Death with Blue Ribbon Read Free Page B

everything I might as well close down.’
    â€˜Now let’s come to this visit you received.’
    Rolland described it in detail, repeating with painful accuracy the words of Jimmie Rivers, which seemed to have burned themselves into his mind, as the saying goes.
    â€˜It must have been very uncomfortable.’
    â€˜It was a shock. But of course I absolutely refused to have anything to do with it.’
    â€˜And the two men went, without another word?’
    â€˜ “Be seeing you”, Rivers said.’
    â€˜But you haven’t seen him since?’
    â€˜No. But two nights later this character appeared in the dining-room.’
    Rolland described what had happened on that occasion.
    â€˜You thought he was just an ordinary customer?’
    â€˜Of course. Till the thing happened.’
    â€˜You are sure he wasn’t—an ordinary customer?’
    â€˜I’ve told you, he made a scene.’
    â€˜Mightn’t anyone if he thought he had been given food poisoning?’
    â€˜You don’t mean you think the whole thing was unconnected with Rivers and his… threats?’
    â€˜I didn’t say that. But there doesn’t seem much evidence that the man himself was connected with them. I should be bloody angry if I was given something poisonous when I was paying your prices. How much
do
you charge for Dublin Bay prawns, or
scampi
as you call them?’
    â€˜Twenty-five bob. Stefan serves them from a chafing-dish.’
    â€˜Where do they come from?’
    â€˜Dublin Bay,’ said Rolland.
    â€˜Then why call them
scampi?
They’re frozen, of course?’
    â€˜Kept in the deep-freeze.’
    â€˜I see. And a customer got a wrong ‘un. It could be that he did, you know. It would only take one to do it.’
    â€˜Impossible!’ said Rolland.
    â€˜Not quite impossible. I’m not jumping to any conclusions,Mr Rolland, but it is possible that one of those wretched prawns was deliberately “placed”.’
    â€˜Oh God! You mean that one of the staff may have done it?’
    â€˜I only said it was possible.’
    â€˜But why? You don’t mean that one of my employees may be working with Rivers?’
    â€˜How can we be sure? From what you tell me you’re up against something pretty formidable.’
    â€˜Does that mean that you want to keep out of it?’
    â€˜Not necessarily. Look here, Rolland, I can’t pretend I’ve got much sympathy for you. I don’t like pretentious restaurants and phony French food. If I investigate this thing it won’t be to save your bacon. But I happen to detest blackmail and I believe there is a whole organisation here dedicated to it. I shouldn’t be surprised if half the smart restaurants in London were paying out to these people. That will never do, you know. It will mean more expensive food, for one thing. I’d like to know a great deal more about it.’
    â€˜You will come then? Can you come at once?’
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜Because, by a most unfortunate coincidence (or perhaps the bastards knew), Imogen Marvell is coming down on Thursday.’
    â€˜Who is Imogen Marvell?’
    Rolland goggled.
    â€˜You
don’t know
who Imogen Marvell is? It’s impossible! She’s the greatest power in the world of gastronomy today.’
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜She’s the proprietor of
The Gourmet’s Vade Mecum to the British Isles,
by far the most powerful of the guides. She leavesRonay and Postgate and the rest of them
standing.
She’s the author of three coffee-table cookery books which have outsold Elizabeth David and Larousse. She opened the
Ma Façon
Restaurant in Chelsea three years ago and already there’s a
Ma Façon
in Shepherd Market, Hampstead, Cheltenham, Bath and Tunbridge Wells, and she’s opening them in Torremolinos and Ibiza. She’s never
out
of the newspapers.’
    â€˜And what does she know about