Edmund Crispin

The Moving Toyshop


Скачать книгу

– ‘you see, any ordinary solicitor, if two total strangers rushed into his office and demanded details of his clients’ private affairs, would quite certainly just kick them out. Why was Mr Rosseter so candid, so open and informative? Because he was telling a pack of lies? But as he quite rightly remarked, we can check what he said from Somerset House. All the same, I don’t trust Mr Rosseter.’

      ‘Well, I’m going to the police,’ said Cadogan. ‘If there’s anything I hate, it’s the sort of book in which characters don’t go to the police when they’ve no earthly reason for not doing so.’

      ‘You’ve got an earthly reason for not doing so immediately.’

      ‘What’s that?’

      ‘The pubs are open,’ said Fen, as one who after a long night sees dawn on the hills. ‘Let’s go and have a drink before we do anything rash.’

       4

       The Episode of the Indignant Janeite

      ‘Which in effect,’ said Cadogan, ‘leaves us exactly where we were before.’

      They were sitting in the bar of the Mace and Sceptre, Fen drinking whisky, Cadogan beer. The Mace and Sceptre is a large and quite hideous hotel which stands in the very centre of Oxford and which embodies, without apparent shame, almost every architectural style devised since the times of primitive man. Against this initial disadvantage it struggles nobly to create an atmosphere of homeliness and comfort. The bar is a fine example of Strawberry Hill Gothic.

      It was only a quarter past eleven in the morning, so few people were drinking as yet. A young man with a hooked nose and a broad mouth was talking to the barman about horses. Another young man with horn-rimmed glasses and a long neck was engrossed in Nightmare Abbey. And a pale, rather grubby undergraduate with untidy red hair was talking politics to an earnest-looking girl in a dark green jersey.

      ‘So you see,’ he was saying, ‘it’s by such means that the moneyed classes, gambling on the Stock Exchange, ruin millions of poor investors.’

      ‘But surely the poor investors were gambling on the Stock Exchange too.’

      ‘Oh, no, that’s quite different…’

      Mr Hoskins, more like a vast, lugubrious blood-hound than ever, was sitting at a table with a dark and beautiful girl called Miriam. He was drinking a small glass of pale sherry.

      ‘But, darling,’ said Miriam, ‘it will be simply awful if the proctors catch me in here. You know they send women down if they catch them in bars.’

      ‘The proctors never come in in the mornings,’ said Mr Hoskins. ‘And in any case, you don’t look a bit like an undergraduate. Now, just don’t you worry. Look, I’ve got some chocolates for you.’ He pulled a box from his pocket.

      ‘Oh, you darling…

      The only other occupant of the bar was a thin, rabbit-faced man of about fifty, greatly muffled up in coats and scarves, who was sitting by himself drinking rather more than was good for him.

      Fen and Cadogan had been running over the facts of the case as far as they knew them, and it was the result of this investigation which had prompted Cadogan’s remark. Those facts boiled down to dispiritingly little:

       1. A grocery shop in Iffley Road had been turned into a toyshop during the night, and then back into a grocery shop.

       2. A Miss Emilia Tardy had been found dead there, and her body had subsequently vanished.

       3. A rich aunt of Emilia Tardy, Miss Snaith, had been run over by a bus six months previously, and had left her fortune to Miss Tardy under certain conditions which made it as likely as not that Miss Tardy would never even become aware of her inheritance (if Rosseter was telling the truth).

      ‘And I suppose,’ said Fen, ‘that he wasn’t allowed to communicate directly with any known address of Miss Tardy. By the way, I was meaning to ask you: did you feel the body at all?’

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4QAYRXhpZgAASUkqAAgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/sABFEdWNreQABAAQAAABQAAD/4QODaHR0cDov L25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wLwA8P3hwYWNrZXQgYmVnaW49Iu+7vyIgaWQ9Ilc1TTBNcENl aGlIenJlU3pOVGN6a2M5ZCI/PiA8eDp4bXBtZXRhIHhtbG5zOng9ImFkb2JlOm5zOm1ldGEvIiB4 OnhtcHRrPSJBZG9iZSBYTVAgQ29yZSA1LjAtYzA2MSA2NC4xNDA5NDksIDIwMTAvMTIvMDctMTA6 NTc6MDEgICAgICAgICI+IDxyZGY6UkRGIHhtbG5zOnJkZj0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMTk5 OS8wMi8yMi1yZGYtc3ludGF4LW5zIyI+IDxyZGY6RGVzY3JpcHRpb24gcmRmOmFib3V0PSIiIHht bG5zOnhtcE1NPSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvbW0vIiB4bWxuczpzdFJlZj0i aHR0cDovL25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wL3NUeXBlL1Jlc291cmNlUmVmIyIgeG1sbnM6eG1w PSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvIiB4bXBNTTpPcmlnaW5hbERvY3VtZW50SUQ9 InhtcC5kaWQ6NTRGMDk4QzMyNTIwNjgxMTgyMkFBMUVBMDkxODc2ODIiIHhtcE1NOkRvY3VtZW50 SUQ9InhtcC5kaWQ6RDg5MjM1ODVCMUIzMTFFN0JBRUNCRjZBOEFDMzVEODYiIHhtcE1NOkluc3Rh bmNlSUQ9InhtcC5paWQ6RDg5MjM1ODRCMUIzMTFFN0JBRUNCRjZBOEFDMzVEODYiIHhtcDpDcmVh dG9yVG9vbD0iQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTNS4xIE1hY2ludG9zaCI+IDx4bXBNTTpEZXJpdmVk RnJvbSBzdFJlZjppbnN0YW5jZUlEPSJ4bXAuaWlkOjVFRjA3MkI1QTQyNTY4MTE4QjE1OTNEQzYw MkU2QzI1IiBzdFJlZjpkb2N1bWVudElEPSJhZG9iZTpkb2NpZDpwaG90b3Nob3A6N2NjNzE5M2It ZTQwNC0xMTdhLTk4MjctYWNlMjU0OGUwNWQwIi8+IDwvcmRmOkRlc2NyaXB0aW9uPiA8L3JkZjpS REY+IDwveDp4bXBtZXRhPiA8P3hwYWNrZXQgZW5kPSJyIj8+/+IMWElDQ19QUk9GSUxFAAEBAAAM SExpbm8CEAAAbW50clJHQiBYWVogB84AAgAJAAYAMQAAYWNzcE1TRlQAAAAASUVDIHNSR0IAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAEAAPbWAAEAAAAA0y1IUCAgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARY3BydAAAAVAAAAAzZGVzYwAAAYQAAABsd3RwdAAAAfAAAAAUYmtwdAAA AgQAAAAUclhZWgAAAhgAAAAUZ1hZWgAAAiwAAAAUYlhZWgAAAkAAAAAUZG1uZAAAAlQAAABwZG1k ZAAAAsQAAACIdnVlZAAAA0wAAACGdmlldwAAA9QAAAAkbHVtaQAAA/gAAAAUbWVhcwAABAwAAAAk dGVjaAAABDAAAAAMclRSQwAABDwAAAgMZ1RSQwAABDwAAAgMYlRSQwAABDwAAAgMdGV4dAAAAABD b3B5cmlnaHQgKGMpIDE5OTggSGV3bGV0dC1QYWNrYXJkIENvbXBhbnkAAGRlc2MAAAAAAAAAEnNS R0IgSUVDNjE5NjYtMi4xAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASc1JHQiBJRUM2MTk2Ni0yLjEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFhZWiAAAAAAAADzUQABAAAAARbM WFlaIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABYWVogAAAAAAAAb6IAADj1AAADkFhZWiAAAAAAAABimQAAt4UA ABjaWFlaIAAAAAAAACSgAAAPhAAAts9kZXNjAAAAAAAAABZJRUMgaHR0cDovL3d3dy5pZWMuY2gA AAAAAAAAAAAAABZJRUMgaHR0cDovL3d3dy5pZWMuY2gAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZGVzYwAAAAAAAAAuSUVDIDYxOTY2LTIuMSBEZWZhdWx0IFJH QiBjb2xvdXIgc3BhY2UgLSBzUkdCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAuSUVDIDYxOTY2LTIuMSBEZWZhdWx0IFJH QiBjb2xvdXIgc3BhY2UgLSBzUkdCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGRlc2MAAAAAAAAALFJl ZmVyZW5jZSBWaWV3aW5nIENvbmRpdGlvbiBpbiBJRUM2MTk2Ni0yLjEAAAAAAAAAAAAAACxSZWZl cmVuY2UgVmlld2luZyBDb25kaXRpb24gaW4gSUVDNjE5NjYtMi4xAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAB2aWV3AAAAAAATpP4AFF8uABDPFAAD7cwABBMLAANcngAAAAFYWVogAAAAAABMCVYA UAAAAFcf521lYXMAAAAAAAAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKPAAAAAnNpZyAAAAAAQ1JUIGN1 cnYAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAUACgAPABQAGQAeACMAKAAtADIANwA7AEAARQBKAE8AVABZAF4AYwBoAG0A cgB3AHwAgQCGAIsAkACVAJoAnwCkAKkArgCyALcAvADBAMYAywDQANUA2wDgAOUA6wDwAPYA+wEB AQcBDQETARkBHwElASsBMgE4AT4BRQFMAVIBWQFgAWcBbgF1AXwBgwGLAZIBmgGhAakBsQG5AcEB yQHRAdkB4QHpAfIB+gIDAgwCFAIdAiYCLwI4AkECSwJUAl0CZwJxAnoChAKOApgCogKsArYCwQLL AtUC4ALrAvUDAAMLAxYDIQMtAz