Reluctantly, Roger said : “I still can’t understand why I was framed. The Oliphant-Malone coincidence might bo enough and yet it doesn’t make sense.”
“Ah !” said Chatworth. He leaned forward, pressing the backs of his hands against the side of the desk. “Does anything else puzzle you? Or have you allowed yourself to be dazzled by your change of fortunes and forgotten to think?”
“Do you mean — the manner of my suspension?” Chatworth simply glared. “You were so sure that I was involved—” his mind kept probing. “You took it for granted that I was, didn’t you?”
“We knew someone was accepting bribes and shutting his eyes to a lot of things. We thought it was you.”
“You mean there’s still someone?” Roger asked tensely.
“Yes,” said Chatworth, and exhaled with a noise like a collapsing toy balloon.
Before Roger could speak after the silence which followed, the telephone rang. Chatworth frowned, and lifted it promptly. His frown disappeared in an expression of amazement. He said : “Yes, I’ll come.” He put the receiver down and got up slowly. “Come with me, West,” he said. “Malone nearly escaped from his cell. He got a key from somewhere.”
Roger exclaimed: “A key!” The significance of that crashed into his mind. “That proves someone here is trying to help Malone.”
“It proves it, yes,” said Chatworth.
A sergeant and three policemen at Cannon Row had managed to overpower Malone, after he had unlocked the door of his cell and tried to fight his way out of the police station. Cornish had brought Malone and the others here to Cannon Row, and then gone on to the East End. Afterwards, Malone had been visited by Abbott, and later by both Abbott and Tiny Martin.
CHAPTER 23
Dishonour Among Police
CHATWORTH BEGAN to speak in a low voice.
He had long suspected that information was leaking from the Yard. Two or three arrests of men wanted for various crimes — all in the East End — had been prevented because the suspects had been warned and had managed to escape; they were now in hiding. After the first two, in the November of the previous year, he had kept a careful watch, and had given Abbott and Tiny Martin the task of trying to find the leakage. There had been other leakages only slightly less serious. Raids on West End clubs had failed because the proprietors had been warned in advance. Two small fences had been able to get rid of stolen jewels before their premises were searched. As far as Roger and the rest of the Yard knew, these were incidentals, cases which had failed at the last moment — as many did, there was nothing unusual about it. Chatworth had drawn a line between them all.
Abbott had worked quietly. Malone’s name had been heard more often and Roger’s associated with it. Abbott had tried the obvious thing, and approached Leech.
“And from then on it appeared to be a clear-cut case against you,” said Chatworth. “You know what happened after that. The tape-recorder proved that you were not the man. However, there is someone involved. Malone getting the key proves that beyond doubt. You suspect Abbott, don’t you?”
“He’s an obvious possibility. He told me that he had seen Malone, and only a policeman could have given Malone the key. But I don’t always trust the obvious, sir.”
“Charitable of you,” growled Chatworth. “Who else?”
“It could be Sergeant Martin, who is familiar with all that Abbott does — and he was at the cell. But — it needn’t be either of them.”
“You think it is but you’re trying to be fair,” said Chat- worth. “All right, West! Abbott was very anxious that you should arrest Mrs Cartier immediately, wasn’t he? He tried to persuade me to give those instructions, but your case, for her, was a strong one. She must be watched, but there is no need for immediate action. We’ve uncovered the main plot, we must now find who is letting us down so badly.”
“Have you any action in mind, sir?”
“Yes. To use Oliphant as a bait. We won’t go for him yet, but will broadcast the fact that it’s only a matter of time before we do. I’ve already given Abbott those instructions. If Oliphant remains where he is—” the AG shrugged. “It might be that whoever has been selling us out, thinks it will be too dangerous this time. On the other hand, if he tries to get away we can pick him up. In a police force several thousand strong there are bound to be some rogues, but I don’t like to think that any of them reach a position of responsibility. There’s another thing we have to admit — it has completely disrupted our organisation. I’ve never known so many things go awry at the same time because I haven’t felt that I can wholly trust anyone.”
Roger had a curious sensation; he felt sorry for the AG! Of all the men whom he had imagined able to stand alone Chatworth was the strongest. Now he was confessing that the situation had got beyond him.
Roger smiled. “You know, sir, we aren’t doing too badly! Malone and his mob under arrest, the Society racket is uncovered, most of the agents, guilty and innocent, known to us. At another time we’d be congratulating ourselves. Within forty-eight hours we should know whether Mrs Cartier is the brains behind the scheme, or whether it’s Oliphant or someone whom we don’t yet know.”
“Yes,” said Chatworth, relaxing into a smile. “Comforting common sense, West. Do you think it possible that whoever is giving information from here is the real leader?”
“Vaguely,” Roger said. “Are you having any individuals in the force watched ?”
“Difficult to set the police to catch the police,” Chatworth said, “especially after our one failure. I shall leave it to you.”
“With full authority?” Roger asked, quietly.
“With full authority to act. You must tell no one here what you are doing. If you want anyone followed without his knowledge, whoever you use must believe that there is some danger for his quarry and that he’s acting as a bodyguard — you can arrange that, of course?”
“Of course, sir,” echoed Roger.
Ten minutes later he was sitting at his desk. The office was empty but for himself and he was grinning much as he had done in the taxi.
The quick changes of mood which he had felt that day were natural enough.
The telephone rang. “Mrs West is on the line, sir,” the operator told him.
“Put her through,” Roger said. “Hallo, Jan ! Are you all right?”
“I would like to wring Malone’s neck !” said Janet. “But I’m told that Bill Tennant didn’t do a bad job! Darling, I wanted to tell you not to worry about the lounge. They have left us some furniture, and well, it doesn’t really matter all that much. How are things going?”
“Not badly,” said Roger. “How could it, with a wife like you? Ask Mark and Tennant to meet me at the Green Cat — Mark knows it — at half past two, will you? Unless they’re both too tired, that is. I think I can find something for them to do.”
“Mark’s here,” said Janet.
Mark’s voice sounded on the line almost at once. He confirmed the arrangement to meet at the Green Cat, and rang off. He was smiling widely when the door opened and Eddie Day bustled in.
“Now what’s the matter with you, Handsome?” demanded Eddie. “Strike me, you look as if you’d lost a tanner and found half a crown! Been promoted?” he added, almost fearfully.
Roger laughed. “No, Eddie, I won’t be able to go any higher until I’m in the middle forties, if at all, so cast the green mote out of your eye !”
Eddie looked relieved.
“Things going all right, then?” he asked.
“Not badly at all,” said Roger. “You haven’t seen Abbott, have you ?”
“Just come from him,” replied Eddie. “Cold fish all right, he tried to tick me off. Me ! He doesn’t look as if he’s come into a fortune, if you ask me he looks as if he’s got something on his mind.”