The Stratford Murder by Mike Hollow (best thriller novels of all time .TXT) 📗

open on Sundays, so on Monday mornings I’m banking the whole weekend’s takings, for Saturday and Sunday. That must be why they chose to break into the safe last night.’

‘Was there anything else of value in the safe?’

‘There were a few bits and pieces, like contracts and other legal documents, as well as some private correspondence, but that’s what’s in those envelopes, so the thieves can’t have been interested in them. They only took the cash, and it was lucky I didn’t have the staff’s wages in there. There was one other little thing in there that was mine, though, and they seem to have taken it. It’s just a brown envelope with some personal papers inside. I’d be grateful to have it back, if you manage to recover it.’

‘We’ll keep it in mind, sir.’

They heard the office door open and Cynthia’s voice.

‘Bert’s here, Mr Conway.’

‘OK, bring him in, then go and wait outside until Beryl gets here.’

Conway went back into the main office, followed by Jago and Cradock. Bert Wilson looked about the same age as Conway but was taller. He was a burly, fair-haired man with a healthy, good-looking face, and the sports jacket and flannels that he was wearing didn’t obscure his athletic build.

‘This is Bert Wilson, Inspector,’ said Conway. ‘As I said, he’s one of our doormen. You’ll be familiar with them – mostly their job’s to keep the queues under control and be a bit of handy muscle if there’s any trouble in the cinema, or one of the patrons tries it on with the usherettes, that sort of thing. And chucking out anyone who tries to sneak in without paying, of course.’ He looked askance at Wilson’s jacket. ‘He’ll be changing into his uniform later, and then he’ll look the part rather more than he does at the moment. Bert’s someone else I took pity on when the Broadway Super got bombed, like poor Joan. I expect he’d have been out of work if I hadn’t. Isn’t that right, Bert?’

‘Yes, sir,’ he said meekly. ‘But Mr Conway, what’s happened to Joan? Cynthia said she’s—’

‘Not now, Bert. She’s been killed – I’ll tell you about it later.’

‘But—’

‘Not now, I said. The inspector’s a busy man, and he wants to know about our break-in last night. I’ve told him you might know something, so I want you to answer his questions. I hope this won’t take long, Inspector – we’ve got a lot of clearing up to do today.’

‘I shall be as quick as I can, Mr Conway. Now, Mr Wilson, tell me what you know.’

‘Well,’ said the doorman, ‘I was up on the roof when the second air raid started. That was at half past eleven – I know, because I have to keep a log. By about a quarter to midnight the bombing was getting heavier, and there was lots of noise, and explosions, and fires starting. But I was sure I heard one blast from under my feet, in the cinema. I thought we’d been hit, but I was on the roof, so if a bomb had gone down through it I would’ve known – or else I wouldn’t be here talking to you. I went clattering down the ladder and two blokes grabbed me from behind, tied me up and gagged me. Mr Conway found me when he came in this morning.’

‘So you think the noise you heard was the safe being blown?’

‘Yes. Obvious, isn’t it? If you’re going to blow a safe, what better time to do it than in the middle of an air raid? No one’s going to notice another explosion with all that racket going on, unless they happen to be in the building – or on the roof.’

‘These men who attacked you, did they say anything?’

‘No, they didn’t speak to me, just grunted a bit as they tied me up.’

‘Not a word?’

‘Well, one of them did – he just said something like shut up and keep still and you won’t get hurt. But that was all.’

‘Could you identify either of them?’

‘No. They got me from behind, so I didn’t see them.’

‘So it wasn’t necessarily two men. It could’ve been a man and a woman, for example?’

‘Yes, but safe-breakers are always men, aren’t they? Anyway, I didn’t stand a chance of seeing them. I had my torch, but they jumped me in the dark and knocked it away. I reckon I know when they blew the safe, though. I heard that odd explosion at exactly fourteen minutes to midnight, you see. I made a note in my log before I came down from the roof – it should still be up there. So that’s obviously when the safe was blown, isn’t it?’

‘I think the inspector would prefer to draw his own conclusions about when the safe was blown, Wilson,’ said Conway. ‘Do you have any other questions for my doorman, Inspector?’

‘No, that will do for the time being. Thank you, Mr Wilson.’

‘In that case cut along now, Wilson, there’s a good fellow. I’m sure you’ve got things to do. Oh, and one more thing – those boots of yours need polishing before the patrons arrive.’

Wilson gave the slightest of nods to Conway and left the room.

‘It’s the little details that count, you know, Inspector. One pair of scuffed boots can make a whole business look slipshod,’ said Conway. ‘I run a tight ship, but I like to think it’s a happy ship.’

The door opened and Cynthia Carlton came into the office.

‘I’ve got Beryl here, Mr Conway. Shall I bring her in?’

Conway looked at Jago. ‘Would you like to speak to Miss Hayes now, Inspector?’

‘In a moment,’ said Jago. ‘First I have to ask you where you were last night – it’s simply a technicality, since you’re a keyholder.’

‘That’s simple. I got home by about ten or ten-thirty, and after that I was trying to get some sleep in my Anderson shelter in between the air raids.’

‘Can anyone vouch for that?’

‘No, I was alone.’

‘And you, Miss Carlton. Where were