The Riddle at Gipsy's Mile (An Angela Marchmont Mystery 4) (13 page)

‘
Will you take me there?
’
said Angela.

Freddy was surprised.

‘
Why, I haven
’
t been for months, but yes, I could take you if you like. Why this sudden interest in late-night revelry? I shouldn
’
t have thought it was your thing.
’

‘
I am very fond of late-night revelry,
’
said Angela with dignity.
‘
I
’
m not that old.
’

‘
Of course you
’
re n
ot,
’
said Freddy.
‘
Then we shall go. When would suit you?
’

‘
What about tomorrow?
’

‘
Tomorrow? Why the haste?
’
He looked at her suspiciously.
‘
I believe there is something you are not telling me,
’
he said.
‘
Wherefore this sudden irresistible attraction for t
he Copernicus Club?
’

‘
Somebody told me about it, that
’
s all, and said it was great fun,
’
said Angela vaguely, but Freddy was not fooled for an instant.

‘
Rot,
’
he said.
‘
There
’
s something, isn
’
t there? Spit it out.
’

‘
I can
’
t,
’
said Angela.
‘
I promised not t
o say anything to the press
—
and especially not the
Clarion
.
’

‘
I should think I know when to hold my tongue,
’
said Freddy, with a hurt air.

Angela sighed. It was clear that she would have to tell him sooner or later, since she could hardly spend the evening
questioning the staff of the club without drawing his notice.

‘
Very well,
’
she said reluctantly.
‘
But this is not to be spread about. The police think there may be some connection between the Copernicus and the dead woman we found the other week.
’

Freddy
raised his eyebrows.

‘
I say,
’
he said.
‘
Now that
’
s rather interesting. What makes them think that?
’

Angela told him about her conversation with Inspector Jameson and the handbill which had been found in the woman
’
s suitcase.

‘
Awfully convenient for you, ha
ving a friend in the police,
’
remarked Freddy.
‘
I ought to cultivate a useful acquaintance of that sort myself. And so they
’
ve had no luck in getting anyone to talk? I can
’
t say I
’
m surprised. But what do you intend to do? Do you have something up your sl
e
eve that gives you an advantage over the police?
’

‘
Not exactly,
’
said Angela,
‘
but William has a friend who plays in the jazz orchestra there, and he
’
s promised to give me an introduction. I thought I might begin with him. He
’
s bound to know if any of the
dance hostesses have gone missing.
’

‘
This is starting to sound rather promising,
’
said Freddy.
‘
Old Bickerstaffe would lick his lips if he knew about it.
’

‘
Mind,
’
warned Angela,
‘
I promised Inspector Jameson, so you mustn
’
t tell anyone. If you do, I shall
—
I shall
—’
she cast about for a suitably awful threat,
‘
I shall tell your mother about you and Marguerite.
’

Freddy paled visibly.

‘
You wouldn
’
t!
’
he said, aghast.

‘
Oh, wouldn
’
t I?
’

‘
You
’
re a cruel woman, Angela.
’

‘
Then give me your word you won
’
t say anythi
ng. If you
’
re a good boy now, there
’
s a chance that you might get an “
in”
on the story later.
’

‘
You must introduce me to this inspector of yours.
’

‘
Perhaps I shall.
’

Freddy gave his word somewhat grumpily, then they parted, having agreed to meet again the
following night.

It was a damp, drizzly evening when Angela and Freddy emerged from a little r
estaurant that they had discovered was a great mutual favourite, and set off for the environs of Brewer Street. In spite of the late hour and the gloomy weather, Soho was full of noise and life, and the patrons of the various establishments enjoyed a roar
i
ng trade as the young and the not-so-young, the fashionable and the unfashionable, flocked to their doors to get a taste of London
’
s gay and gaudy night-life.

They had just turned off Brewer Street when they saw ahead of them a little knot of people gather
ed outside a particular door.

‘
Here we are,
’
said Freddy as they approached the group. A young woman turned to see who the newcomers were, and her face broke into a smile of recognition.

‘
Hallo, Freddy, you ass,
’
she said amiably.
‘
I do believe it
’
s been a
n age.
’

‘
Hallo, Gertie,
’
said Freddy.
‘
Where have you been? Is your Governor still giving you trouble?
’

‘
Yes,
’
said Gertie, who had a face and manner that promised nothing but mischief.
‘
Father has been a screaming bore ever since that business with the Co
wboys and Indians party. I told him the damage to the car was nothing to do with me, and he said he didn
’
t care about the car, but he wouldn
’
t stand for any daughter of his riding a donkey through Covent Garden wearing only a poncho and a feather head-dre
s
s, and he confiscated my latch-key and stopped my allowance for simply weeks. I had to promise faithfully to behave myself before they
’
d let me out tonight. You
’
ll take care of me, won
’
t you, Walter?
’
she said to her companion.
‘
You
’
ll make sure I stay on
the straight and narrow path.
’

‘
Y-y-yes,
’
stammered her young escort, who looked, as far as Angela could judge, quite incapable of preventing Gertie from doing anything she wanted if she was determined to misbehave.

Just then, the door opened and a solid-l
ooking doorman stood back to let them all in.

‘
Hallo, Mr. Pilkington-Soames,
’
he said as they passed.
‘
We haven
’
t seen you here in a while.
’

‘
Jenkins,
’
said Freddy, nodding.
‘
Are the old crowd in tonight?
’

‘
Some of them,
’
said the doorman.
‘
Mr. Doyle and M
r. Allison arrived earlier. They said they were expecting Mr. Bagley and young Viscount Delamere later on.
’

‘
Delamere? But he
’
s a frightful blister,
’
said Freddy.
‘
What on earth were they doing, letting him tag along?
’

‘
I couldn
’
t say, sir,
’
said Jenkins n
on-committally, and waved them in.

Angela had suddenly begun to feel rather old, and was wondering whether she ought not perhaps to have come with someone nearer to her own age. She had no time to indulge the feeling, however, for they were ushered to a d
oor which opened to let out a blast of hot, damp air and deafening music. In through the door they went, and Angela
’
s first impression was that they had entered Hell, for the whole place was clothed in a deep blood-red. The walls were red, the carpet was
r
ed, the chairs were upholstered in red velvet, and even the dim light seemed to wear a pinkish hue, thanks to the tasselled red lampshades that hung from the ceiling.

They were shown to a table, and Angela looked about her as her eyes grew used to the gloo
m. It was only ten o
’
clock, but the place was full of people. The tables were packed so tightly together that one could easily eavesdrop on nearby revellers
—
were it not for the loudness of the music, which in fact made it barely possible to conduct a conv
e
rsation of one
’
s own. The orchestra were in full swing, playing with great panache and humour, seemingly enjoying themselves as much as anyone, and the tiny dance floor was crammed with people, although there was not enough room to do much more than shuff
l
e about. Angela looked towards the stage. The band-leader had launched into an intricate solo on the trumpet, which was rather impressive, especially since he appeared to be conducting the orchestra at the same time using his entire body.

A waiter came and
Freddy ordered champagne, which arrived accompanied by a plate of stale bread and cold sausage. Freddy pushed the plate away and offered Angela a light for her cigarette. They sat companionably for a while, entertained by the comings and goings. Angela h
a
d already spotted, sitting in close conference, two film-stars who were married
—
although not to each other
—
as well as the titled wife of a rising politician, who was laughing affectedly as a dark man, who looked to be a foreigner, kissed her hand.

A young
woman with unnaturally fair hair, red lips and a world-weary air passed their table and gave Freddy a brief wave. Angela watched as the girl spied a man sitting alone at a table and approached him, putting her hand on his shoulder in a familiar gesture. H
e
motioned to a chair and she sat down. He summoned a waiter.

‘
So that
’
s how it works,
’
thought Angela.
‘
Does she work here?
’
she said to Freddy, as soon as she could make herself heard.

‘
Yes,
’
he said.
‘
She
’
s one of Mrs. Chang
’
s girls. Their job is to reli
eve the male customers of any inconvenient spare cash they may have about their persons by encouraging them to buy drinks.
’

‘
So I see,
’
said Angela. She rifled in her little beaded evening-bag, and brought out a tiny notebook and pencil. She scribbled a no
te, then signalled to a passing waiter and instructed him to give it to the band-leader as soon as he could.

‘
You ought to have given it to me to pass on,
’
said Freddy.
‘
Now the waiter will think you
’
re trying to seduce a black man.
’

‘
I doubt he
’
d blink an
eye even if I were,
’
said Angela.
‘
I thought that kind of thing was all terribly normal nowadays in these circles. I doubt it would shock anyone for a second.
’

The band had paused between numbers, and Angela watched as the waiter slipped her note to the m
an she had seen playing the trumpet earlier. He read it without apparent surprise but merely glanced inquiringly at the waiter, who pointed at Angela
’
s table. The musician looked up, saw Angela and nodded at her, then gestured to indicate that he would jo
i
n her as soon as possible.

‘
Suppose we dance,
’
suggested Freddy, as the next number began.
‘
He
’
ll be busy for a while.
’

‘
Why not?
’
said Angela,
‘
If we can find any room, that is.
’

He led her to the floor and they essayed a rather cramped two-step. The girl
called Gertie and her hapless escort were dancing too. Gertie flashed Freddy a wicked grin and looked at Angela curiously. The number finished and they went back to their table, a little breathless. Alvie Berteau put down his trumpet and nodded to a depu
t
y, then came over to where they were sitting.

‘
Mrs. Marchmont?
’
he said.

‘
Mr. Berteau,
’
said Angela.
‘
I
’
m very pleased to meet you. William has told me so many things about you. Thank you for agreeing to see me. This is Freddy Pilkington-Soames.
’

They all shook hands solemnly, and Angela invited Alvie to sit.

‘
Did William tell you why I wanted to speak to you?
’
she began.

A wary look came into Alvie
’
s eye and he looked around cautiously.

‘
He did, ma
’
am,
’
he replied.
‘
But it
’
s kind of difficult here,
’
cause we
’
re not supposed to talk about it. They
’
ll throw me out if they find out I
’
ve been speaking to you.
’

‘
Did you know
—’
began Angela, then stopped as Freddy shot her a warning glance. She looked up to see a young man of Chin
ese appearance standing before their table. He bowed genially to Angela and Freddy, then looked at the musician.

‘
Alvie,
’
he said,
‘
oughtn
’
t you to be on stage?
’

‘
Sorry, Mr. Chang,
’
said Alvie, and stood up, but Angela interrupted.

‘
I beg your pardon,
’
she
said,
‘
I merely called him over because I wanted to tell him personally how delightfully talented he and his band are. Mr. Pilkington-Soames here works for the
Clarion
, and he was thinking of running a piece about the Copernicus and its jazz orchestra. I
hope you don
’
t object to the publicity.
’

Johnny Chang hesitated.

‘
No, not at all,
’
he said affably.
‘
Alvie, you may speak to this lady and gentleman, but I should like you to be back on stage in ten minutes.
’

He seemed inclined to hover, so Angela said,
‘
As a matter of fact, Mr. Berteau and I were just about to go and dance. You don
’
t mind, I hope? Don
’
t worry, I shall send him back to work as soon as the next number is over.
’

Clearly supposing that Angela was a bored society matron in search of an illicit
thrill, Johnny Chang bowed with the utmost politeness and stood back to let her and Alvie pass.

‘
I
’
m sorry for forcing you to dance, and I do hope I haven
’
t got you into trouble,
’
said Angela as they stepped out onto the floor.

‘
No fear of that,
’
said Alv
ie in friendlier tones.
‘
You said the magic word “
publicity”
. He
’
ll be fine. They think a lot of their business, the Changs.
’

He steered her around the floor carefully.

‘
I suppose we can talk now without being overheard,
’
said Angela.
‘
You know what I am l
ooking for. A woman is dead and I want to find out who she was. It seems a great shame to let fear of the police get in the way of that.
’

‘
Well, you know,
’
said Alvie cautiously,
‘
it may be that the girls here do just a little more than what they were hire
d for. I think you understand what I mean.
’