Light-Fingers, page 3
‘Is the note valuable?’ asked Steve.
‘Valuable?’ The professor was obviously thunderstruck by such a question. ‘It’s unique!’ he exclaimed. ‘All my life I’ve been on the lookout for such a treasure.
Temple said: ‘I suppose you’re anxious to contact the lady before any of the other collectors get to hear of the discovery.’
The professor looked very worried. ‘That’s exactly what I’m afraid of!’ he said. ‘I simply must get to Guildford before any of the Bond Street collectors.’
‘Well, we’ll do the best we can, Professor,’ said Temple, ‘but I’m afraid you’ll have to wait while I telephone the police.’
The nearest telephone was at the crossroads a mile or so down the road. Temple stopped the car and, after pocketing the ignition key, crossed the grass plot to the telephone box.
‘I want to speak to Sergeant O’Hara,’ said Temple, when the telephone operator put him through to police headquarters.
Sergeant O’Hara was delighted to hear from Paul Temple for he had known Temple in the old days when the novelist had investigated the ‘Front Page Men’ affair.
‘Compliments of the season!’ bellowed the little Irishman, ‘but what in the wide world brings you down to this part o’ the country now?’
Temple spoke very quietly, and as he spoke he stared out of the telephone box at the professor and Steve who were engaged in an animated conversation.
Temple said: ‘Listen, Sergeant! Steve and I are on our way to Nicholas Hall and we want you to send a police car out to meet us. We should reach the outskirts of Guildford in about a quarter of an hour.’
Although O’Hara was bewildered he sensed the tone of urgency in Temple’s voice.
‘Is anything the matter?’ he said quietly.
Paul Temple said: ‘Yes, I’ve got the man you’re looking for – I picked him up five minutes ago.’
The sergeant gasped. He knew that Temple must be referring to ‘Light-Fingers’ Layman. ‘By the Lord Harry!’ he stammered, unable to believe his own ears. ‘Not “Light-Fingers” Layman?’
‘“Light-Fingers” Layman,’ said Paul Temple quietly.
And ten minutes later, thanks to the astuteness of Paul Temple, the notorious ‘Light-Fingers’ was arrested.
But how did Paul Temple know that the professor was an impostor and that he was in fact none other than ‘Light-Fingers’ Layman? There are three important clues in this story – did you find them?
SOLUTION TO
Light-Fingers
Later that night, or rather in the early hours of the New Year, Paul Temple told Steve and his old friend Sir Stephen Peters why he had suspected the bogus ‘professor’.
‘As soon as I saw him carrying his overcoat over his left arm I was suspicious,’ said Temple. ‘It was a very cold night and yet obviously he was determined not to wear his coat. I realised however that the overcoat must be serving a particular purpose – it was in fact concealing the scar on the back of his left hand.’
‘That was Clue No. 1,’ said Steve, ‘but what was the second clue, Paul?’
‘The second clue,’ explained Temple, ‘was when the “professor” said that his car had been stolen. He described the car as a brand new model, registration number EKL 974. I knew that he was lying immediately he told me the registration number. A new car would never be registered as EKL – these letters belong to the 1938 or ’39 period.’
‘And the third clue?’ asked Sir Stephen.
‘The third clue was the most important of them all,’ said Temple. ‘It was when the “professor” pretended to be a collector of rare coins. He said that he was going to Guildford in order to buy a very valuable Queen Elizabeth Bank of England note.’
‘Well?’ said Steve, obviously puzzled.
Paul Temple smiled. ‘There’s no such thing as a Queen Elizabeth Bank of England note,’ he said quietly. ‘Such notes did not exist in the time of Queen Elizabeth. The first Bank of England note was issued in 1694.’
About the Author
Francis Henry Durbridge was born in Hull, Yorkshire, in 1912 and was educated at Bradford Grammar School. He was encouraged at an early age to write by his English teacher and went on to read English at Birmingham University. At the age of twenty one he sold a play to the BBC and continued to write following his graduation whilst working as a stockbroker’s clerk.
In 1938, he created the character Paul Temple, a crime novelist and detective. Many others followed and they were hugely successful until the last of the series was completed in 1968. In 1969, the Paul Temple series was adapted for television and four of the adventures prior to this, had been adapted for cinema, albeit with less success than radio and TV. Francis Durbridge also wrote for the stage and continued doing so up until 1991, when Sweet Revenge was completed. Additionally, he wrote over twenty other well received novels, most of which were on the general subject of crime. The last, Fatal Encounter, was published after his death in 1998.
Also in this series
Send for Paul Temple
Paul Temple and the Front Page Men
News of Paul Temple
Paul Temple Intervenes
Send for Paul Temple Again!
Paul Temple: East of Algiers
Paul Temple and the Kelby Affair
Paul Temple and the Harkdale Robbery
Paul Temple and the Geneva Mystery
Paul Temple and the Curzon Case
Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery
Paul Temple and the Madison Case
About the Publisher
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Francis Durbridge, Light-Fingers
