Free The Toff and the Fallen Angels by John Creasey Page A

say?’
    â€˜She said she wanted to see Mrs Smith.’
    â€˜Where?’
    â€˜At the Oxford Street Corner House.’
    â€˜When?’
    â€˜She would wait until twelve o’clock.’
    â€˜What else did she say?’
    â€˜She said she was on to something.’
    â€˜Were those her exact words?’
    â€˜They were her exact words,’ asserted Anne Miller.
    Not once as she had answered the swift succession of questions had her voice changed from a low, monotonous tone. And not once had she moved.
    â€˜What time did she call?’ demanded Rollison, flatly.
    â€˜At eleven-seventeen.’
    â€˜How can you be so precise?’
    â€˜Because I am a precise person by nature, and I have a watch.’
    â€˜Did Angela sound alarmed?’ asked Rollison.
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜How did she sound?’
    â€˜Excited,’ announced Anne Miller.
    â€˜What was the name of her boyfriend?’
    â€˜Who said she had a boyfriend?’ Now there was an inflection in the girl’s voice which made her answer very nearly insolent.
    â€˜Didn’t she tell you she was going to meet one?’
    â€˜She indicated it, yes.’ For the first time Anne’s expression changed and it was difficult to judge whether it was in a smile or a sneer. She had small but quite beautiful lips, spoiled with pale pink lipstick which jarred against the sallow tone of her skin. ‘All of us indicate our romantic conquests whether they are true or not.’
    â€˜Lie about it, you mean?’
    â€˜â€œHint” is a pleasanter word, don’t you think?’ suggested Anne.
    â€˜From what I know, delicate hints about boyfriends are hardly necessary here,’ said Rollison, bluntly. He knew that his words were cruel but he had to break through this girl’s resistance somehow, and it wasn’t going to be easy.
    She narrowed her eyes, but did not speak.
    â€˜Anne,’ said Rollison. ‘Do you know what’s going on here?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜Did you tell Mrs Smith that the other girls are terrified?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜Why are they terrified?’
    â€˜Do you think we should welcome having our heads smashed in?’ demanded Anne, her voice rising to a cutting scorn. ‘Or don’t you think it matters, if such a thing happens to unmarried mothers?’
    So he had hurt her, and had also loosened her tongue.
    â€˜I think it matters,’ Rollison said. ‘But weren’t they terrified before the hammer attack on Mrs Smith?’
    â€˜Quite possibly,’ she said curtly.
    â€˜Then, what was it that frightened them?’
    â€˜Mr Rollison,’ said Anne Miller, as if suddenly overcome with weariness, ‘I don’t know what you’re doing here or why you came, but I can tell you you’re getting nowhere, fast.’
    â€˜What terrified the girls?’ persisted Rollison, obstinately.
    After a brief pause, Anne answered: ‘All right, then. There have been telephone calls from a man threatening to kill us. He always says the same thing – “just one blow will be enough, one blow on the back of your head”. And then he rings off.’ She half-closed her eyes but opened them wide again when he took a step towards her. ‘Wouldn’t you be scared?’
    â€˜Anyone would be,’ Rollison answered gently. ‘When did this all begin, Anne?’
    â€˜Three days ago.’
    â€˜And you’ve each had a call in those three days?’
    â€˜More or less. There’s a telephone in each room, and we sleep three or four in a room. Whoever answered the telephone got the same message.’
    â€˜What has Mrs Smith had to say?’
    â€˜She doesn’t know about the calls,’ said Anne.
    â€˜You haven’t told the superintendent!’ exclaimed Rollison, in astonishment mingled with disbelief.
    â€˜Can’t you see she has enough on her mind already?’ demanded Anne.