smiled.
âIâm not to be allowed into the mystery, I see. Never mind. Iâll get it from the Burgessesâin Reading.â
âHe knows her parents,â Jane explained.
âI see. Are you going down there?â
âIâm not sure. I want to help any way I can.â
âWell, she leaves here tomorrow and as far as I know sheâs going straight home. Sheâs written to her people to say so. At least I presume thatâs what she put in her letter. So if you ring them up you can get all the latest gen, canât you?â
Timothyâs voice was perfectly polite but there was unveiled antagonism in the look with which he regarded the other man.
âThanks,â said Stone, quietly. âThanks a lot.â
He nodded briefly and turned away. Jane went with him to repeat her thanks for the lift and see him start his car. Timothy, left alone in the hall with the two suitcases, stood looking after them.
He was raging inwardly and his surprise at finding himself in this state only augmented it. That smooth operator was no surprise acquaintance as Jane had led him to believe. A man you had only met a couple of hours before did not hold your hand and gaze into your eyes with a goofy expression. And that was what he had seen from the porterâs office when he was on the telephone there, listening to words of wisdom from Beech-Thomas. No, she knew him all right. After all, why shouldnât she, since she was a friend of Sheilaâs? He reminded himself that the friendship had been broken for several years, according to Jane. So perhapsâ He swung round, still angry, still puzzled and walked off to the common room in the residentsâ quarters.
Having seen the sports car sail away through the main gates Jane went in again to the hall. She found the head porter stooping over the suitcases with an expression of strong disapproval on his face.
âI havenât abandoned them,â she said, gaily.
âIâm glad of that, miss.â The porter smiled at her. He liked Miss Wheelan and was sorry for her and for the other girls under Miss Gleaning, who was not loved by any of the non-medical staff.
âThey belong to Bed 12 in Alexandra,â she said.
âMiss X. I know. The Press have been up again. Canât seem to lay off. Inquisitiveââ He sought for the polite equivalent of what he would naturally say, but let it go.
âQuite,â said Jane. âAnyway, sheâs leaving tomorrow, so can I park the big case with you until then? Iâll take the other one up to the ward.â
The porter tried the locks on the case.
âThis hereâs open,â he said, severely.
âI know. She lost her keys with her handbag in theâerâthe accident.â
âItâll be at her own risk,â the porter said. âIâm not down here all day. Iâll tell my mate to keep an eye, but with the comings and goingsâyou know what it is.â
âOf course,â Jane assured him. âBut Sister would have a fit if I tried to take it into the ward.â
âAlexandra? Youâre right there. You take the little one, miss, and Iâll put this fellow out of sight somewhere. Tomorrow morning, did you say?â
She had not said it to him, but Tim had told Gerald Stone, and no doubt the porter had heard. The porters heard everything that went on in the hall. Everyone knew that. It spoke well for their loyalty that they never gave anything away to outsiders.
âWell, yes, tomorrow morning as far as I know,â she answered cautiously. âI mean, unless thereâs a relapse or she alters her plans.â
Jane went away and changed into her white coat, though she was off-duty. Then she went up to Alexandra Ward. Sister was pleased to see her.
âYes, you can go in,â she said, with relief in her voice. âSheâs been getting hysterical again. Really, I think they ought to persuade her to
Learning to Kill: Stories