Gently North-West Read Online Free PDF Page B

sack or groundsheet, plunged with bended head past their window, and among the few cars that planed by Gently recognized a police Super Snipe. For what were they searching out there, up the hill paths and under the mist? A queer accident it needed to be to make an effort on this scale necessary.
    At last Mrs McFie adjusted her defences and departed into the storm, and they were able for the first time to talk freely of the situation.
    ‘George,’ Bridget said. ‘If you land us in this I’ll never go on holiday with you again. It isn’t necessary, and you’re not to do it – there are plenty of policemen here to handle things.’
    ‘It’s a nice point,’ Geoffrey said. ‘But I think I’d advise the same thing. To our best information there has been only an accident, and you don’t know that your friend Redbeard was concerned in it. You’ve seen him before, you saw him up there, that’s the extent of your testimony. He could say exactly the same of you. There are no grounds to suppose his being there is particularly significant.’
    ‘It isn’t an accident,’ Gently said.
    ‘
Ça va
,’ Geoffrey said. ‘I bow to your judgement. But the argument holds, you know no evil of him. Therefore, volunteer nothing. The local police have tongues in their heads.’
    ‘That’s just what I say,’ Bridget said. ‘If they want information about this man they’ll jolly soon come asking. And anyway, you don’t know they don’t know about him.’
    ‘That again,’ Geoffrey said. ‘He may be talking to them at this moment George – about a courting couple up from London.’
    Gently looked at Brenda. ‘What do you say?’
    Brenda tilted her chin and mouthed cigarette smoke. ‘I say I do know evil of him,’ she said. ‘I put him down for a crook the moment I saw him.’
    ‘Ah, but that’s just opinion,’ Geoffrey said.
    ‘I’m good at opinions,’ Brenda said. ‘The first time I was ever one of George’s suspects I formed the opinion I was going to like him. And Redbeard is evil. I could feel it last night. He wasn’t playing peekaboo up there with his glasses. He was up to something nasty – and something nasty has happened. I’ll bet they’ll find out he did it, in the end.’
    ‘Yes, but that isn’t going to help the police,’ Geoffrey said.
    ‘The police are stupid. They should always listen to one of my intuitions.’
    ‘Do you want to go to them, then?’
    ‘No. I’ve another intuition about that. If George sticks his nose in over there they’ll simply grab him with both hands.’
    ‘Yes, probably as a suspect,’ Gently grunted. ‘Time, place, opportunity.’
    ‘Well, you should know,’ Geoffrey chuckled. ‘Your reactions are the same as theirs.’
    Gently stared gloomily at the rain, the oozing strath, the rolling vapour.
    ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘That’s the whole trouble. My reactions are the same as theirs. I know how they feel out there, especially if they’re getting nowhere, and me sitting here with perhaps just the lead that’ll make all their pieces fall into place. It’s happened to me too many times, being stuck because someone refused to come forward. I’d like to say Hang you Jack with the rest, but it sticks in my throat; I know what’s involved. Can you guess what they’re looking for up the braes?’
    Geoffrey’s thick brows bunched. ‘Could be a weapon.’
    ‘A weapon – which may or may not be there. And for which they could be searching from now till Christmas.’
    ‘And you think you can find it for them?’ Bridget asked sourly.
    ‘I might be able to suggest a better place to start looking.’
    ‘Which would make you instantly popular with a lot of wet policemen.’
    ‘Wet policemen are as miserable as wet civilians.’
    ‘Yes, well,’ Geoffrey frowned. ‘I do see your point, of course, George. The pity of it is we don’t know enough to know if your information is valuable or not. I still suggest you play it canny and wait to see how things