Frankie's Letter - By Dolores Gordon-Smith Page 0,44
‘I think the diamond scheme went well. You dangled all the right clues very nicely. If Sherston really is our man, he surely can’t fail to follow up your lead to the third-rate hotel in Cheshire Place, as you very happily put it. If that comes off we’re really out of the slips and no mistake.’
‘Yes, it went well,’ said Anthony. ‘There’s something else I found out tonight. It’s about the Sons of Hibernia.’
Sir Charles sat up in his chair. ‘What is it?’
Anthony related the conversation in the drawing-room as concisely as he could. ‘There’s no doubt in my mind,’ he finished, ‘that Veronica O’Bryan knows a sight more than she should do. I think Tara O’Bryan’s in the clear, but if Mrs O’Bryan is involved with the Sons of Hibernia, then we’re really on to something.’
‘It sounds like it,’ agreed Sir Charles. ‘Veronica O’Bryan, eh? She’s someone we’ve never contemplated. Where does this leave Sherston? Do you think they’re in it together?’
Anthony rested his elbow on the arm of his chair, seeing how the light danced and reflected on the glass in his hand. He was trying very hard to be fair.
‘Sherston didn’t show any interest in my conversation with Tara O’Bryan,’ he said eventually. ‘He doesn’t seem to fit. I know Cavanaugh thought we were looking for a man. He said we’ve got to stop him. However, I wonder if our man isn’t a man but a woman.’
‘Veronica O’Bryan?’ asked Sir Charles.
‘Veronica O’Bryan,’ repeated Anthony. ‘Thanks to Sherston’s social connections, she’s in a position to pick up some very valuable gossip. Mrs O’Bryan might disapprove of Terry Cavanaugh for some family reason, such as Cavanaugh falling for Tara – Tara certainly liked Cavanaugh and might have had her head turned, despite him being so much older – or it could be more sinister. I’m sure Veronica O’Bryan knows who Frankie is. What’s more, when I said I was looking for a man called Frankie, she seemed very self-satisfied, as if she was congratulating herself I was on the wrong lines. It might be that Frankie’s a woman.’
‘A woman?’ Sir Charles sucked his cheeks in. ‘There’s no reason why Frankie shouldn’t be a woman, of course. Anything else?’
‘Only that Frankie may be associated with either the New York or London Hibernian charities. That’s a guess, but it might be right.’
Sir Charles sat back and drummed his fingers on the smooth leather of the chair-arm. ‘Take it that what you’ve said is correct. How did it all work?’
Anthony lit a cigarette and smoked it reflectively. ‘What I think happened is something like this. Terry Cavanaugh got involved with the Sons of Hibernia, the London equivalent of the New York Hibernian Relief Fund. He starts to uncover the Sons’ links between Ireland and Germany. At a meeting of the Sons he came across Veronica O’Bryan and her daughter, and gets invited here. Tara O’Bryan said Cavanaugh was a distant relation of her father’s. I’m assuming that’s a ruse on Cavanaugh’s part, as otherwise it’s too convenient for words. What that means, of course, is that he suspected Veronica O’Bryan and wanted to get closer to her.’
‘Or to Sherston,’ put in Sir Charles. ‘He could have suspected Sherston.’
‘So he could,’ agreed Anthony. ‘In any event, we know Cavanaugh fell from grace. He left Starhanger under a cloud and went to Germany. Mrs O’Bryan has his activities in New York investigated and, via Frankie, writes a letter to their friendly German pals, with disastrous results for Cavanaugh. For all I know, she is Frankie. She was certainly smug enough when I mentioned Frankie’s name.’ Anthony looked at Sir Charles. ‘Can you pick any holes in that?’
‘Why was there such a long delay?’ asked Sir Charles. ‘It was a good few months after Cavanaugh left Starhanger before he was killed in Germany.’
‘Maybe it took that long for them to be sure. You said Cavanaugh used another name in New York. Veronica O’Bryan might have suspected Cavanaugh but didn’t want to act until she was certain. If the Germans arrested an American who really was an innocent neutral, it’d be very awkward for them and their Irish partners.’
‘Fair enough,’ acknowledged Sir Charles. ‘What about Sherston, though? He had a down on Cavanaugh, too.’
‘Maybe he’s in on it. He could be, you know. After all, his middle name is Francis and if he’s Frankie, Veronica O’Bryan might well look smug at my description of him as a friend of Cavanaugh’s.’