Read Online The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine - Free Book Online Page A

burglars.
    ‘Gentlemen, this is Miss Taylor from our Millinery Department . . .’ Mr Cooper’s voice faded away into nothing, and he straightened the collar of his neat black suit with an uncharacteristically nervous gesture. In spite of the feeling of dread that was beginning to creep over her, Sophie felt a sudden stab of sympathy for the store manager. After all, he was the one ultimately responsible for security, always so determined to keep everything running in the most perfect order. And this had happened on the very evening before the store was due to open for the first time.
    All at once, she became conscious of Sergeant Gregson’s eyes fixed on her, now cold and serious over the rims of his spectacles.
    ‘Miss Taylor, I want you to answer some questions about what happened yesterday,’ he began. Please listen carefully and answer as fully as you can.’
    Sophie realised with some irritation that he was talking especially slowly, as if he thought she would have difficulty following him. Her cheeks flushed with annoyance as he continued.
    ‘Omit no details, but stick to the facts only, please. We don’t want any shop girl gossip here. A man is gravely injured: I am sure you realise this is a very serious matter. Do you understand?’
    ‘Yes, sir,’ she replied shortly.
    ‘You have been working here, in the Millinery Department, for how long?’
    ‘Just two weeks, sir. The same as the other salesgirls.’
    ‘You were working in your department until around six o’clock last night, is that correct?’
    ‘Yes, sir. The same time as all the other girls.’
    ‘And you left the building as usual?’
    ‘Yes, sir.’
    ‘Did anyone actually
see
you leave?’
    Was he suggesting she wasn’t telling the truth? ‘Yes, I think so. The other girls from my department left just before me. There were other people still there though – Uncle S– I mean, Sidney Parker. And I think Dot – Dot Baxter from Ladies’ Fashions. And –’ she broke off, uncertainly.
    ‘
And?
’
    She wasn’t sure if she should mention it, but perhaps it might be important. ‘As I came on to the street, there was a young man there – a vagrant,’ she said hesitantly. ‘He looked unwell. I stopped to give him some money.’
    Sergeant Gregson raised his eyebrows slightly, but made no comment. He seemed less and less fatherly with each second that passed. ‘But having left the shop as normal, you later returned?’ he went on.
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Why exactly was that, Miss Taylor?’
    ‘I had forgotten something,’ she explained as briefly as she could, hoping that he would not ask for any details. ‘I went back to fetch it.’
    ‘It couldn’t have waited until the morning?’
    ‘No,’ she said simply.
    ‘And what exactly was it, this vital object that you could not leave until the next day?’
    ‘I would rather not say,’ she said carefully. ‘It has no bearing on . . . what happened. It has nothing to do with it.’
    The man called McDermott smiled grimly at her from his corner, and spoke for the first time. ‘You would be surprised, Miss Taylor, how often the things you might think would be the most irrelevant are in fact the most important.’
    ‘Thank you, Mr McDermott,’ said Gregson, sounding rather irritated by this interruption. He turned his stony gaze back to Sophie. ‘Well?’
    Sophie sighed. She would simply have to tell the truth: this was the police, after all. ‘It was something belonging to another staff member. A jacket. He had given it to me to have it laundered.’
    Gregson gave her a stern look. ‘Laundry? That doesn’t sound particularly urgent to me, Miss Taylor. Can you explain to us exactly what you mean?’
    ‘It was his uniform jacket. It had got rather dirty, owing to a mishap. He didn’t want anyone to see it. I forgot it and I didn’t want him to get into any trouble.’
    Gregson took off his spectacles and put them sharply down on the table. ‘Miss Taylor, this all seems rather silly.