The Players And The Game by Julian Symons Page B

take most of the credit, if not Hazleton would get all of the blame. But still, he knew what he wanted, and he was prepared to go out on a limb to get it.
    ‘My feeling, sir, is that we can handle it best down here. I don’t think there’s any doubt that whatever happened started in Rawley. Somebody here was responsible for her disappearance, whether she went up to London or not. There’s an advantage in having our own men asking questions. They know the territory, and they know what to ask. And they know the people. We can look after it.’
    A bell rang. Sir Felton said, ‘Excuse me, gentlemen.’ The sound came from the watch on his wrist. He stopped it, got out of his chair and did a series of brisk exercises which began with a knees bend and ended with some quite violent arm and body swings. Hazleton, who had heard about these performances but never quite believed in them, watched in astonishment. Paling remained unmoved.
    ‘Three times a day.’ Sir Felton sat down again. ‘Now, where are we? You want to keep it in the family. Paling?’
    ‘There’s a lot in what Chief Inspector Hazleton says. At the same time we have to face the fact that we’ve turned up nothing very useful so far. A couple of confessions with the facts hopelessly wrong, and the usual crop of people who saw her getting into a car, dragged into a car and so on. One woman who saw her beating at a window in a house trying to get out – that turned out to be somebody having a row with her husband. So far it’s a load of nothing, isn’t that so?’ Hazleton nodded. Paling held up a thin hand as though to forestall objections, which were in fact not being made. ‘I’m sure everything possible is being done. That film show, for instance, seems to be important. Louise went to that quite out of the blue instead of going home. Why? We’ve talked to all the members the secretary can remember as being present.’ He made a gesture towards the papers in front of the Chief Constable. ‘Without result, except that the secretary says she was looking round as though she expected to meet somebody who hadn’t turned up. Say that was so, how does it help? There is a case, I don’t say more than that, for taking further steps.’
    Hazleton said doggedly, ‘Calling in the Yard, you mean? I still say we can handle it.’
    Paling was not going to be caught in a definite expression of opinion. ‘I don’t want for a moment to express any lack of confidence.’
    The Chief Constable looked from one to the other of them. He knows what’s happening, Hazleton thought, he’s not a fool. ‘Right, then. It seems to me we’re agreed. We keep it in the family. Good. Hazleton.’
    ‘Yes, sir.’
    ‘This journalist who knew her, Gordon. You’ve checked on him? Nothing in that?’
    ‘I don’t think so, sir. I gather from Gordon that he only took her out a couple of times, rather on the rebound from another girl at the club named Sally Lowson. It seems that he was keener on this Lowson girl than she was on him, and she suggested he might give Louise Allbright a turn. No serious attachment.’
    ‘Bob Lowson’s daughter. Talked to her, have you?’
    ‘Not yet, sir. The connection’s a bit remote.’
    ‘She knew the Albright girl though. Might be an idea to talk to her. I’ll have a word with Bob Lowson, explain it to him.’
    The telephone rang. Paling took the call and passed the receiver to Hazleton. The DCI listened, said a few words, made a note. He put down the receiver, looked again at the note, spoke.
    ‘That may be something interesting. A girl who saw Louise getting out of a car about ten-fifteen that night. More promising than usual, the girl was at school with her.’
    ‘Why hasn’t she come forward before?’ Paling asked.
    ‘Away on holiday, didn’t read the papers.’
    ‘Where did she see her? In Rawley?’
    ‘No, outside. High Ashley.’ They looked at each other. High Ashley was a village in the heart of the downs that lay between