I
Elvira Blake looked up at the sky, noted that it wasa fine morning and went into a telephone box. She dialled Bridget's number in Onslow Square. Satisfied by the response, she said:
"Hallo? Bridget?"
"Oh Elvira, is that you?" Bridget's voice sounded agitated.
"Yes. Has everything been all right?"
"Oh no. It's beenawful. Your cousin, Mrs. Melford, rang up Mummy yesterday afternoon."
"What, about me?"
"Yes. I thought I'ddone it well when I rang her up at lunchtime. But it seems she got worried about yourteeth. Thought there might be something really wrong with them. Abscesses or something. Soshe rang up the dentist herself and found, of course, that you'dnever been there at all. So then she rang up Mummy and unfortunately Mummy was right thereby the telephone. So I couldn't get there first. And naturallyMummy said she didn't know anything about it, and that youcertainly weren't staying here. I didn't know what to do."
"What did you do?"
"Pretended I knew nothing about it. I did say thatI thought you'd said something about going to see some friendsat Wimbledon."
"Why Wimbledon?"
"It was the first place came into my head."
Elvira sighed. "Oh well,I suppose I'll have to cook up something. An old governess,perhaps, who lives at Wimbledon. All this fussing does make things so complicated. I hopeCousin Mildred doesn't make a real fool of herself and ring upthe police or something like that?"
"Are you going down there now?"
"Not till this evening. I've got a lot to do first."
"You got to Ireland. Was it – all right?"
"I found out what I wanted to know."
"You sound – sort ofgrim."
"I'm feeling grim."
"Can't I help you,Elvira? Do anything?"
"Nobody can help me really…. It's a thing I have to do myself. I hopedsomething wasn't true, but it is true. I don't know quite what to do about it."
"Are you in danger, Elvira?"
"Don't bemelodramatic, Bridget. I'll have to be careful, that's all. I'll have to be very careful."
"Then you are in danger."
Elvira said after a moment's pause, "I expect I'mjust imagining things, that's all."
"Elvira, what are you going to do about thatbracelet?"
"Oh, that's all right.I've arranged to get some money from someone, so I can go and –what's the word – redeem it. Then just take it back to Bollards."
"D'you think they'll be all right about it? – No, Mummy, it's just the laundry. They say we never sent that sheet. Yes, Mummy, yes, I'll tell the manageress. All right then."
At the other end of the line Elvira grinned and putdown the receiver. She opened her purse, sorted through her money, counted out the coinsshe needed and arranged them in front of her and proceeded to put through a call. When shegot the number she wanted she put in the necessary coins, pressed Button A and spoke in asmall rather breathless voice.
"Hallo, Cousin Mildred. Yes, it's me… I'm terriblysorry…. Yes, I know… well I wasgoing to… yes…yes I wrote apostcard, then I forgot to post it. It's still in my pocketnow… well, you see she was ill and there was no one to lookafter her and so I just stopped to see she was all right. Yes, I was going to Bridget's but this changed things… I don't understand about the message you got. Someone must have jumbled it up…. Yes, I'll explain it all to you when I get back…yes, this afternoon. No, I shall just wait and see the nurse who's coming to look after old Maddy – well, notreally a nurse. You know one of those – er – practical aid nurses or something like that. No, she would hate to go tohospital…. But I am sorry, Cousin Mildred, I really am very,very sorry. She put down the receiver and sighed in an exasperated manner. If only, shemurmured to herself, one didn't have to tell so many lies toeverybody."
She came out of the telephone box, noting as she didso the big newspaper placards –BIG TRAIN ROBBERY, IRISH MAILATTACKED BY BANDITS.
II
Mr. Bollard was serving a customer when the shopdoor opened. He looked up to see the Honourable Elvira Blake entering.
"No," she said to anassistant who came forward to her. "I'd rather wait until Mr. Bollard is free."
Presently Mr. Bollard'scustomer's business was concluded and Elvira moved into thevacant place.
"Good morning, Mr. Bollard," she said.
"I'm afraid your watchisn't done quite as soon as this, Miss Elvira," said Mr. Bollard.
"Oh, it's not thewatch," said Elvira. "I've come to apologise. A dreadful thing happened." Sheopened her bag and took out a small box. From it she extracted the sapphire and diamondbracelet. "You will remember when I came in with my watch tobe repaired that I was looking at things for a Christmas present and there was an accidentoutside in the street. Somebody was run over I think, or nearly run over. I suppose I musthave had the bracelet in my hand and put it into the pocket of my suit without thinking,although I only found it this morning. So I rushed along at once to bring it back. I'm so terribly sorry, Mr. Bollard, I don't knowhow I came to do such an idiotic thing."
"Why, that's quite allright, Miss Elvira," said Mr. Bollard, slowly.
"I suppose you thought someone had stolen it,"said Elvira.
Her limpid blue eyes met him.
"We had discovered its loss," said Mr. Bollard. "Thank you very much, MissElvira, for bringing it back so promptly."
"I felt simply awful about it when I found it,"said Elvira. "Well, thank you very much,Mr. Bollard, for being so nice about it."
"A lot of strange mistakes do occur," said Mr. Bollard. He smiled at her in an avuncular manner. "We won't think of it any more. But don't do it again, though." He laughed with the airof one making a genial little joke.
"Oh no," said Elvira, "I shall be terribly careful in future."
She smiled at him, turned and left the shop.
"Now I wonder," saidMr. Bollard to himself, "I really do wonder…」
One of his partners, who had been standing near,moved nearer to him.
"So she did take it?" hesaid.
"Yes. She took it all right," said Mr. Bollard.
"But she brought it back," his partner pointed out.
"She brought it back," agreedMr. Bollard. "I didn't actuallyexpect that."
"You mean you didn'texpect her to bring it back?"
"No, not if it was she who'd taken it."
"Do you think her story is true?" his partner inquired curiously. "I mean, that sheslipped it into her pocket by accident?"
"I suppose it'spossible," said Bollard, thoughtfully.
"Or it could be kleptomania, I suppose."
"Or it could be kleptomania," agreed Bollard. "It'smore likely that she took it on purpose…. But if so, why didshe bring it back so soon? It's curious –」
"Just as well we didn'tnotify the police. I admit I wanted to."
"I know, I know. You haven't got as much experience as I have. In this case, it was definitely betternot." He added softly to himself, "Thething's interesting, though. Quite interesting. I wonder howold she is? Seventeen or eighteen I suppose. She might have got herself in a jam of somekind."
"I thought you said she was rolling in money."
"You may be an heiress and rolling in money,"said Bollard, "but at seventeen you can't always get your hands on it. The funny thing is, you know, they keepheiresses much shorter of cash than they keep the more impecunious. It's not always a good idea. Well, I don't supposewe shall ever know the truth of it."
He put the bracelet back in its place in the displaycase and shut down the lid.
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