Saturday 13 September 1930
There are no odd-looking reports of fires overnight. Milly and Gertrude visit Paton, to give a report and return the keys; they mention the permeable wall, and the fire bugs (he asks about the possibility of training them), and he seems fascinated. He explains that he’s had to keep a very open mind recently. He asks about sealing up the permeability; Gertrude mentions jazz, and he wonders about a very modern clock. The repair work will take at least until the end of the month, and he encourages them to keep the keys for the moment.
Lin Tan and Audrey look at Hertford Street, where Boswell has his flat. It doesn’t seem promising for observation spots: no restaurants nearby, and the roofs are normally pitched.
Milly starts considering where one might be able to find people who know Boswell, and asks St John about private dining clubs.
In the afternoon, Audrey gets hold of the plans of the building after it was converted. (The flats seem pretty minimal for someone of Boswell’s standing; no room for a valet to sleep, for example.)
Milly and St John go out to dine; there’s quite a bit of drinking and dancing, and she recognises some of the other ladies as occasional professional colleagues. She tries mind-reading on St John, getting nothing, and on one of her dancing partners, an officer of the 3rd Carabiniers, who’s fretting over “poor old Blowers”; more digging suggests that he recently killed himself over a matter of gambling debts. Another officer is worried because he’s been on a winning streak lately, but something doesn’t feel quite right about it.
Lin Tan perches on a roof across from Boswell’s flat and settles in for the night.