Free SV - 05 - Sergeant Verity and the Swell Mob. by Francis Selwyn Page A

up his nose a few days back, didn't you? Mr Croaker
been narky about it ever since. Last time I see him, he give me a look that'd
turn a pint of fresh cream sour on the spot!'
    'We
weren't fetched down here from London just to stand sentry-go for a few nobs,
Mr Meiklejohn. And there's another thing. . .'
    'Parade! 'Shun!'
    Six
pairs of boots stamped to attention as the door leading into the police yard
opened. Verity looked for Inspector Croaker but there was no sign of him. The
grand white-haired old figure who entered was Superintendent Gowry, the 'Old
Governor' of the Private-Clothes Detail. He was accompanied by a well-dressed
stranger. Verity's features contracted in a frown of perplexity. If Mr Gowry
had come all the way from London to take the parade, there could be nothing
less than royalty behind the Georgian facades of Brunswick Square.
    'Stand-at-ease!'

The six sets of boots thumped
again in unison. Verity heard the superintendent introducing the stranger as Mr
Bunker of the London Indemnity Insurance Company of Lombard Street.
    'On the 8th of
November last,' said Gowry presently,
    'there
occurred a robbery at Wannock Hundred, the country seat of Baron Lansing, the
banker. Prior information was received by the Metropolitan Police who were
able to frustrate the crime. The thief, one Joseph O'Meara, was apprehended
after he had taken the Lansing jewels from their safe but before he could make
his escape. This plan was agreed between the Baron Lansing, the London
Indemnity Company who bore the insurance risks and the Commissioner of Police.
    'Among
the gems was one piece, heavily insured and unique in the world. The Shah Jehan
clasp, the ancient turban-ornament of the Mogul emperors, taken from the rebels
at the sack of Delhi, four years ago.
    'The
thief was apprehended outside the room. But the case which had held the clasp
was already empty. He denied all knowledge of it, even though a confession
might have eased his sentence. At his trial, O'Meara was sent to transportation
for fourteen years.
    'An
intensive search of Wannock Hundred and its grounds has failed to locate the
Shah Jehan clasp. The London Indemnity Company paid a claim of £5,000, not the
full value of the clasp but a settlement agreed with Baron Lansing. The
company's investigators are now led to believe that the jewel was never stolen
but that a gross fraud had been perpetrated.
    'Several weeks later, Baron
Lansing died. Nowhere among his effects was there any trace of the clasp.
However, it was discovered that he had for almost a year been keeping a young
mistress, first employed as a governess. That young person was installed in a
house in Brunswick Square, Brighton, of which the Baron had given her a lease.
Knowing that he would be unable to leave her his estate, which was entailed
upon his family, there is reason to believe that he made her a present of the
clasp and that it remains in her possession.'
    The
sun was shining directly upon the row of men standing at ease. Verity felt a
droplet of perspiration run slowly down his forehead and gather on his eyebrow.
But with a sense of military propriety he kept his hands clasped behind his back.
    'The evidence,' said Gowry,
'though strong enough to warrant careful surveillance, is not sufficient to
obtain judicial authority to search the premises in Brunswick Square. That
surveillance will therefore be undertaken, day and night, by the officers of
this detail. It will be maintained until there is evidence of the presence of
the Shah Jehan clasp, or at least sufficient grounds for an authorised search.
The houses of Brunswick Square, though large, are easily watched. They are
built as terraces and have only front and rear entrances. The rear entrance of
number 33 will be surveyed from a hired room in the stable mews known as
Brunswick Street West. This watch will be kept by Inspector Croaker and two
senior officers of the Brighton Constabulary. A second watch, covering the
front door and the area