The Victoria Vanishes Read Online Free PDF

officers until he found himself standing beside Raymond Land's wife.
    'Well, hello, stranger. Where have you been?' Leanne's eyes were half closed and her lipstick was smudged, but she was sending out signals to her favourite detective. For many years she had held not so much a torch for John May as a smugglers' lantern, but his ship had never been tempted to ground upon her rocks.
    'Hullo, Leanne. I'm afraid Arthur was a little overcome after his speech and needed some fre sh air.' He smiled while surrep titiously checking Land's top pocket.
    'Ha, he'll be hard-pressed to find anything fresh round here.' Leanne laughed, a tad commonly.'Tell me.' She leaned in so closely that he could smell Tia Maria on her breath. 'How do you manage to work with Mr Bryant without losing your temper? My husband wants to wring his neck most days.'
    'I never said that, Leanne,' Land bristled.
    'Oh, Raymond and I have our ways of dealing with Arthur, don't we?' May smiled awkwardly as he casually placed his hand on Land's shoulder. He t ried moving it around to the en velope in his top pocket and would have succeeded, but Leanne suddenly pulled him to one side.
    'You know, John, I have a long-felt want that needs taking care of.' She made it sound like a furniture restoration project. 'You awaken something in me that Raymond can't handle. He's too busy with his golf. I've no-one to talk to. I live the life of a spinster.' In moments of desperation, Leanne's Morecambe accent surfaced. 'Can't we go out for a quiet drink one evening?'
    'You're my boss's wife,' May reminded her, knowing that she never forgot. 'It's a matter of protocol.'
    Staring over her shoulder, he realised he had drawn atten tion to the letter, and that Land was now pulling it from his pocket in curiosity.
    'Raymond, don't read that,' he begged.
    Land studied the envelope. 'This is Bryant's handwriting. What's he doing sending me letters?' His forefinger drifted toward the poorly adhered corner.
    'Please, Raymond. Don't open that and I'll do a deal with you.' He thought fast. 'Leave it sealed until the weekend. Arthur didn't know what he was doing.'
    'Another note criticising my ability to manage the unit, I suppose.'
    'Something like that. Arthur wasn't thinking clearly. He'd just had one of his blue pills. If I can't get him to retract the contents, you can open it at this time on Saturday afternoon, how about that?'
    'I don't understand,' said Land, who so rarely did. 'I don't like it when he insults me. Why should I hold off? What's in it for me?'
    Actually it's a secret, but I'll cut you in on the deal,' said May, thinking on his feet and lyin g through his teeth. 'Arthur in sisted that your impatience would always get the better of you. He bet me fifty pounds that you couldn't keep your hands off that envelope until Saturday. So if you prove him wrong and leave it unopened until then, I'll split the winnings with you.'
    'I don't know.' Land thought for a minute. 'Why do I feel there's something fishy going on here?' He re-examined the envelope suspiciously, but finally returned it to his pocket undis turbed.
    I can't believe I got away with that, thought May as he headed back in Bryant's direction. I've bought myself a little time; now all I have to do is convince Arthur to rescind his offer, I'm such a hypocrite, telling him off about his envelope when I can't bring myself to show him the contents of mine, It's no good, I'll have to get it off my chest, My God, I need a drink,
    He ordered himself a fresh pint, then prepared for the worst.
    5
    MORTALITY
    A
    rthur, I passed the statue of Edith Cavell this morning.' It was an opening gambit in his bid to explain his fears about the forthcoming operat ion. May had just told his part ner about the clinic's letter.
    'Did you know there are memorials to her all around the world?' Bryant interrupted, sipping his London Pride bitter. 'There's even a mountain on Venus bearing her name, and of course Edith Piaf was named after her.