'Read it, obviously. See who'd written it'
'Show it to die missus?'
'Only if it was a joke.'
'How would you know that?'
'Well, you wouldn't really, would you? Not for a start You'd try to find out if it was genuine.'
'Exactly. So when Storrs got a copy of that letter, a letter he'd pretty certainly not seen before-'
'Unless Turnbull showed it to him?'
'Doubt it. A death certificate, wasn't it? He'd want to let Storrs down a bit more gently than that.'
'You mean, if Storrs tried to find out if it was genuine, he'd probably go along to the clinic...'
Morse nodded, like some benevolent schoolmaster encouraging a promising pupil.
'And show it to ... Dawn Charles?'
'Who else? She's the sort of Practice Manager there, if anybody is. And let's be honest about things. You're not exactly an expert in the Socratic skills yourself, are you? But how long did it take you to get the truth out of her? Three or four minutes?'
'You think Storrs did it as well?'
'Pretty certainly, I'd say. He's nobody's fool; and he's not going to give in to blackmail just on somebody's vague say-so. He's an academic; and if you're an academic you're trained to check - check your sources, check your references, check your evidence.'
'So perhaps Storrs has been a few steps in front of us all the time.'
Morse nodded. 'He probably rumbled our receptionist straightaway. Not many suspects there at the clinic.'
Slowly Lewis sipped his customary orange juice, his earlier euphoria fading.
"We're not exactly galloping towards the finishing-post, are we?'
Morse looked up, his blue eyes betraying some considerable surprise.
'Why do you say that, Lewis? That's exactly what we are doing.'
CHAPTER SIXTY
Saturday, 9 March
Hombrt apcrccbida media comhttiJo
(A man well prepared has already half fought the battle)
(Cervantes, Don Quixote)
SOMEWHAT CONCERNED about the adequacy of the Jaguar's petrol allowance, Morse had requisitioned an unmarked police car, which just before 10 a.m. was heading south along the A34, with Sergeant Lewis at the wheel. As they approached Abingdon, Morse asked Lewis to turn on Classic FM; and almost immediately asked him to turn it off, as he recognized the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2.
'Somebody once said, Lewis, that it was not impossible to get bored even in the presence of a mistress, and I'm sorry to say I sometimes get a little bored even in the company of Johann Sebastian Bach.'
'Really. I thought it was rather nice.'
'Lew-is! He may be terrific; he may be terrible - but he's never nice. Not Bach!'
Lewis concentrated on the busy road ahead as Morse sank back into his seat and, as was ever his wont in a car, said virtually nothing for the rest of the journey.
And yet Morse had said so many things - things upon
which Lewis's mind intermittently focused again, as far too quickly he drove down to the Chieveley junction with the M4 ...
Once back from Polstead Road, Friday afternoon had been very busy and, for Lewis, very interesting. It had begun with Morse asking about their present journey.
'If you had a posh car, which way would you go to Bath?'
'A34, M4, A46 - probably the best; the quickest, certainly.'
'What if you had an old banger?'
'Still go the same way, I think.'
'What's wrong with the Burford-Cirencester way?'
'Nothing at all, if you like a bit of scenery. Or if you don't like motorway-driving.'
Then another question:
'How do we find out which bank the Storrs use?'
'Could be they have different banks, sir. Shouldn't be too difficult, though: Lloyds, Barclays, NatWest, Midland ... Shall I ring around?'
Morse nodded. 'And try to find out how they've been spending their money recently - if it's possible.'
'May take a bit of time, but I don't see why not Let me find out anyway.'
Lewis turned to go, but Morse had a further request
'Before you do, bring me the notes you made about the Storrs' stay hi Bath last weekend. I'm assuming you've typed 'em up by now?'
'All done. Maybe a few spelling mistakes - a few grammatical lapses - beautifully typed, though.'
It had taken Lewis only ten minutes to discover that Mr Julian Storrs and Mrs Angela Storrs both banked at Lloyds. But there had been far greater difficulty in dealing with Morse's supplementary request.
The Manager of Lloyds (Headington Branch) had been fully co-operative but of only limited assistance. It was very unusual of course, but not in cases such as this unethical, for confidential material concemmg clients to be disclosed. But Lewis would have to contact Lloyds Inspection Department in Bristol.
Which Lewis had prompdy done, again receiving every co-operation; also, however, receiving the disappointing news that the information required was unlikely as yet to be fully ready. Widi credit-card facilities now almost universally available, the volume of transactions was ever growing; and with receipt-items sometimes irregularly forwarded from retail outlets, and with a few inevitable checks and delays in processing and clearance - well, it would take a little time.
'Later diis afternoon?' Lewis had queried hopefully.
'No chance of that, I'm afraid.'
'Tomorrow morning?'
Lewis heard a deep sigh at the other end of the line. 'We don't usually... It is very urgent, you say?'
The phone had been ringing in Morse's office (an office minus Morse) and Lewis had taken the brief call. The post-mortem on Shelly Cornford confirmed death from carbon-monoxide poisoning, and completely ruled out any suspicion of foul play.
A note on yellow paper was Sellotaped to the desk:
Lewis!
-Just off to the Diab. Centre (3.45)
- Yr notes on Bath most helpful, but try to get Sarah Siddons right - two d's, please.
- Good job we're getting a few facts straight before jumping too far ahead. Reculer pour mieux sauter!
- We'll be jumping tomorrow a.m. tho' - to Bath. Royal Crescent informs me the Storrs - Herr und Frau - are staying there again!
-1 need yr notes on Julian Storrs.
- Ring me at home - after the Archers.
M
And on the side of the desk, a letter from the Thame and District Diabetic Association addressed to Det Chief Inspector Morse:
Dear sir,
Welcome to the Club! Sony to be so quick off the mark but news travels fast in diabetic circles.
We meet on the first Thursday of each month 7.30-9 p.m. in the Town Hall in Thame and we shall be delighted if you can come to speak to us. We can
offer no fee but we can offer a warm-hearted and grateful audience.
During this last year we have been fortunate to welcome several very well-known people. For example our last six speakers have been Dr David Matthews, Lesley Hallett, Professor Harry Keane, Angela Storrs, Dr Robert Turner, and Willie Rushton.
Please try to support us if you can. For our 1996/7 programme we are still looking for speakers for October '96 and February '97. Any hope of you filling one of these slots?
I enclose SAE and thank you for your kind consideration...
But Lewis read only the first few lines, for never, except in the course of a criminal investigation, had he wittingly read a letter meant for the eyes of another person...
From the passenger seat Morse had still said nothing until Lewis, after turning off the M4 at Junction 18 on to the A46, was within a few miles of Bath.
'Lewis! If you had a mistress -'
'Not the milk-lady, sir. She's far too fat for me.'
' - and, say, you were having a weekend away together and you told your missus that you were catching the train but in fact this woman was going to pick you up in her car somewhere - The Randolph, say...'
*Yes, sir?' (Was Morse getting lost?)
'Would you still go to the railway station? Would you