coming down to Yewtree Lodge?”
“Yes, Mr. Fortescue—I’ve got a man in
charge there now.”
Percival shuddered in a fastidious way.
“It will all be most unpleasant. To think
such a thing should happen to us——”
He sighed and moved towards the door.
“I shall be at the office most of the day.
There is a lot to be seen to here. But I shall
get down to Yewtree Lodge this evening.”
96
“Quite so, sir.
Percival Fortescue went out.
“Percy Prim,” murmured Neele.
Sergeant Hay who was sitting
unobtrusively by the wall looked up and said
“Sir?” interrogatively.
Then as Neele did not reply, he asked,
“What do you make of it all, sir?”
“I don’t know,” said Neele. He quoted
softly, ” ‘They’re all very unpleasant
people’.”
Sergeant Hay looked somewhat puzzled.
“Alice in Wonderland,” said Neele.
“Don’t you know your Alice, Hay?”
“It’s a classic, isn’t it, sir?” said Hay.
“Third Programme stuff. I don’t listen to the
Third Programme.”
97
10
IT was about five minutes after leaving Le
Bourget that Lance Fortescue opened his
copy of the Continental Daily Mail. A
minute or two later he uttered a startled
exclamation. Pat, in the seat beside him,
turned her head inquiringly.
“It’s the old man,” said Lance. “He’s
dead.”
“Dead! Your father?”
“Yes, he seems to have been taken
suddenly ill at the office, was taken to St.
Jude’s Hospital and died there soon after
arrival.”
“Darling, I’m so sorry. What was it, a
stroke?”
“I suppose so. Sounds like it.”
“Did he ever have a stroke before?”
“No. Not that I know of.”
“I thought people never died from a first
one.”
“Poor old boy,” said Lance. “I never
thought I was particularly fond of him, but
somehow, now that he’s dead …”
98
“Of course you were fond of him.”
“We haven’t all got your nice nature. Pat.
Oh well, it looks as though my luck’s out
again, doesn’t it.”
“Yes. It’s odd that it should happen just
now. Just when you were on the point of
coming home.”
He turned his head sharply towards her.
“Odd? What do you mean by odd. Pat?”
She looked at him with slight surprise.
“Well, a sort of coincidence.”
“You mean that whatever I set out to do
goes wrong?”
“No, darling, I didn’t mean that. But there
is such a thing as a run of bad luck.”
“Yes, I suppose there is.”
Pat said again: “I’m so sorry.”
When they arrived at Heath Row and were
waiting to disembark from the plane, an
official of the air company called out in a
clear voice:
“Is Mr. Lancelot Fortescue aboard?”
“Here,” said Lance.
“Would you just step this way, Mr.
Fortescue.”
Lance and Pat followed him out of the
plane, preceding the other passengers. As
they passed a couple in the last seat, they
99
heard the man whisper to his wife:
“Well-known smugglers, I expect. Caught
in the act.”
II
“It’s fantastic,” said Lance. “Quite
fantastic.” He stared across the table at
Detective-Inspector Neele.
Inspector Neele nodded his head
sympathetically.
“Taxine–yewberries–the whole thing
seems like some kind of melodrama. I dare
say this sort of thing seems ordinary enough
to you, Inspector. All in the day’s work. But
poisoning, in our family, seems wildly farfetched.”
“You’ve no idea then at all,” asked
Inspector Neele, “who might have poisoned
your father?”
“Good lord, no. I expect the old man’s
made a lot of enemies in business, lots of
people who’d like to skin him alive, do him
down financially–all that sort of thing. But
poisoning? Anyway I wouldn’t be in the
know. I’ve been abroad for a good many years
100
and have known very little of what’s going on
at home.”
“That’s really what I wanted to ask you
about, Mr. Fortescue. I understand from
your brother that there was an estrangement
between you and your father which had
lasted for many years. Would you like to tell
me the circumstances that led to your coming
home at this time?”
“Certainly, Inspector. I heard from my
father, let me see it must be about—yes, six
months ago now. It was soon after my
marriage. My father wrote and hinted that he