expect—’

‘Drop that gun!’ called Guest sharply. A tiny revolver fell from Lindsay’s left hand onto the wooden floor.

There was silence for some seconds.

‘What’s the idea?’ asked Lindsay at length.

‘There seems to have been a slight misunderstanding,’ smiled Guest. ‘Don’t you agree, Mr Lindsay – or should I say Hammond?’

Lindsay was obviously exerting every ounce of self-control.

‘Hammond? Who the devil is Hammond?’ he demanded.

‘Your name is Hammond, my friend,’ van Draper informed him with cruel deliberation; ‘Noel Hammond, of the British Intelligence Department.’ His tone was scathing now, but Lindsay broke into a laugh which sounded surprisingly genuine.

‘British Intelligence?’ he repeated. ‘That’s damned funny. If I’m from the British Intelligence, why the devil do you think I worked with Hardwick? I’ve sweated my guts out on that blasted screen of his.’

‘Oh yes,’ agreed van Draper. ‘You worked very hard on the screen – we’ll grant you that. But you had a reason,’ he added viciously.

‘Of course I had a reason,’ replied Lindsay. ‘Six thousand reasons, to be exact.’

‘Six thousand?’ echoed Mrs Moffat. ‘Did Z.4 promise you six thousand pounds if—’

‘No – dollars,’ replied Lindsay cynically. ‘I say, what the devil is all this about, anyway?’ He looked round desperately. The two revolvers never wavered. Mrs Moffat’s ample form continued to fill the doorway.

‘Two years ago,’ van Draper was saying, ‘a certain Mr John Hardwick approached the War Office concerning an invention of his called the Hardwick Screen. This was tested and proved, to all intents and purposes, to be a failure—’