he commented. ‘Now, about Barbara Willis – had you heard of her before that girl who impersonated her telephoned you?’
She shook her head.
‘And Maurice Knight – her fiancé, did you know him?’
‘Never heard of him until the girl mentioned the name. The same goes for Mildred Gillow. I didn’t know there was such a person until I had that call asking me to go to St John’s Wood.’
Wyatt finished his drink, set down his glass, yawned heartily and then apologized.
‘I’m afraid I haven’t had much sleep just lately,’ he said. ‘What with last night’s affair, then driving up here, then the accident—’
‘Mr Wyatt,’ she interrupted, ‘don’t you believe my story?’
‘Would you like another drink, Doctor?’
‘No, thanks. What I do want is to get to the bottom of this affair. I’ve an idea there are several things I should be told, Mr Wyatt. Don’t hold out on me. I’m used to giving out bad news, and I guess I can take it myself.’
Wyatt offered her another cigarette, but she waved it aside.
‘Come on now, Mr Wyatt – I want the truth.’
Wyatt shrugged.
‘I don’t know if Scotland Yard would approve of my telling you this, but I’ll take a chance. You asked me some time back if I’d heard your name before this evening. As a matter of fact, I had. It was found on a prescription that belonged to the real Barbara Willis. It was also established that you supplied the real Mildred Gillow with a prescription for a bottle of medicine. It was made up for her by a chemist who—’
‘I don’t believe it!’ interrupted Doctor Fraser, her eyes ablaze. ‘How could I prescribe for them? I never set eyes on either of those girls.’
Wyatt shrugged again.
‘That’s your story, Doctor; now I’m telling you the one the police are working on.’
‘But what does it mean, Mr Wyatt?’ she demanded in some apprehension.
‘I don’t know,’ he admitted with a thoughtful frown. ‘The whole affair seems to be getting rather involved. But I don’t think there’s anything for you to worry about. If I were you I should go back to Town and just carry on normally. I shall be up there myself very soon, and I’ll contact you if there’s anything important.’
She stared broodingly into the fire for a few moments, then rose and picked up her handbag.
‘All right, I’ll do that,’ she agreed. ‘But what if the police—?’
‘If it becomes necessary I’ll tell your story to the police,’ he assured her.
‘You’re very kind,’ she said in a relieved tone. ‘Is there anything else I can do for Mrs Wyatt?’
‘Sally will be OK when she’s had a night’s rest,’ he replied. ‘She’s pretty tough really, you know – she used to be in the police force!’
Doctor Fraser smiled appreciatively, and moved over to the door.
‘I shall leave first thing in the morning – here is my London address and phone number.’
She opened her bag and gave him a small card, which he slipped into his waistcoat pocket.
As he held the door for her, Wyatt asked quite casually:
‘By the way, do you happen to know a young man called Hugo Linder?’
She hesitated, as if trying to recall the name.
‘No,’ she said eventually.
‘You’ve never heard of him?’ insisted Wyatt, noticing her hesitation.
‘I’m afraid I haven’t. Of course, I get a lot of patients, and I don’t remember all their names …’
‘Yes, he might have been a patient,’ said Wyatt. ‘He looks a nervy type.’ He went on to give her a brief description of Linder, but again she shook her head.
‘Have you any particular reason for asking, Mr Wyatt?’
‘No,’ he replied blandly. ‘I just wondered – that’s all.’ He walked out with her to her car, and as he was returning, Fred Johnson beckoned to him.
‘You’re wanted on the telephone, sir. It’s in the sitting-room behind the bar. There’s nobody there.’
‘Thanks, Fred,’ said Wyatt, following his host’s directing finger.
If Wyatt was a little surprised to hear the voice of Hugo Linder at the other end, he gave no sign of it.
‘Mr Wyatt, I’ve just heard about your accident,’ he began in an anxious voice. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Perfectly all right, thanks,’ replied Wyatt somewhat mechanically, for his mind was busy with a dozen conjectures. Had Linder telephoned to find out if there had been any fatalities? Had he, in fact, been the driver of the overtaking car?
‘What about Mrs Wyatt?’ went on Linder.
‘She’s a bit shaken up, but I think she will be all right in the morning.’ Wyatt paused a moment, then added as casually as possible: ‘How did you find out about the accident?’
‘I drove over the bridge about ten minutes ago,’ was the immediate reply. ‘I saw the breach in the parapet, so I stopped to investigate. It gave me quite a turn when I recognized your car.’
‘How did you recognize it?’
‘It was standing in front of the Silver Fleet when I came to see you. I knew it again at once. My word, you must have had a narrow squeak! It’s quite a relief to hear that neither of you was badly hurt.’
‘Thank you, Mr Linder,’ replied Wyatt politely. ‘It was very nice of you to telephone.’
‘Not at all. By the way, did you see Mr Tyson?’
‘No, we were actually on our way there when the accident happened.’
‘How very unfortunate. I had told him to expect you.’
‘Never mind. We’ll probably pop over in the morning if I can get a car. I should imagine that ought not to be too difficult.’
‘I’d lend you mine, but I’m going back to Town tomorrow.’
‘That’s rather sudden, isn’t it?’ said Wyatt, still trying to suppress any note of curiosity in his voice.
‘Yes, there’s something rather important come up, and I have to attend to it right away. If you want to get hold of me in Town, my number’s in the book.’
Just as Linder was about to ring off, Wyatt said suddenly:
‘I almost forgot to tell you, Mr Linder … I saw a friend of yours tonight. She sends her kind regards.’
‘Oh? Who was it?’
‘Doctor Fraser,’ replied Wyatt without a moment’s hesitation, wishing he were face to face with Linder so as to be able to note his true reaction.
‘Oh … Doctor Fraser,’ said the voice on the wire, in a tone which defied analysis. ‘How is she?’
‘She’s fine.’
‘Is she staying down here?’ Wyatt imagined he detected a note of caution in the inquiry.
‘Just for the night. Apparently, some special business brought her down here.’
‘I see. Well, goodbye, Mr Wyatt. I expect we shall meet in Town.’
‘I expect so, Mr Linder. Goodbye.’
Wyatt thoughtfully replaced the receiver and slowly