Paul Temple and the Front Page Men
The detective novel ‘The Front Page Men’ is a resounding success, but its author Andrea Fortune keeps herself hidden from the public. When a series of robberies are committed, a calling card is left bearing the legend of ‘The Front Page Men’.Then the murders begin.Paul and his wife Steve assist Scotland Yard in finding the murderers, but Steve is in grave danger and the clock is ticking.
Читать Paul Temple and the Front Page Men онлайн беплатно
FRANCIS DURBRIDGE
Paul Temple and the Front Page Men
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by
LONG 1939
Copyright © Francis Durbridge 1939
All rights reserved
Francis Durbridge has asserted his right under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015
Cover image © Shutterstock.com
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008125585
Ebook Edition © June 2015 ISBN: 9780008125592
Version: 2015-06-01
Contents
CHAPTER I: Chief Inspector Charles Cavendish Mackenzie Reed
CHAPTER II: Mr. Andrew Brightman
CHAPTER III: Sir Norman Blakeley
CHAPTER IV: Mr. and Mrs. Paul Temple
CHAPTER VI: Rev. Charles Hargreaves
CHAPTER VII: A Message for Paul Temple
CHAPTER VIII: The Front Page Men
CHAPTER X: Story of a Rendezvous
CHAPTER XI: Paul Temple in Regent Street
CHAPTER XIII: The Falkirk Diamond
CHAPTER XV: Mr. Tony Rivoli Visits Scotland Yard
CHAPTER XVI: Paul Temple Receives a Warning
CHAPTER XVII: The First Circle
CHAPTER XVIII: âTaxi, Sir!â
CHAPTER XIX: Mr. Goldieâs Mistake
CHAPTER XX: Concerning Lucky Gibson
CHAPTER XXI: In Which Hunter Receives a Surprise
CHAPTER XXII: Concerning Lina Fresnay and Herr Von Zelton
CHAPTER XXIII: Andrea Fortune Writes a Letter
CHAPTER XXIV: Murder on the Six-Ten
CHAPTER XXV: Visitors at Eastwood Mansions
CHAPTER XXVI: Concerning a Flat in Bloomsbury
CHAPTER XXVIII: Mr. Brightman Is Worried
CHAPTER XXIX: Wrensonâs Report
CHAPTER XXXI: News of Hargreaves, Gilbert Wrenson, and Mr. J. P. Goldie
CHAPTER XXXII: The Autumn Hotel
CHAPTER XXXIII: A Surprise for Gilbert Wrenson
CHAPTER XXXIV: In Which Paul Temple Eats Far Too Many Muffins
Chief Inspector Charles Cavendish Mackenzie Reed would certainly have delighted the heart of that famous Hollywood producer who, in a moment of sheer inspiration, insisted that all Scotland Yard detectives should have genuine Scottish accents.
Though Mac tried hard to conceal his dialect, he was never entirely successful. Unlike many of his fellow countrymen, he wanted to forget that he was once P.C. Reed from a tiny Scottish border town, who had won his way further and further South by sheer pertinacity, climbing a rung in the promotion ladder with every move.
It was his relentless perseverance which had brought him into the public eye as the man who had run down The Blade Kid, perpetrator of a long series of razor-slashing crimes in the Derby area. Reed worked on his pet principle that every criminal makes a slip at some time or other, and that it was merely a matter of waiting for it. In this particular case, he took the very obvious procedure of making a methodical daily round of all the shops that stocked cut-throat razors.
His colleagues had thought it a great joke at the time, but Charles Cavendish Mackenzie Reed merely set his stubborn jaw and went on with his business.
And then suddenly, on a peaceful morning towards the end of May, The Blade Kid did buy a new set of razors and this dour, sandy-haired Scot came to town. He was not altogether happy at Scotland Yard, for there were far too many public school and university men at the Yard for his liking. Their assured manners and open vowels made him more conscious than ever of his homely Scottish accent, but he would never have dreamed of betraying this suggestion of an inferiority complex.
Nevertheless the Chief Commissioner had come to rely upon Mac, particularly in cases which called for unfailing patience and ceaseless attention to detail.
At this particular moment, however, Mac was none too pleased at the way the Chief was treating him. Sir Graham Forbes had carelessly informed him that another of these ex-public schoolboys was to join him on his latest case. Mac chose to construe this as a reflection on his capabilities, but he had not dared to say so.
