Accuse the Toff Read Online Free PDF Page B

incredulity. ‘Before I get back to the office I’ve just time for this. Jameson says that he was due to go back off leave, had a final night out, mixed with a hard-drinking crowd at a local pub and had too much to drink. His gun and other odds and ends were stolen. When he sobered up he was scared because he’d overstayed his leave and his parents are the kind to think the immediate penalty for desertion is shooting. He tried to get the gun back but failed. He tried again, was dosed with a knockout—that seems to be what happened, anyhow—and, later, thrown into the canal. The throwing coincided with the arrival of the Ford. The reason for it all is obvious. We were to believe that Jameson had a grouch and was worried. The incident with Ibbetson worried him more and he went off the handle, took the car, returned to a spot near his home, was filled with remorse and tried to drown himself. Impact with cold water removing his more distant fears, he climbed out and sought refuge at home. That,’ finished Rollison, ‘is the story. It looks pretty, doesn’t it?’
    Grice made no comment at all.
    â€˜Of course, Jameson may have done the job himself and thought this story up,’ conceded the Toff. ‘But if we grant that he did lose his gun and someone else used it, we have the perfect picture in the perfect frame—with one thing that went wrong; would Jameson, in such circumstances, drive right up to his own doorstep before trying to drown himself? On the face of it, I say no.’
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Chapter Four
Rollison Remembers In Time
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    â€˜I don’t say anything,’ said Grice, after a long pause. ‘I’m coming up for breath.’ He eased his collar, leaned forward and implored: ‘Tell me exactly what happened. I’m still trying to understand how you made contact with Jameson at all.’
    Rollison told the story concisely while Grice made shorthand notes. As he talked, Rollison found his belief in Jameson strengthening at the same time as the case against the youngster appeared to harden. When he finished the recital he went on without a noticeable pause: ‘Items to check: (a) What pub did Jameson go to? (b) Did he inquire about any lost equipment? (c) Who drank with him there? Answer those and you may be a long way on the road to solving the case. What is your reaction now?’
    Slowly Grice rubbed his chin.
    â€˜I wouldn’t like to say,’ he admitted. ‘I haven’t your simple faith in the young man but I may be more inclined that way when I’ve seen him. He is here, isn’t he?’
    â€˜He’s here.’ Rollison glanced at his watch. ‘By George, it’s nearly three. Be a kind soul and deal gently with Jameson for the time being, won’t you? Oh—will you be here tonight?’
    â€˜What time do you mean?’ demanded Grice.
    â€˜Around ten.’
    â€˜Probably I’ll be here,’ said Grice glumly, ‘and if not you can get me at home. You must go, I suppose? I’d prefer you to have a word with Jameson with me.’
    â€˜Confound it, the war must go on,’ declared Rollison, getting up and stepping to the door. ‘But just at the moment, and for no reason at all, I’m holding a watching brief for Jameson. I’ll be seeing you,’ he promised, and hurried out.
    He left Superintendent Grice frowning at the closed door and Grice was still frowning when Rollison opened it again to say: ‘Did I tell you that he’s in the waiting-room?’
    Grice nodded.
    Rollison reached his office to find two reproachful assistants waiting; some minor correspondence had been sorted and there was an air of suspended animation in the room. On the short journey from the Yard he had considered both Jameson’s story and the probability that Grice suspected him of knowing more than he admitted; he put all contemplation of the affair out of his mind while he dealt with a welter