AN EVIL HOUR : Extract

Harry stepped out of the lift into the discreetly lit, carpeted corridor where Gerald Culver had bled to death. There was no sign now, a fortnight later, that anything so distasteful had ever sullied the interior décor.

The door to the flat was open, but he knocked and waited.

'Come in, Mr Lambert.'

Laura Culver had classic English Rose looks which didn't appeal to Harry, but which the newspapers called beautiful. Her face was still pale with the grief she had suffered, but there was a hint of something else. A touch of disappointment, of anger, even.

'You come highly recommended, Mr Lambert,' she said.

'Recommended for what, Mrs Culver?'

'I'm told that you were a very good policeman. And I understand you have resigned.'

'That's right,' he answered. 'I was, and I have. But I'm not sure how I can help you.'

'I want some enquiries made,' she said evenly. 'Some unofficial enquiries, you understand.'

Harry shook his head. 'Oh, no, Mrs Culver - I'm not in the enquiry agent business.'

'What business are you in, Mr Lambert?' she asked sweetly.

Harry looked at her for a moment, then sighed. 'All right, I'm not in any business. I don't know any other business. I've only ever been a policeman. But I don't intend becoming a private enquiry agent.'

'Mr Lambert,' she said soothingly. 'If I had wanted an enquiry agent, there are dozens to choose from. I don't. I want you. And I'm prepared to pay quite a lot of money to get you. Or do you have private means?'

Harry smiled reluctantly. 'Get me to do what?' he asked.