Read Online A Maze of Murders by Roderic Jeffries - Free Book Online Page B

him?’
    â€˜He arrived in the port in the middle of last month and had very little money, yet eight days later booked in at one of the more expensive hotels and chartered a motor boat.’
    â€˜The Midas touch.’
    â€˜On the twenty-fifth of last month, you paid a large sterling cheque into your bank. On the same day, you withdrew a million pesetas in cash.’
    â€˜The cost of living is like the arrow of time, it has only one direction.’ His tone sharpened. ‘Am I allowed to know how you became cognizant of these facts?’
    â€˜When we can show this to be necessary to a major investigation, we have the right to ask a bank to breach the rules on customer secrecy. Surely the police have a similar right in your country?’
    â€˜Of course. But how could there be such a necessity when, as I’ve just said, I have never knowingly met the unfortunate man? In any case, since when has an accidental drowning been rated a major crime?’
    â€˜As I have suggested, there is the possibility that the señor’s death was not the result of an accident. Until all the surrounding facts are known, it will not be possible to be certain.’
    Clough said: ‘It seems we have something of a Catch-22 situation. You are required to show that a crime has been committed in order to gain permission for the disclosure of bank account details; you demand the details of an account in order to establish there has been a crime.’
    â€˜What did you do with the million pesetas?’
    â€˜What does one normally do with money?’
    â€˜Even today, such a large amount…’ He stopped as the door opened and a woman entered.
    She came to a halt just inside the room. ‘Julía said we had a visitor from the police…’ She became silent.
    Clough rose. ‘Inspector Alvarez. Inspector, my wife.’
    Belatedly, Alvarez remembered that the English had the strange habit of coming to their feet when a woman first entered the room and he hastily stood. ‘It is a pleasure to meet you, señora.’ Since experience suggested that the richer the husband, the younger and more glamorous the current wife, he was surprised by the fact that she was roughly Clough’s age, far from glamorous, and dressed for comfort, not effect.
    â€˜Do sit,’ Clough said. ‘Standing raises one nearer heaven, but can be hell on the legs … Vera, the inspector is asking if we know a Neil Lewis. I’ve told him, the only Lewis we’ve ever known is Mark and it’s years since we last had contact.’
    She settled on the settee. ‘Why … What’s happened?’
    â€˜This Lewis has fallen from a boat and has to be presumed drowned.’
    â€˜Oh, no!’
    Alvarez was surprised by the degree of her distress.
    Clough, his tone one of ironic resignation, said: ‘As you can judge, Inspector, every man’s death certainly diminishes my wife! In fact, she suffers other people’s misfortunes more than her own.’
    Her manner had seemed to suggest a more than general concern over a tragedy that had overtaken a stranger; Clough had been very quick to explain away her reaction. ‘Señora, I have to try and find out how and why it happened.’
    â€˜Of course,’ she murmured.
    â€˜Perhaps you won’t mind helping me?’
    â€˜I’m curious,’ Clough said. ‘How can my wife begin to help you when she has never met the unfortunate man, hasn’t been on our boat in the past fortnight, and was last in Llueso several days ago?’
    â€˜Sometimes, señor, a negative can be useful.’
    â€˜Then you’ll undoubtedly find what she has to say very useful indeed!’
    Alvarez turned to face Vera. ‘Your husband has told me that he does not know anyone by the name of Neil Lewis…’
    Clough interrupted him. ‘I said, we do not.’
    â€˜You are quite right, señor. However, I should be