‘If you know anything more about Garcia,’ he said, ‘I do beg of you to tell me what it is.’

‘Yeah? And get a permanent shop where Sonia’s gone? It’s no good? It’s no good, dear, I’m not in on this act.’

‘I promise you that no harm—’

‘No, dear, there’s nothing doing. I don’t know anything that you haven’t found out.’

‘Was Garcia off on a separate line?’

‘You go for Garcia,’ said Miss O’Dawne. ‘That’s all I’m going to say. Go for Garcia. Have you arrested him?’

‘No. He’s gone on a walking tour.’

‘Well, that’s a scream—I bloody well don’t think. Pardon my refinement,’ said Miss O’Dawne.

CHAPTER 16
Back to the Yard

Alleyn cursed himself secretly and heartily for that unlucky word ‘Blackmail’. Miss Bobbie O’Dawne refused, point-blank, to give him any further information that might possibly come under that heading. He seemed to have come up against a tenet. If Sonia had committed blackmail and Sonia was dead, Bobbie O’Dawne wasn’t going to give her away. However, she told him quite willingly how Sonia had spent the weekend, and pretty well proved that Sonia could not possibly have gone down to Tatler’s End House between Friday and Monday. With this Alleyn had to be content. He thanked his hostess and promised to go and see her show.

‘That’s right, dear, you come along. It’s a bright show. I don’t have much to do, you know. I hope you don’t think any the worse of me for minding my own business about Sonia?’

‘No. But if it comes to—well—if it comes to the arrest of an innocent person and you know you could save them, what would you do then?’

‘Garcia’s not innocent, dear, not so’s you’d notice it.’

‘It might not be Garcia.’

‘Come off it. Listen. Do you know Garcia told the poor kid that if she let on to anybody that the child was his, he’d do for her? Now! She told me that herself. She was dead scared I’d forget and let something out. She made me swear I wouldn’t. She said he’d do for both of us if we talked. Isn’t that good enough?’

‘It’s sufficiently startling,’ said Alleyn. ‘Well, I suppose I’d better be off. I do ask you, very seriously, Miss O’Dawne, to think over what I have said. There is more than one kind of loyalty, you know.’