Free An Apostle of Gloom by John Creasey

that—”
    Roger laughed. “Aren’t you letting yourself be carried away, sir?”
    Chatworth opened his eyes abruptly.
    â€œWhat did you say?”
    â€œIf I were to advance a theory like that, without evidence, you would tell me not to be a fool,” Roger said, still on the crest of a wave of optimism. “Someone else paid that money into my account and whoever it was can be found. When she’s found we’ll have the answer to all this – I’ve an opportunity of escaping from the worst, you see! May I ask what other evidence you have?”
    Chatworth said in a strained voice: “West, are you a consummate liar or do you seriously suggest that you have been framed?”
    â€œObviously, I’ve been framed,” said Roger, warmly, “and it’s been done very cleverly. I wish I knew just how it had developed; if I’d known from the first I might have prevented it from getting so serious.” He shrugged. “You can’t have any dependable evidence or you wouldn’t have waited so long before taking action. You can’t charge me or you would have done by now. May I have four weeks’ leave of absence, sir?”
    â€œI don’t know,” said Chatworth, and then shot another snap question. “When did you arrange for Morgan to break into your house?”
    With anyone else, Roger might have given himself away, but for years he had been used to such unexpected questions and he had trained himself never to let Chatworth take him off his guard. His mood changed, however, but he felt sure that Morgan would have made no admissions, so he answered promptly: “I didn’t.”
    â€œMorgan’s finger-prints were found in your bedroom this afternoon and he was seen visiting you this evening.”
    â€œThere’s no reason why his prints shouldn’t be there,” Roger said, blandly, “he’s visited me often enough.”
    â€œDo you usually take visitors to your bedroom?”
    â€œFrequently,” Roger replied. “If I’ve been working at night I don’t get up very early, and Morgan has been helpful recently on several cases. He’s a very useful man,” he added, quickly, “and as soon as I knew what Abbott was after, I asked him to help me.”
    â€œHelp you to do what?”
    â€œFind the answer to this,” Roger said promptly.
    â€œI see,” said Chatworth. He closed one eye again and looked at the ceiling. His fingers, covered with a mat of fair hair, drummed on the polished surface of the desk and Rogers waited with growing tension, at once hopeful and afraid.
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Chapter 6
THE LADY SO BEAUTIFUL
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    â€œGo on,” urged Mark Lessing.
    â€œWhat else did he say?” demanded Janet, breathlessly.
    â€œNot a great deal,” said Roger, who had told them the story of his interview with Chatworth up to the moment when he had discussed Pep Morgan’s part. “Apparently Pep’s story bore mine out and the denial that you’d been paying the cash in floored him, I think. He was quite reasonable, as far as it goes—”
    Roger grimaced. “In the circumstances, suspension was the only thing, leave of absence wouldn’t do, and he’s right, of course. He gave me the impression that he expects me to get around a bit and will be prepared to listen to the evidence.”
    â€œSo I should think!” exclaimed Janet. “I’ll never like that man again.”
    â€œOh, I don’t know,” said Roger. “Those entries, occasional rumours from Joe Leech”—he uttered the bookmaker’s name very softly—”and other indications all pointing towards me, must have made it look pretty black.”
    â€œI’ll ‘pretty black’ him!” said Janet, warmly, but her eyes were much brighter than when Roger had returned, half an hour before.
    It was nearly midnight but none of them looked tired and