>>6011041(pic unrelated, surprise)
12 Deverell Street Plant (12SE)
We enter the typically grimy manufacturing environment of the Deverell-Street plant.
"Lord Ragland ain't here, but I could show you to [Mr. Kehoe]'s office, he's the guv'ner's assistant."
It is evident that Walter Kehoe has come up through the ranks and would be more comfortable in his overall than his present ill-fitting tweeds. With a meaty paw he tugs at his shirt collar and asks us our business.
"Can you tell us anything about Mr. Allen's visit here on the morning of March 9th?"
"Odd, I thought it was, so's I remember right enough. Mr. Allen come to see his nibs, er, Lord Ragland, but he weren't here. Mr. Allen says he'll wait in the office."
"Do you know why Mr. Allen came to see Lord Ragland?"
"Now I wouldn't be knowin' their business, but it was most likely about Project #10, it bein' secret and all. There was hangers on around the Plant, foreigners and what-not."
"Do you know what transpired when Lord Ragland returned?"
"What? Well, he never did return, leastways not before Mr. Allen left. I was called away and when I gets back, Mr. Allen, he hands me a note. Says it come for Lord Ragland and I was to be sure he gets it. He also says that he'll see Lord Ragland some other time and perhaps it's best I don't even mention that he come by. Lord Ragland was in a bit later, stayed for a couple of hours and left for the day. Odd it was."
A begrimed workman enters and informs Kehoe of some problem with a piece of machinery.
"I'll be back in a moment, gents. Why don't you wait in Lord Ragland's office."
Left to our own devices when Kehoe and the workman leave, we can't help but notice a drawer in Ragland's desk partially open. And, of course, we can't help but peak in. We do not discover much of interest, only a stack of invoices and a bundle of stock certificates. One of the invoices is from Radford, Jones Sc Co. for 140 guineas. It is dated September 5, 1887, and stamped, "Paid March 10, 1888." The stock certificates are in 5000 share demonimations for several different companies, among them, [Rafferty Paper Mills] and [Stephenson Iron Works]. We manage to close the drawer just before Kehoe returns.
(cont.)
