Page 31 of With Good Grace
‘You are acquainted with her?’ Jake knew they had never met but would be interested to hear what the loquacious Barber had to say on the matter.
‘Alas not, I have merely seen and admired from a distance. She was often at the theatre with her husband, you know. I purchased this agency from her late husband’s estate but it was dealt with through lawyers. Naturally, Mrs Grantley would not involve herself in men’s business.’
Care to take a wager on that?‘You had visitors the other night and a man died on these premises.’
Barber’s face paled, ugly red veins that Jake had not previously noticed now prominently criss-crossing his nose and fleshy cheeks. ‘Most lamentable. That poor man.’ Barber shook his head in woeful dismay, causing his jowls to wobble. ‘I was never more shocked.’
‘You employ a night watchman?’
‘No, sir. His wages are…were…paid by a conglomeration of business owners in this district. There have been a number of burglaries and…well, efficient though the police might pretend to be, they cannot be everywhere. The burglaries had decreased sharply since we employed our man; until two nights ago.’
‘Do you keep anything of value in these premises?’
‘Nothing at all, I can assure you of that. I cannot think why someone would choose to break in here when it must be obvious by the nature of my business that little or no cash is involved.’ Barber produced a large handkerchief and mopped his brow. ‘Oh dear me, no. I flatter myself that I am more discreet than that.’
‘Were any other businesses broken into that night?’
‘No. We…that is Chief Inspector Drake assumes mine was the first. They intended to move on but the unfortunate night watchman bravely interrupted them, they lost their nerve, having killed the poor man, and fled.’
That was precisely the conclusion that lazy, inept Drake would reach, Jake knew. ‘Was anything stolen?’ he asked.
‘Goodness me, sir, I doubt it. There made a terrible mess so it’s hard to tell. Still sorting it all out.’ He waved vaguely in the direction of his office. ‘Pulled all my papers out but there was nothing of a confidential nature that would benefit anyone else.’ He scratched his head, leaving red marks on his scalp in the wake of his fingers. ‘Deuced odd, and that’s a fact.’
Jake had not been invited to sit down and so remained standing, leaning one elbow against the mantelpiece. ‘I believe you inherited all of Grantley’s actors when you purchased this agency.’
‘Yes indeed.’ He stood a little straighter and grasped his lapels. ‘We are still one big happy family despite the travails of the past few years.’
‘I imagine other managers circled your top actors, hoping to entice them away. Some of them are quite well known. Even I recognise their names and yet, excuse me if this sounds blunt, but Michael Denton and others remained loyal to you; a relative unknown.’
‘I will have you know, sir, that I have been in this business for years and have a reputation for being a safe pair of hands. Besides,’ he added, almost reluctantly. ‘They are under contract.’
Of course they would be; Jake ought to have thought of that. He would look into the nature of those contracts; already convinced that for influential people who could afford the best lawyers there would be a way around contractual obligations that no longer suited them. Barber would probably release them, for a consideration, rather than have it dragged through the newspapers that they were dissatisfied with his services. The more he thought about it, the more convinced Jake became that those contractual obligations did not keep Barber’s leading lights loyal. But, quite apart from anything else, pride would prevent Barber from telling him why the likes of Verity Aspin stayed with him, even if he knew the answer himself. Jake suspected that he did not. The man was an affable fool. Jake had spent the past decade rooting out rogues of all guises and was already convinced that Barber was guilty of nothing more sinister than an inflated opinion of his own self-worth.
‘What got you into this business, Barber?’
‘I was born under the spotlights, or so it sometimes feels. Both my parents were actors and it’s in my blood.’ He gave a self-conscious little laugh. ‘Unfortunately, I can’t act myself. Tried it and got nowhere, but I have forged all manner of useful contacts over the years, so it seemed logical to branch out into management.’
Jake nodded, having suspected something of that nature. ‘Grantley and Madame Céleste were friendly, I gather,’ he said.
Barber stood a little straighter and rested his hands on his protruding stomach. ‘As are that lady and my good self.’
‘But, unlike Grantley, you do not invest in some of her moreavant-gardeproductions?’
Barber treated Jake to a mournful look. ‘Alas, much as I admire her taste, foresight and daring, all of my capital was used in the purchase of this agency.’
‘Ah.’
Jake suspected that he would not learn anything else of value from Barber. If he wanted to know why the actors remained under his management he would have to speak to them himself. Even so, that was unlikely to bear fruit. If Grantley was holding something over them, and if one of them was determined to regain that evidence, especially if they did not care about who was murdered along the way, then they were hardly likely to volunteer anything of value.
‘Tell me, have any of your top actors asked if you hold anything personal of theirs? Letters perhaps that Grantley passed on to you. Something of that nature.’
Barber thought for a moment. ‘You know, I cannot think that any of them have. If they did, I could tell them at once that the only items in the files that Grantley kept on them pertain to their business relationship with this establishment.’
That was what Jake had feared.
‘Thank you, Barber.’ Jake abandoned the mantelpiece and turned towards the door. ‘You have my card. If you discover anything missing, have the goodness to contact me at once.’
‘May I ask what interest this business is to Mrs Grantley? You say that you represent her interests, but the good lady has no further connection to this agency.’
