Lord Peter Wimsey [01] Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers Page A

Indeed, I am ashamed to have given you so much trouble. I trust you were passing this way, and that my glasses have not put you to any great inconvenience. Pray take a seat, Lord Peter." He peered gratefully at the young man over a pince-nez obviously the fellow of that now adorning a dossier in Scotland Yard.
     
    Lord Peter sat down. The lawyer sat down. Lord Peter picked up a glass paper-weight from the desk and weighed it thoughtfully in his hand. Subconsciously he noted what an admirable set of finger-prints he was leaving upon it. He replaced it with precision on the exact centre of a pile of letters.
     
    "It's quite all right," said Lord Peter. "I was here on business. Very happy to be of service to you. Very awkward to lose one's glasses, Mr. Crimplesham."
     
    "Yes," said the lawyer, "I assure you I feel quite lost without them. I have this pair, but they do not fit my nose so well–besides, that chain has a great sentimental value for me. I was terribly distressed on arriving at Balham to find that I had lost them. I made enquiries of the railway, but to no purpose. I feared they had been stolen. There were such crowds at Victoria, and the carriage was packed with people all the way to Balham. Did you come across them in the train?"
     
    "Well, no," said Lord Peter, "I found them in rather an unexpected place. Do you mind telling me if you recognized any of your fellow-travellers on that occasion?"
     
    The lawyer stared at him.
     
    "Not a soul," he answered. "Why do you ask?"
     
    "Well," said Lord Peter, "I thought perhaps the–the person with whom I found them might have taken them for a joke."
     
    The lawyer looked puzzled.
     
    "Did the person claim to be an acquaintance of mine?" he enquired. "I know practically nobody in London, except the friend with whom I was staying in Balham, Dr. Philpots, and I should be very greatly surprised at his practising a jest upon me. He knew very well how distressed I was at the loss of the glasses. My business was to attend a meeting of shareholders in Medlicott's Bank, but the other gentlemen present were all personally unknown to me, and I cannot think that any of them would take so great a liberty. In any case," he added, "as the glasses are here, I will not enquire too closely into the manner of their restoration. I am deeply obliged to you for your trouble."
     
    Lord Peter hesitated.
     
    "Pray forgive my seeming inquisitiveness," he said, "but I must ask you another question. It sounds rather melodramatic, I'm afraid, but it's this. Are you aware that you have any enemy–anyone, I mean, who would profit by your–er–decease or disgrace?"
     
    Mr. Crimplesham sat frozen into stony surprise and disapproval.
     
    "May I ask the meaning of this extraordinary question?" he enquired stiffly.
     
    "Well," said Lord Peter, "the circumstances are a little unusual. You may recollect that my advertisement was addressed to the jeweller who sold the chain."
     
    "That surprised me at the time," said Mr. Crimplesham, "but I begin to think your advertisement and your behaviour are all of a piece."
     
    "They are," said Lord Peter. "As a matter of fact I did not expect the owner of the glasses to answer my advertisement. Mr. Crimplesham, you have no doubt read what the papers have to say about the Battersea Park mystery. Your glasses are the pair that was found on the body, and they are now in the possession of the police at Scotland Yard, as you may see by this." He placed the specification of the glasses and the official note before Crimplesham.
     
    "Good God!" exclaimed the lawyer. He glanced at the paper, and then looked narrowly at Lord Peter.
     
    "Are you yourself connected with the police?" he enquired.
     
    "Not officially," said Lord Peter. "I am investigating the matter privately, in the interests of one of the parties."
     
    Mr. Crimplesham rose to his feet.
     
    "My good man," he said, "this is a very impudent attempt, but blackmail is an indictable offence, and I