Beware of Johnny Washington: Based on ‘Send for Paul Temple’. Francis Durbridge

      

      ‘THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB is a clearing house for the best detective and mystery stories chosen for you by a select committee of experts. Only the most ingenious crime stories will be published under the THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB imprint. A special distinguishing stamp appears on the wrapper and title page of every THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB book—the Man with the Gun. Always look for the Man with the Gun when buying a Crime book.’

       Wm. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., 1929

      Now the Man with the Gun is back in this series of COLLINS CRIME CLUB reprints, and with him the chance to experience the classic books that influenced the Golden Age of crime fiction.

       Copyright

      COLLINS CRIME CLUB

      An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published in Great Britain by John Long Ltd 1951

      'A Present for Paul' first published by the Yorkshire Evening Post 1946

      Copyright © Estate of Francis Durbridge 1946, 1951

      Introduction © Melvyn Barnes 2017

      Jacket layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017

      A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

      Source ISBN: 9780008242053

      Ebook Edition © October 2017 ISBN: 9780008242046

      Version: 2017-09-07

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

I. AN OBVIOUS CLUE

II. ENTER JOHNNY WASHINGTON

III. GREY MOOSE

IV. A JOB FOR THE POLICE

V. INQUISITIVE LADY

       VI. A PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE

       VII. A CALL FROM SCOTLAND YARD

       VIII. LONDON BY THE SEA

       IX. TALK OFF THE RECORD

       X. RENDEZVOUS

       XI. WHAT’S YOUR POISON?

       XII. JOHNNY MAKES A SUGGESTION

       XIII. AN UNEXPECTED PRESENT

       XIV. A STRAIGHT TIP

       XV. AN INFORMAL VISIT

       XVI. BEHIND THE PANEL

       XVII. THE SECRET TUNNEL

       XVIII. ‘THE BEST LAID PLANS …’

       XIX. A CASE OF ABDUCTION?

       XX. EXIT VERITY GLYN?

       XXI. MR QUINCE HAD A CLUE

       XXII. THE ENEMY CAMP

       XXIII. RUN TO EARTH

       XXIV. THE DESERTED CAR

       XXV. ‘RELEASE AT DAWN’

       XXVI. THE END OF GREY MOOSE

       POSTSCRIPT: A PRESENT FOR PAUL

       The Detective Story Club

       About the Publisher

       INTRODUCTION

      FRANCIS Henry Durbridge (1912–1998) was arguably the most popular writer of mystery thrillers for BBC radio and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, after which he enjoyed a successful career as a stage dramatist. His radio serials are regularly repeated today, while his stage plays remain among the staple fare of amateur and professional theatre companies.

      He was born in Kingston upon Hull and educated at Bradford Grammar School, Wylde Green College and Birmingham University, and as an undergraduate he began to pursue his schoolboy ambition to become a writer. Although he later worked briefly in a stockbroker’s office, his career as a full-time writer was assured by the BBC in the early 1930s when he responded to the broadcaster’s voracious