It was raining heavily and the young boy standing at the front door was enveloped in a cape that was at least two sizes too big for him, but it served its purpose and kept him dry. On his head was a postman’s cap which he must have borrowed for the occasion. His bicycle was leaning against the wall of the cottage. At a guess, he was no more than fifteen years old. I watched as he withdrew a flimsy green envelope from underneath the cape. He looked directly at me and said, ‘I have a telegram for Sedgewick Harris – would that be you, sir?’
‘No, but I will take it for him.’
‘I was told to give it to Sedgewick Harris in person.’
I called for Harris to come to the door. In a moment he stood facing the boy.
‘You are Sedgewick Harris?’
‘Yes.’
He offered the slim envelope to Harris, who took it. Reaching into his pocket, Harris withdrew some change and, selecting a sixpence piece, gave it to the boy. Six pence was generous and he smiled as he reached out his hand.
‘Thank you, sir, I hope it is good news.’
‘Yes, let’s hope it is.’
Once inside the front room, I watched him carefully open the envelope and extract a sheet of paper. His brow furrowed and he pursed his lips as he read the contents.
‘COYNE’S. KILKIERAN. 5.00. URGENT. H. What do you make of this, Jonathan?’
‘I assume ‘H’ is Inspector Hennessy?’
‘Yes, who else could it be? There must be something serious afoot. In normal circumstances the Inspector would call here to the cottage and discuss his problem. I have never heard of Kilkieran. Do you know where it is?’
‘It is twelve miles east of here on an isolated part of the coast. If we leave in half an hour, we will be there in plenty of time.’
‘We will leave straight away. The matter is urgent.’
‘But he won’t be there until five o’clock!’
‘He is already there.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I know.’
~
Fifteen minutes later, we were passing the Emporium and sub-post office within whose cluttered walls resided the lovely Miss Mannion. The delectable lady would have received the phone call from Hennessy and written the words dictated to her on a sheet of paper and immediately taken steps to have it delivered to the cottage. Telegrams are charged by the word and one expects brevity. The Inspector had surpassed himself.
We spoke very little as I manoeuvred the Morris Minor along the narrow back roads that led to Kilkieran. We were going in the opposite direction to Roundstone, Ballyconnelly and Clifden, places more familiar to me.
‘I wonder what the problem is?’
‘It has to be something serious for him to summon us in such a manner,’ replied Harris.
‘I haven’t noticed anything of consequence in the local newspaper that might involve the Inspector.’