Note- This is an alternative history tale featuring Christie as a thirty-year-old Flapper in the roaring twenties who becomes much sought after as a private investigator thanks to the success of her first, and only, novel. Embracing the free age, she also believes in free love for women.
Sexton Blake is a fictional character, a detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels, and dramatic productions since 1893. His adventures were featured in a wide variety of British and international publications (in many languages) from 1893 to 1978, comprising more than 4,000 stories by some 200 different authors.
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Chapter Five.
The Incredible Theft.
England, 1924.
"MISTER BLAKE. COME AT ONCE. YOU ARE NEEDED."
That was all the telegram said. And, apart from the fact that Sir Oscar Trevelyan of Mostyn Manor, in Surrey, was one of the best-known financial magnates in the City of London, that was all that Sexton Blake knew of the case when he left his rooms in Farringdon and drove to Victoria Railway Station.
It was then half-past seven in the evening when Blake finally arrived in Surrey. An hour later he reached Mostyn Manor after Sir Oscar's personal motor car met him at the station. By a quarter to nine, he was at the Hall, a fine old Tudor mansion, surrounded by expansive gardens. Sir Oscar, pale and distracted, awaited him in the library.
"I thought you weren't coming!" he exclaimed, seizing the detective by the hand, and dragging him into the room.
Blake removed his overcoat to reveal his double-breasted grey suit. He looked dapper and collected as he took a look around the palatial home.
"I've been robbed of a document worth a hundred thousand pounds! My secretary, who apparently surprised the thief, was knocked unconscious and is now recuperating. I have no faith in the rural police so I sent for you. Find the thief and recover the stolen document before it falls into the hands of old Picot, for he's at the bottom of the business, I'll swear."
"Pray calm yourself, and begin at the beginning, and tell me what has happened."
"Permit me, Sir Oscar. I would be honoured to relate the crime to Mister Blake."
Both men turned to the door to see a tall and slender redhead standing there. She looked elegant in her grey beaded evening gown that sparkled with hand-embellished beads and sequins. The scalloped hem and deep V-neck added to her allure, and several strings of pearls completed her glamorous look.
"Oh, Mister Blake. Allow me to introduce Mrs. Agatha Christie. Her Father and I were the best of friends. She's just visiting whilst in the area."
"Delighted to make your acquaintance," she said to Blake as she fitted a cigarette into her long holder. "Could you light me?"
The famous author of The Mysterious Affair At Styles put one end of the holder to her mouth and pursed her scarlet lips. Blake took a box of matches from his hip pocket and lit one up. As he held up the match, Christie clutched his hand with hers and didn't let go for several seconds. In her fashionable three-inch heels their heights matched well.
"Thank you."
It was not an overstatement to say that Christie was rather wealthy. And she had made every penny by her own acuteness of mind. She had written a successful novel and had reaped the rewards gladly. She was in no rush to write another book yet as she lived life to the full.
He watched her sit down in a plush armchair and cross her willowy legs. The swish of her silk stockings could be clearly heard with his keen ears. He thought she had an extraordinary charisma, unlike any woman he had ever known. And she was perfectly aware of the deep impression she made on him. The intriguing woman with the bob haircut and straight fringe down to the brows blew a stream of blue smoke from her lips as she regarded the highly regarded private detective.
He was the classic tall, dark, handsome stranger. Strong yet silent. Despite his rather pasty complexion, probably a result of skulking about after midnight, he did have bright blue eyes and groomed black hair. He exuded an aloof, cold, and distant demeanour that said to her he was the sort of man that could easily live without the close companionship of a female. He sat in the opposite armchair, and even when he sat down, he seemed tall and straight-backed.
"I must mention how much I enjoyed your novel. Quite a read."
"You're too kind. Likewise, I should congratulate you on the way you handled that Cornish Coast conspiracy. Excellent work."
"That was a fine result, yes."
"Tell me, Mister Bake. Are you married?"
"Widowed. And you?"
Blake fished about in his pocket and produced a pope with which he began to stuff tobacco from a small pouch.
"Divorced. My husband was a crashing bore. He wouldn't know a good time if it hit him in the face."
"Are you drinking?" Asked Sir Oscar.
"Scotch, thanks."
Agatha looked directly at the detective and searched his chiseled face for a reaction to her unblushing order of hard booze.
"Same for me, Sir Oscar. Anyway. Please enlighten me of the events here."
"If I am to begin at the beginning," said Agatha, "I must tell you that Sir Oscar has large financial interests in South America. Another firm, with equally large interests in that country, is the well-known financial firm Picot of Paris. Between their firm and Sir Oscar's, there has been for many years the keenest commercial rivalry, amounting to him and Picot being involved in a bitter personal feud. About six months ago he sent an expert over to Peru to inspect and report on certain properties which were on offer. His confidential report, written in Spanish, reached London yesterday. I do not wish to weary you with details so I will simply say that if that report falls into the hands of Picot before the end of the week, the result will be a loss to Sir Oscar to the tune of at least a hundred thousand pounds."
Blake listened intently as he finished his pipe. During her monologue, Christie had crossed her legs several times, and he was instantly attracted to the radiant thirty-year-old. It had been quite a while since he had been intimate with another despite his on/off secretary Maggie flirting unashamedly.
"I definitely locked it up in a small safe in my study and went to bed." Confirmed Sir Oscar.
"Excuse my interrupting you," said Sexton Blake. "How many persons knew
you had brought the report home with you?"
"Two. My confidential clerk, in London, and my private secretary, a young fellow named Percival, who lives here. At six o'clock this morning I was roused by one of the servants with the startling news that the study window had been broken open during the night, the lock of the safe had been picked, and the unconscious form
of my secretary had been found lying outside the study window. He had evidently heard a suspicious noise in the study, had come down to investigate,
had surprised the thief at work, and had jumped out of the window after him."