‘Well, that was very thoughtful of Mrs Beresford, I m sure.
‘Only she found it Very hard to get in touch with her. She got the address of the hotel where they were supposed to be staying
– Mrs Lancaster and her relations – but nobody of that name had been staying there or had booked rooms there.’
‘Oh? That was rather odd.’
‘Yes. Tuppence thought it was rather odd, too. They had left no other forwarding address at Sunny Ridge. In fact, we have made several attempts to get in touch with Mrs Lancaster, or with this Mrs – Johnson I think the name was – but have been quite unable to get in touch with them. There was a solicitor who I believe paid all the bills – and made all the arrangements with Miss Packard and we got into communication with him.
But he could only give me the address of a bank. Banks,’ said
Tommy drily, ‘don’t give you any information.’
, ‘Not if they’ve been told not to by their clients, I agree.’
· ‘ ‘My wife wrote to Mrs Lancaster care of the bank, and also
: to Mrs Johnson, but she’s never had any reply.’
‘That seems a little unusual. Still, people don’t always answer letters. They may have gone abroad.’
‘Quite so – it didn’t worry me. But it has worried my wife.
She seems convinced that something has happened to Mrs
Lancaster. In fact, during the time I was away from home, she said she was going to investigate further – I don’t know what exactly she meant to do, perhaps see the hotel personally, or the bank, or try the solicitor. Anyway, she was going to try and get a little more information.’
Dr Murray looked at him politely, but with a trace of patient boredom in his manner.
‘What did she think exactly ?’
‘She thinks that Mrs Lancaster is in danger of some kind even that something may have happened to her.’
The doctor raised his eyebrows.
‘ ‘Oh! really, I should hardly think ‘ ‘This may seem quite idiotic m you,’ said Tommy, ‘but you see, my wife rang up saying she would be back yesterday evening – and – she didn’t arrive.’ ‘She said definitely that she was coming back?’ ‘Yes. She knew I was coming home, you see, from this conference business. So she rang up to let our man, Albert, know that she’d be back to dinner.’ ‘And that seems to you an unlikely thing for her to do?’ said Murray. He was now looking at Tommy with some interest.
‘Yes,’ said Tommy. ‘It’s very unlike Tuppence. If she’d been delayed or changed her plans she would have rung up again or sent a telegram.’ ‘And you’re worried about her?’ ‘Yes, I am,’ said Tommy.
‘H’m! Have you consulted the police?’ ‘No,’ said Tommy. ‘What’d the police think? It’s not as though I had any reason to believe that she is in trouble or danger or anything of that kind. I mean, if she’d had an accident or was in a hospital, anything like that, somebody would communicate with me soon enough, wouldn’t they?’ ‘I should say so – yes – if she had some means of identification on her.’ ‘She’d have her driving licence on her. Probably letters and various other things.’ Dr Murray frowned.
Tommy went on in a rush: ‘And now you come along – And bring up all this business of Sunny Ridge – People who’ve died when they oughtn’t to have died. Supposing this old bean got on to something – saw something, or suspected something – and began chattering about it – She’d have to be silenced in some way, so she was whisked out of it quickly, and taken off to some place or other where she wouldn’t be traced. I can’t help feeling that the whole thing ties up somehow ‘ ‘It’s odd – it’s certainly odd – What do you propose to do next:?’ ‘I’m going to do a bit of searching myself- Try these solicitors first – They may be quite all right, but I’d like to haw a look at them, and draw my own conclusions.’