‘Never wear Night and Day perfume. It’s horrible stuff.’
‘Why bring that up? I wouldn’t wear it if they gave it to me.’
‘That’s fine. This call-box stinks of it. I’m feeling stifled.’
‘What happened, Vic?’
‘Marshland has suddenly rushed off on a vacation in Europe. That’s what Serena tells me. It’s my bet he was lurking upstairs somewhere, probably biting his nails. I told her he was possibly at the bottom of the kidnapping. She chucked an ingbing and ran off, piping her eye.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Well, she looked scared. I think she’s thought that all along. These rich, well-connected families have a horror of being lagged out of their shells. The butler was revealing too. Nice old boy: one of the old school. I jumped him about Souki, and before he could stop himself he admitted Souki had told him Dedrick was a smuggler. How do you like that?’
‘It doesn’t help Perelli very much, does it?’
‘You’re quite right It doesn’t help him a bit. I’m going to do something about him right now. There’s a small point you might take care of. Will you send a cable to Jack and tell him what I’ve found cut about Dedrick? Tell him to get hustling.’
Paula said she would get the cable off right away.