A Thing of Blood by Robert Gott Read Free Book Online Page A

of them had turned around he or she would have formed the inescapable impression that they were being tailed. Fortunately this didn’t happen, and I emerged in Collins Street undetected. I kept them in view until they disappeared into the foyer of the Menzies Hotel. By the time I’d stepped through its doors, they were nowhere to be seen — they must have hurried upstairs.
    At this point I became acutely conscious of my inexperience in matters of pursuit. Bribing the concierge was out of the question, not only because the idea of doing so was mortifying, but also because I had no money. I thought I had nothing to lose by asking him a simple question.
    ‘Oh, yes,’ he replied. ‘Mr and Mrs Cunningham.’
    ‘That’s right,’ I said. ‘I’ve just forgotten what room they’re in.’
    ‘I’m sorry, sir,’ he said. ‘I’ll be happy to let them know you’re here, but I can’t tell you their room number. Hotel policy. I’m sure you understand.’
    ‘Of course,’ I said. ‘I understand completely. I’ll catch up with them later.’
    ‘Do you wish to leave a message?’
    ‘No, no,’ I said. ‘I’m seeing them this evening.’
    At least I now had a name. Clutterbuck should be happy about that at any rate. I assumed that Anna Capshaw and her companion had gone upstairs to make love, and I wasn’t going to hang about waiting for them to re-emerge. Besides, I needed to be back at Clutterbuck’s to take Topaz’s phone call.
    When I got back to Clutterbuck’s, or my place, as I would have to get used to saying, it was empty. I went up to my room and was immediately aware that someone had been there. It only took a moment, though, to deduce that it had been Mrs Castleton. My clothes had been pressed and my socks, underwear and handkerchiefs had been arranged in neat rows in their drawers. The socks, which I had rolled into a ball, had been pulled apart and folded flat. This had the unfortunate effect of drawing attention to their ragged condition. I would have to sacrifice some clothing coupons and do something about my wardrobe.
    In an attempt to feel more comfortable in my digs I explored the house from top to bottom, although I didn’t poke about in cupboards or drawers. It was absurdly big for two people. How on earth had Clutterbuck come to own such a place? There were no clues anywhere. There wasn’t a single photograph to be seen. I thought this odd, but then perhaps they had been put away in order not to compromise the rigid formality of each room’s design. Clearly there was no place for sentimentality when decorative integrity was at issue. When I entered the living room, I was struck forcibly by the sense that space had been disciplined and maintained by a brutal hand. Mrs Castleton must be a formidable woman, I thought.
    The telephone rang at 5.00 p.m. precisely, and the operator said that she was connecting me to Sergeant Peter Topaz of the Maryborough police in Queensland. Without niceties of any kind, Topaz said, ‘Sarah Goodenough got on the train at Maryborough at the same time you did, but she got off at Brisbane, and she’s still in Brisbane, staying with her sister, and that’s been confirmed.’
    ‘Well, that just doesn’t make any sense,’ I said.
    ‘It makes perfect sense to me, Will. She got on at Maryborough. She got off at Brisbane. Doesn’t seem too complicated. That’s all I can tell you. The police down there know what they’re doing, so I suggest you stay well out of it and let them do their job.’
    It didn’t seem politic to tell him that I was making it my job now as well.
    ‘So she’s got an accomplice,’ I said.
    ‘Just let the police handle it, Will,’ he said, and without so much as a cursory farewell hung up.
    Topaz hadn’t said whether or not Sarah Goodenough had been questioned, but I supposed that she had. Had she denied writing the note? Had she also denied striking Brian?
    I picked up the phone, gave the operator Mother’s number, and wondered