The Seven Dials Mystery - Agatha Christie [27]
‘Oh, there probably will be. Not a doubt of it.’
‘I see. I’m just to go home and–wait.’
‘That’s it,’ said Jimmy, with every appearance of relief. ‘I thought you’d understand.’
‘You see,’ explained Bundle, ‘three of us forcing our way in might look rather suspicious. And you would be particularly difficult. You do see that, don’t you?’
‘Oh, yes,’ said Loraine.
‘Then it’s settled–you do nothing,’ said Jimmy.
‘I do nothing,’ said Loraine meekly.
Bundle looked at her in sudden suspicion. The tameness with which Loraine was taking it seemed hardly natural. Loraine looked at her. Her eyes were blue and guileless. They met Bundle’s without a quiver even of the lashes. Bundle was only partly satisfied. She found the meekness of Loraine Wade highly suspicious.
Chapter 10
Bundle Visits Scotland Yard
Now it may be said at once that in the foregoing conversation each one of the three participants had, as it were, held something in reserve. That ‘Nobody tells everything’ is a very true motto.
It may be questioned, for instance, if Loraine Wade was perfectly sincere in her account of the motives which had led her to seek out Jimmy Thesiger.
In the same way, Jimmy Thesiger himself had various ideas and plans connected with the forthcoming party at George Lomax’s which he had no intention of revealing to–say, Bundle.
And Bundle herself had a fully-fledged plan which she proposed to put into immediate execution and which she had said nothing whatever about.
On leaving Jimmy Thesiger’s rooms, she drove to Scotland Yard, where she asked for Superintendent Battle.
Superintendent Battle was rather a big man. He worked almost entirely on cases of a delicate political nature. On such a case he had come to Chimneys four years ago, and Bundle was frankly trading on his remembering this fact.
After a short delay, she was taken along several corridors and into the Superintendent’s private room. Battle was a stolid-looking man with a wooden face. He looked supremely unintelligent and more like a commissionaire than a detective.
He was standing by the window when she entered, gazing in an expressionless manner at some sparrows.
‘Good-afternoon, Lady Eileen,’ he said. ‘Sit down, won’t you?’
‘Thank you,’ said Bundle. ‘I was afraid you mightn’t remember me.’
‘Always remember people,’ said Battle. He added: ‘Got to in my job.’
‘Oh!’ said Bundle, rather damped.
‘And what can I do for you?’ inquired the Superintendent.
Bundle came straight to the point.
‘I’ve always heard that you people at Scotland Yard have lists of all secret societies and things like that that are formed in London.’
‘We try to keep up to date,’ said Superintendent Battle cautiously.
‘I suppose a great many of them aren’t really dangerous.’
‘We’ve got a very good rule to go by,’ said Battle. ‘The more they talk, the less they’ll do. You’d be surprised how well that works out.’
‘And I’ve heard that very often you let them go on?’
Battle nodded.
‘That’s so. Why shouldn’t a man call himself a Brother of Liberty and meet twice a week in a cellar and talk about rivers of blood–it won’t hurt either him or us. And if there is trouble any time, we know where to lay our hands on him.’
‘But sometimes, I suppose,’ said Bundle slowly, ‘a society may be more dangerous than anyone imagines?’
‘Very likely,’ said Battle.
‘But it might happen,’ persisted Bundle.
‘Oh, it might,’ admitted the Superintendent.
There was a moment or two’s silence. Then Bundle said quietly:
‘Superintendent Battle, could you give me a list of secret societies that have their headquarters in Seven Dials?’
It was Superintendent Battle’s boast that he had never been seen to display emotion. But Bundle could have sworn that just for a moment his eyelids flickered and he looked taken back. Only for a moment, however. He was his usual wooden self as he said:
‘Strictly speaking, Lady Eileen, there’s no such place as Seven Dials nowadays.’
‘No?’
‘No. Most of it is pulled down and rebuilt. It was rather a low quarter once, but it’s very respectable