The Mind Readers by Margery Allingham Page A

was late. I keep an eye on the dining room and I issue the drinks for it. After about fifteen minutes Mr Mayo gave up waiting and ordered. You’re not giving him much grace I thought to myself, but then Mrs Mayo turned up. . . .’
    â€˜Don’t they eat together?’
    â€˜The Mayos? Hardly ever.’ His eyes met Mr Campion’s own. ‘Well, she’s got her daughters and she leads the social set such as it is round the mud huts!’ He laughed with his mouth open showing a double row of inturned teeth.
    â€˜When did Mr Mayo become actually alarmed about Mr Ferris?’
    â€˜Very soon.’ There was no mistaking his emphasis. ‘He kept fidgeting and then he said he’d telephone, which he did from the bar, and when there was no reply he flew into a panic and nothing would suit him but he must go down at once and see if he was all right. Mrs M. said she’d go with him but he wouldn’t have her. It was to be me or nobody, so I went. She came pattering after us. I could hear her.’ He threw up his chin. ‘We’re a funny lot down there, I can tell you!’ he said. ‘More brains than “common”! But I shouldn’t have thought it of Mr Ferris, I really shouldn’t. If Mr Mayo hadn’t pointed out to me that there was newspaper in the ventilators I should have been absolutely certain it was an accident.’
    Mr Campion’s brows rose. ‘
Stuffed
with newspaper?’
    â€˜Yes sir, and the gas escaping inside. There he was, sitting at the table with the reading light on and a book in front of him, dead to the wide. He’d got his back to the gas fire; it was half turned on and it wasn’t lit.’
    â€˜What was the concentration like?’
    â€˜Not too bad. All the inner doors were open and it’s a high roof in those places.’
    â€˜Did you have any trouble yourselves with the gas, getting him out?’
    Charley Luke put the question from the doorway. He had come in so quietly that Campion had not heard him but the barman answered as smoothly as if he had been present throughout.
    â€˜None at all, sir. You could smell it and it wasn’t healthy but we could get in and move him all right. How is he? Not too bad?’
    â€˜He’ll be O.K. He isn’t talking yet but it won’t be long.’ Luke glanced at Campion and nodded meaningly. ‘You carry on,’ he said. ‘I’ll go back to Helena in a minute; she’s staying with him.’
    â€˜Where was Mrs Mayo all this time?’ The thin man asked the barman with the object of putting Luke in the picture. ‘I thought you said she was following you and Mayo at a discreet distance?’
    â€˜Oh she showed up as soon as we brought him out but when she saw something was up she stopped pretending she wasn’t with us. Mr Mayo sent her round the house to unstop the ventilators.’
    â€˜You mentioned ventilators before,’ Mr Campion said curiously. ‘Is the cavity on the outside? That’s very unusual, isn’t it?’
    â€˜No sir. These are sectional buildings with a minimum amount of brickwork but the ventilators, which are compulsory under the bye-laws, come in the solid parts. They’re only perforated single bricks themselves, and to keep the wind from blowing through them, strong plastic hoods have been fixed above so the air has to go up and in. Tonight, these hoods were full of crumpled newspaper.’
    â€˜Did you notice it first or did Mr Mayo?’
    â€˜He did. He called my attention to it.’
    â€˜Why was Mrs Mayo told to collect the newspapers?’ Luke spoke artlessly and the barman’s underlying amusement was intensified although he spoke most respectfully.
    â€˜Because she was there, sir. I was working on Mr Ferris, and Mr Mayo was thinking what to do for the best, no doubt. “This could make a bit of scandal and we don’t want that. That’s vital.”