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Chapter 79

‘Whothe hell are you?’ Poe said to the terrified man who Jefferson Black and a brute of a man in a maroon T-shirt were restraining.

‘I’m James Godfrey, sir. Matilda Bradshaw asked me to come. I have a delivery for her.’

‘Could you go and get Tilly, Jefferson? See if she knows this clown.’

Black darted into the house, returning a few seconds later with a worried Bradshaw. She took in the situation. Tilted her head to see who was being restrained.

‘James? I thought I told you to call first?’

‘You did. But my phone died so I thought it would be OK to just turn up.’

‘But I said if you tried to get in without calling ahead, a bunch of tough men would stop you.’

‘I thought you were exaggerating. And I know karate.’

‘And how did that work out for you?’ Poe said.

‘I tried to sweep this man’s legs and he punched me in the throat.’

Poe turned to Bradshaw. ‘He says he has a delivery for you.’

‘Actually, it’s for you.’

‘It is?’

‘It’s the hard copies of the lists of people who made bulk orders of acetone. I had to use a courier as there are boxes of them. I selected a firm at random then Skyped the driver so I’d know what he looked like.’

‘Seems everything’s OK, Jefferson,’ Poe said.

Jefferson Black and Maroon T-shirt Man slunk back into the shadows. At least the eyes and ears part of the operation was working, Poe thought. Which was more than could be said for James’sthroat, judging by how red his face was. He was glad Flynn had stayed with Douglas Salt. She would have had views on this.

‘We’d better get all this inside then,’ he said. He pulled three twenty-pound notes out of his pocket and handed them to James. ‘For your troubles. I don’t imagine you’ll be reporting this?’

James looked at where Maroon T-shirt Man had been standing.

‘Er, no … Like Tilly says, I should have called first.’

‘Good man,’ Poe said.


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