Death of an Englishman Read Online Free PDF

employed no domestic staff, that he received a great many visitors. We're checking the prints with our files at the moment. That's really as much as I can tell you at this stage, except that he was found by the stair cleaner in the early morning, and—'
    The telephone rang.
    'Gianini here, sir, technical squad. I've got the information you wanted on that majolica bust. Doctor Biondini recognized the piece immediately, said he checked that seal himself only six months ago. The head of an angel by Della Robbia, Luca, not Andrea. It's a particularly good piece, he said.'
    'I see. Well, this throws new light on our man.'
    'More than you'd think, sir.'
    'Meaning … ?'
    'I said that Biondini checked that seal only six months ago. He wanted to check his files to make absolutely sure, in the circumstances, that he couldn't be mistaken.'
    'And?'
    'He wasn't mistaken. The Della Robbia belongs to an American woman who has a villa up near Fiesole. She married into an impoverished family of Italian nobility before the war, and with his knowledge and her money they started collecting. The husband died about six years ago.'
    'And she sold the piece?'
    'No. She didn't. It couldn't have been sold, Biondini says, without his knowledge. Besides which, she's been in California for the past two months, visiting relatives there, leaving only the servants, a married couple, in the house.'
    'And are they still there?'
    'No reply, sir. Biondini's on his way up there now.'
    'I'll send somebody—but he'll have to get on to the Protection of Patrimony group; I can't deal with it—tell him I'd like to be kept informed. Yes. Yes. Thank you.' The Captain replaced the receiver and remained silent for some moments. He didn't relish the idea of announcing to the Chief Inspector that his respectable compatriot was now suspected of being a thief, or, at least, a receiver. There was no possibility of his having bought the piece legitimately since it was registered and could not be sold, or even moved, without the approval of the State. He tried an oblique approach:
    'You don't happen to know whether Mr Langley-Smythe had an English gun licence?'
    'I could check on it for you. Why? Did he have an Italian one?'
    'No, he didn't. But he might have had a weapon, nevertheless …'
    'Has such a weapon been found? Is there any evidence to suggest he had a gun?'
    'No, not as yet …'
    'Well, if you don't mind my saying so, it seems to me that you're trying to make a case against Mr Langley-Smythe instead of against whoever killed him.' The Chief's pale blue eyes were suddenly bright. Jeffreys knew what that meant and was listening now, watching the Captain's face as an embarrassed Carabiniere Bacci translated. The Captain showed no sign of anger but he became even more formal and excessively polite.
    'I am very sorry indeed that you should think so. However, I'm sure you realize, from your own extensive experience in such a renowned place as Scotland Yard, that I am obliged to consider all possibilities, including those which are as unwelcome to me as they are to you.'
    Smoothy, thought Jeffreys, impressed.
    'Yes, well, Mr Langley-Smythe didn't shoot himself.'
    'Indeed not. But we both know that no professional would use a 6.35 or aim at the heart. It is, on the other hand, the sort of weapon often kept for self-defence, which makes it possible that a thief might have found it on the spot and made use of it if he had been disturbed.'
    'Well, naturally, I'd thought of that. It's just a question of attitude …'
    But the situation was de-fused. The cold glint in the Chief's eye, normally reserved for picket lines and left-wing militants, was fading. 'Will there be any objection to our removing the body to England for burial?'
    'I imagine not. At the moment it's in the Medico-Legal Institute at Careggi. The British Consulate will deal with all the formalities and once Professor Forli has completed his autopsy you can apply to the Substitute Prosecutor for permission.'