“Oh yes…?” he muttered, aware that two policemen were running their hands over his clothes.
“Stop,” the detective said quickly. “I have also to caution you that anything you say will be written down and may be used in evidence at your trial.”
“I understand,” George said. “Thank you, but I want to tell you everything. You want me for murder too.” He drew himself up feeling a sudden sense of pride. “I killed Crispin and Little Ernie.”
They took hold of his arms, but they were quite gentle with him, and when the detective spoke again he sounded kind.
“Little Ernie? You did that? Hmmm, well, all right; it’s a good thing to get everything off your chest. You come along with me. Who’s this fellow Crispin you’re talking about?”
“Oh, it’s a long story,” George said, suddenly feeling tired. “But the others are up there. They’ve just killed Cora. You’ll find them all up there: Emily, Max and the two Greeks. You mustn’t let them get away.”
Four of the policemen pushed past him and entered the building. He could hear them running up the stairs.
“I don’t know how you found me…” George said, moving towards the car. “I’ve always read how clever you are. I thought somehow…”
“You were identified,” the detective said, getting into the car and sitting beside him. “The fellow at Kingston saw you about an hour ago. He telephoned the Yard, and here we are. We’ve had our eye on you for some time. We didn’t like the company you kept.
Here, have a cigarette.” He offered a crumpled carton.