Comes the Dark Stranger - Jack Higgins [37]
He took Shane’s coat and put it in a small cloakroom at the side of the hall, and then led the way upstairs to the conservatory. They sat in basket-chairs, and Graham gave him a cigarette.
There was a moment of silence before Shane said, ‘I suppose you’ve read about Wilby in the papers?’
Graham’s face registered no change of expression. ‘I read the brief announcement of his suicide in last night’s paper, but nothing more.’
Shane leaned back in the chair and stared up through the glass roof into the leaden sky. ‘He left a note in which he said I’d been hounding him because of what happened in Korea. He said he couldn’t stand it any longer.’
‘And had you been hounding him?’ Graham said gently.
Shane sighed. ‘I suppose you could call it that. I had a talk with him at his home the day before yesterday. I told him I meant business. He was scared to death. He even paid someone to beat me up.’
‘Has the inquest been held yet?’ Graham asked.
Shane nodded. ‘Ten o'clock this morning, and the coroner made no bones about laying the blame squarely on me. I’ve even had a warning from the police to get out of town.’
‘And are you going?’
Shane shook his head. ‘That’s why I’m here. I’ve left my hotel to put them off the scent, but I need time to work this thing out. I wondered if I might stay here.’
‘Do you think that would be wise?’ Graham said. ‘After all, what is there to stay for? Surely the whole thing’s settled now that Wilby’s dead.’
Shane got to his feet and moved over to the window. ‘Not in my book it isn’t. When Wilby spoke to me the other night he was frightened, but it wasn’t just because of me. There was another greater reason, I’m sure of that.’
‘You mean you don’t think he committed suicide?’
Shane turned and looked at him. ‘According to the coroner’s report he was drunk when he put his head in that oven. Perhaps he was put in.’
Graham shook his head. ‘It won’t do, Martin. It won’t do at all. I think the police are right. You should leave.’
‘I couldn’t even if I wanted to,’ Shane told him. ‘I’ve another reason for staying now. It concerns Simon Faulkner’s sister. She made a bit of a fool of herself over Steele a few years ago. Wrote him some rather indiscreet letters, and he’s been blackmailing her ever since.’
Graham sat up with a start. ‘Are you absolutely sure about that?’
Shane nodded. ‘So sure that I intend to get those letters out of him if I have to break his bloody neck doing it.’
Graham shook his head slowly. ‘That may turn out to be more difficult than you imagine. You can hardly expect Steele to hand them over without a murmur.’
‘I think I can manage to persuade him,’ Shane said. He crushed his cigarette in an ashtray and took a deep breath. ‘Well, what about it, Graham? Can I stay here for a while?’
Graham sighed deeply and got to his feet. ‘I’m afraid not, Martin. I think Laura Faulkner should put this blackmailing business in the hands of the police, and I think you should get out. It’s the only thing to do under the circumstances.’
Shane shrugged and said calmly, ‘Fair enough, Graham. You’ve made your point.’
As they walked through the conservatory to the door Graham said, ‘You’ll leave town, then?’
Shane shook his head. ‘Nothing doing. I’ve got another contact in Burnham - a dancer at Steele’s club called Jenny Green. I’ll have to see if she can do anything for me.’
Graham sighed and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. ‘Well, I’ve done my best.’ He got Shane’s coat, and they moved out on to the porch together and stood at the top of the steps. Shane turned to him and held out his hand. ‘I don’t suppose I’ll be seeing you again.’
Graham placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘It’s not a very pleasant world we live in at times, is it? You and I, more than most men, have good cause to know that.’ He turned abruptly and went back inside, and Shane walked away slowly, a slight frown on his face.
He walked down to the main road, and went into the first telephone box he came to and phoned Jenny Green at the flat. There