Read Online Blood Sinister by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - Free Book Online

do not. A woman has been murdered, and I never find that in the least amusing. As to attitude, perhaps we can examine yours. I’d like you to answer some simple questions instead of wasting time with ridiculous power-play.’
    ‘How dare you!’
    ‘It’s my job to dare. When did you last see Miss Agnew?’
    Prentiss seemed taken aback. Perhaps no-one had spoken sharply to him since he outgrew his nanny. ‘But I – I don’t understand. Phoebe’s dead? How? How did it happen?’
    ‘I’d rather not go into that at the moment.’
    Prentiss shook his head. ‘I can’t take it in. It’s not possible. And surely you can’t be suspecting
me
of anything?’
    ‘I haven’t got as far as suspecting anyone yet. You may have been the last person to see Miss Agnew alive. I’d like to know about that.’
    ‘I haven’t seen her for weeks!’ Prentiss protested.
    Slider felt Atherton beside him quiver with pleasure. ‘You went to see her yesterday,’ he contradicted firmly.
    The lion’s eyes widened. ‘What makes you say that?’ he asked with careful neutrality.
    Slider only smiled gently. ‘You went to see her yesterday,’ he repeated. ‘Now, would you like to tell me about it, or shall we continue this conversation elsewhere?’
    With another stare, Prentiss swung the swivel chair round so that he was facing the window, and left Slider his back to look at for a long moment, while he marshalled his thoughts, perhaps, or reorganised his face. When he swung back, he was in control again, but he looked grave, and suddenly older.
    ‘I don’t know what all this is about,’ he said. ‘Please, tell me the truth. Phoebe was my oldest and dearest friend. Is she really dead? She was really murdered?’
    ‘I’m afraid she was,’ said Slider.
    ‘Dear God,’ said Prentiss.
    Slider pressed him. ‘Please answer my question, Mr Prentiss.’
    He swallowed and licked his lips a few times, seeming to come to a decision. ‘I did go to see her yesterday,’ he admitted, ‘but I don’t know how you knew. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing – I dropped in on her on my way somewhere else. I was there less than half an hour, and she was fine when I left her. I don’t know any more than that.’
    ‘Give me some times,’ Slider said.
    ‘I don’t know exactly, but it would be about eight o’clock. I mean, I must have got there about eight and left about twenty, twenty-five past.’
    ‘I see,’ said Slider in troubled tones. ‘You’re quite sure about that?’
    ‘I’ve just said I can’t be exact, but that was about the time.’
    ‘The problem is, you see,’ Atherton joined in, ‘that she told a witness yesterday morning that she was expecting a visitor,and we have witnesses to the fact that there was someone there with her between six-thirty and seven. Now you say you called without warning and not until eight o’clock.’
    ‘That’s right.’ He paused, frowning with thought. ‘It must have been someone else,’ he concluded. ‘She must have had another visitor.’
    ‘Did she say, when you saw her, that she’d had a visitor?’
    ‘No, but – well, if it wasn’t me, it must have been someone else, mustn’t it?’
    ‘Where were you for the rest of the day – at work?’
    ‘No, as it happened I was working from home yesterday. I do that sometimes to get away from the phones.’
    ‘How did Miss Agnew seem to you?’ Slider asked. ‘Was she in her normal spirits?’
    ‘I don’t know – yes, I suppose so.’
    ‘What did you do?’
    ‘Do? We chatted about this and that. I had—’ Something seemed to strike him.
    ‘You had what?’
    ‘I had a drink,’ he said slowly.
    Slider smiled inwardly. He’s remembered the whisky glass, he thought. ‘Anything else?’
    ‘Phoebe had one as well,’ he said in that same distant tone. And then he snapped back to normal. ‘Anyway, that’s all I can tell you. She was perfectly all right when I left her.’
    ‘Where were you on your way to, when you