The Curious Incident at Claridge's (22 page)
The police made very little of the recorded conversation between Captain Jesty and the steward Madden. They did not think it was the kind of evidence that would be considered acceptable in a court of law. They agreed to listen to the story the young man called Vic Levant had to tell, but that too failed to impress them.
A jilted lover, as Major Payne pointed out, rarely makes a reliable witness. Not even when he happens to be the culprit's brother.
So it was that Sir Seymour Tradescant's huge fortune passed into the hands of his murderers. Evil appeared to have won. Nevertheless, Nemesis did have the final word, and when Major Payne and Antonia read in the morning paper that Lady Tradescant and her friend Captain (âBeau') Jesty had been killed in the accidental crashing of Lady Tradescant's two-seater plane in a field near the M25 on 30th August, they knew that Justice was satisfied.
There were signs of autumn in the air and their garden looked silvery with faint dew.
âWell, that's that, I suppose,' Payne said, putting
The Times
down.
âIt's the kind of deus ex machina solution I would
never
have chosen for any of my detective novels,' said Antonia as she helped herself to more coffee.