Eight
On the fifth floor of a block of offices in the City of London are situated¹ theoffices of the Valhalla Gramophone² Co³. The man who sat behind the deskin that office was reading a book on economics⁴. The telephone rang andhe picked up the receiver. He said in a quiet unemotional voice:
“Valhalla Gramophone Co.”
“Sanders here.”
“Sanders of the River? What river?”
“River Tigris. Reporting as to A. S. We’ve lost her.”
There was a moment’s silence. Then the quiet voice spoke⁵ again, with asteely note in it.
“Did I hear what you said correctly?”
“We’ve lost Anna Scheele.”
“No names. This is a very serious error on your part. How did it comeabout?”
“She went into that nursing⁶ home. I told you before. Her sister was hav-ing an operation.”
“Well?”
“The operation went off all right. We expected A. S. to return to the Sa-voy. She had kept on her suite⁷. She didn’t return. Watch had been kept onthe nursing home and we were quite sure she hadn’t left it. We assumedshe was still there.”
“And she isn’t?”
“We’ve just found out. She left there, in an ambulance, the day after theoperation.”
“She deliberately⁸ fooled you?”
“Looks like it. I’d swear she didn’t know she was being followed. Wetook every precaution⁹. There were three of us and—”
“Never mind the excuses. Where did the ambulance take her?”
“To University College Hospital.”
“What have you learnt from the hospital?”

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