The Barker's Dozen - Reminiscences of an Early Police Dog Read Online Free PDF Page B

returned about two hours later, having made arrangements for a list of the stolen jewellery to be circulated to all the capital’s pawnshops. We did not really expect any results from this since it is normally only petty or impulse criminals who attempt to pawn their stolen goods. The rest of that day was spent dealing with other important matters, such as lunch.
    The following morning we arrived at the Yard to find that a package had been delivered from Brighton. Your uncle opened it and quickly read though the contents before calling Sergeant Allen into his office.
    ‘This is from Inspector Clarke at Brighton,’ my master began. ‘He has sent us a copy of his report on the robbery at Sir James’ house. The robbery had occurred sometime in the early hours of the last Friday of October. The burglar had entered the house by removing a pane of glass in the servants’ hall. The intruder then seemed to have gone directly to Lady Trimperton’s dressing room where her jewel case had been stolen.
    ‘Inspector Clarke then writes that they initially had a suspect. One of the maids had been sacked without a reference earlier that week for stealing small amounts of food. She had sworn that she was innocent and that Sir James was wronging her. The local police traced her to her home village and arrested her. It was soon established, however, that she had been working until well after midnight in the village inn.
    ‘I think that it is probably a coincidence,’ my master continued, ‘but we have two professional robberies. In both cases, however, there are seemingly unrelated thefts of food in the weeks preceding both the robberies. I think we should go and see Sir James. There may be some details that Inspector Clarke thinks are too trivial for his report.’
    Sergeant Allen made the arrangements for this trip with his usual efficiency and we found ourselves after lunch travelling by train to Brighton, soon leaving the London fog behind.
    We were met at the station by a tall, dapper man who identified himself as Inspector Clarke. He led us from the station to a waiting carriage, which took us to Brighton Police Station and the relative warmth of the Inspector’s office.
    The three police officers discussed the two crimes and it became obvious that there were marked similarities between the burglaries.  The modus operandi was, however, new. It was also apparent that Sir James and Lord Harridge moved in the same social circles. This meant that some of their servants were familiar with both houses. Unfortunately, this also applied to the retainers of several of their aristocratic friends. However, it did give us a possible starting place for the investigation.
    Inspector Clarke then took us to Sir James’ town house. This building was in a quiet avenue close to the front. The smell of the sea was especially welcome after the fogs of London and I gave some thought to running off for a swim. I am, however, a conscientious dog and duty always comes before pleasure. A lane running between two of the houses indicated that there was stabling accessible from the rear of the property.
    We were shown into the house by a rather grand butler who asked us to wait in the library in tones that suggested that we were lucky to be invited into the house. I have noticed that some of the servants of the upper classes are far more class conscious than their employers. It was obvious that the butler thought that the police were very low er class. I waited until we were alone before I had a good scratch. I know that it was petty but the sight of dog hair on an otherwise pristine rug filled me with delight.
    I was somewhat surprised when an elderly gentleman dressed in comfortable old clothes came into the room and greeted Inspector Clarke warmly. He was introduced to us as Sir James. One sniff was enough to tell me that he was of a scholarly temperament. There was a faint smell of old books about him that led me to assume that we had disturbed him