A Bit of Wire-pulling

by E.C.R. Lorac

A short story from British Library Crime Classic The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories. “It’s a very rare thing for a murder to be committed actually in the presence of a police officer.” Or so it was thought…After the police fail to trace the writer behind a series of threatening letters to wealthy industrialist Sir Charles Leighton, he demands constant police protection. And thus it is up to Inspector Lang to accompany the man to a bridge party on New Year’s Eve—and track down his killer…

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Crime

Unknown Binding

First published October 11, 1950

About the author

Edith Caroline Rivett (who wrote under the pseudonyms E.C.R. Lorac, Carol Carnac, Carol Rivett, and Mary le Bourne) was a British crime writer. She was born in Hendon, Middlesex (now London). She attended the South Hampstead High School, and the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London.

She was a member of the Detection Club. She was a very prolific writer, having written forty-eight mysteries under her first pen name, and twenty-three under her second. She was an important author of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

Reviews

[Susan in NC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting short story, read (listened to) because I am a fan of Lorac, a golden age mystery writer, and for a challenge with the Book for All Seasons group, to read a short story or novella.

I just read a full length mystery by this author, Fell Murder, so thought one of her short stories would be a good chance to compare the way Lorac adapts her rather leisurely pace to the short story format. The introduction to this audiobook even notes that the author preferred the longer length of a novel to tell a story, and rarely wrote short stories. Indeed, in Fell Murder, Lorac’s series detective, Inspector Macdonald of Scotland Yard, didn’t even appear until halfway through! But she took her time creating a very realistic setting of wartime rural England, and the rigors of farm life. I very much appreciate her writing style, and was pleased that her short story was satisfying as well.

In this case, an “old CID man”, Inspector Lange, is sitting around a cozy fire one evening in a Lake District inn; it is Easter time, but the weather has turned foul, and he has discovered among his fellow guests a retired doctor and young barrister, and they fall to discussing “mutual shop”.

Lange says it’s a rarity for a murder to take place while a policeman is present, and tells of a Sir Charles Layton, a wealthy man who had been receiving death threats, and requested police protection. Inspector Lange accompanied him to a bridge party on New Year’s Eve at his daughter and son-in-law’s house, kitted out in evening wear and presented as a friend of Layton. The son-in-law, a financier named Bland, is discussing the foul weather with Lange as bridge play ensues, then opens the curtains to reveal the snowy conditions. Bland cries out a gunman is on the veranda, a shot rings out, and Layton slumps dead at the bridge table.

No spoilers, but Lange invites his two listeners to chime in, then explains the resolution satisfactorily. I thought it all made sense, and despite the abbreviated format, Lorac still conveyed a sense of place and character, and delivered a satisfactory puzzle - well done.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man receiving threatening letters is killed during a card game. I figured out the method and who did it but it was still pretty clever.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another short one. A police inspector was sent to protect a man who was being threatened. The letters he received said that he would be dead by the end of the year so the inspector accompanied him to a bridge party on New Year’s Eve. No sooner did he sit down to play than his son in law looked out the snowy window and said that there was a man with a gun. In seconds, the threatened man was dead, shot through the head. The inspector would not allow anyone to move as he looked outside and he did see footprints but heard nothing. The gun was found dropped in the hedge along with a curtain wire. The inspector figured out that the son in law killed his father in law by suspending the gun outside the window and pulling the trigger with the wire.

[Sofia 🍉 · Rating 5 out of 5]

'"They say these financial jugglers are always pulling bits of wire, but their puppets don't always work and the market goes against 'em."' ~ Dr. Walton

[Mariahmmm · Rating 2 out of 5]

An inspector recounts the locked-room murder of a man he was protecting.

Locked-room mysteries sometimes fall prey to fantastical solutions and this one unfortunately fell victim.