Dolly and the Bird of Paradise - Dorothy Dunnett - Johnson Johnson 01 Read Online Free PDF Page A

Largs?
    The security man said, ‘If you’re goin’ up now, Miss, there’s this parcel. The boy took it up to deliver it, but nobody answered the door. Of course, Mr Johnson’s not up to walking.’
    Bessie was at the lift, waiting.
    I didn’t join her.
    I didn’t take the parcel.
    I said, ‘But Mr Braithwaite’s in the flat. Didn’t Mr Braithwaite come to the door?’
    They looked at me, and I brought my voice down. I said, ‘Didn’t Mr Braithwaite go up to the flat again after he spoke to you?’
    ‘Oh no, Miss,’ the security man said. ‘Out on the street like a rocket, he went. A heavy date, he said, and he was late for it. My Gawd, that’s a character… Do you ’ave a key to 17 b , Miss? Mr Braithwaite left one for you, in case.’
    King Ferdy the Rat.
    I turned to make for the street. Bessie joined me, her tail wagging. I halted.
    My case was in the flat, too. And my money.
    I returned to the desk. I said, ‘Do you know Mrs Margate’s address or phone number? Mr Johnson’s housekeeper?’
    They didn’t. I thought.
    Ferdy’s flat was being rewired. It was empty.
    Natalie Sheridan wanted me for two days. I had no flat, no hotel room, no money and an Old English Sheepdog.
    There were a number of choices.
    I could shove Bessie into the flat, lift my gear and walk out.
    I could tell the men down below what had happened. They could ring Meals on Wheels or the Salvation Army to rescue the guy upstairs if they felt like it. Ferdy would be mad, but it was Ferdy’s fault anyway.
    On the other hand, Ferdy could do me down with Natalie Sheridan.
    It wasn’t likely. He enjoyed life, and it took a good push before he got the knives out. But everyone knew what happened then.
    I didn’t want Mrs Sheridan put off me. I didn’t much want to walk round finding a bed. A free night upstairs had something to it. And sure as eggs, I’d have no come-on from the resident cripple.
    I took the key and went up in the lift with Bessie. Someone had wiped off my lipstick from the mirror, and had written TA LOVE on the door. I read it.
    Ferdy was a bastard, but I supposed I’d go along with it in the end, as per usual. Twenty-four hours was all he claimed the housekeeper needed.
    I could stick it till lunchtime tomorrow. And if I could, the guy Johnson would have to.
    I got to his door and nearly changed my mind when I heard the phone ringing behind it. But however feeble, the man could surely take his own calls, if I answered the doorbell and fed him.
    I unlocked the door and walked in, shooing Bessie before me. I shouted. ‘It’s Miss Geddes back, Mr Johnson! You’ve got another palm for your parlour!’
    I don’t know whether he heard me, but I could hear his voice on the phone, so I suppose he did. I shut the door and went to choose a bedroom. The one I’d used seemed to be the main guestroom. It smelt of Mrs Sheridan’s scent. It had a phone in it.
    It struck me that I had some calls to make if I was staying in London. I picked up the phone, and found I was listening to Johnson’s caller.
    It was a woman, and she was in the middle of reading a lecture.
    ‘Well, you can’t stay there, can you? If you don’t go back to your people, then you might as well come to us. Daughter Joanna would love it. She’s made you some rather drippy jam.’
    Johnson’s voice said, ‘If I don’t go home, I’d have to go to the Judge’s.’
    There was a silence. Then the woman said, ‘Yes, I see that. But it’s too much for Connie.’
    He said, ‘I’ll get help for her. Really. It’s all right.’
    ‘And later?’ She still sounded doubtful. ‘Don’t you want to get away from those phones? Where’s
Dolly
?’
    ‘Still refitting.’
    The woman said, ‘You could be in the Caribbean by the early summer. Why don’t we send Lenny down to sail her out? We’re not using him. He could take her to Tenerife and wait till you were ready. Or take her across himself with Raymond or somebody. You could fly over.
    ‘You know