I was pleased with the outcome, and if I were honest, I’d say I couldn’t have planned a better result. George was smiling slightly, but he was always fantastic at keeping a secret to himself. We were relaxing with the finest whisky and a neat slab of dark, Brazilian chocolate as George began to spill the beans. Oh boy, this was going to be good. 

“Everything went smoothly from my end.” He started. “ I laid the biscuits out, just like you told me: a neat row of two ginger snaps, a chocolate digestive, and the fatal hobnob right on the end of the plate. Tea and coffee on the tray as normal.”

“Yes, yes.” I couldn’t help interrupting. “I knew you’d keep to every little detail. Don’t stop. Go on George, Go on.”

“After placing the tray on her night stand, I made my exit. Knowing Madame would be around any minute, I hid myself in the cupboard under the stairs until I heard the faint brush of her slippers on the nearby landing. When the door clicked, I counted to ten and made my way to watch through the bedroom key hole. My squiffy vision was the best I could manage. You were right Jane. She fed the first two ginger nuts to her cats; wrapped up the second digestive in a tissue before laying it inside an engraved silver box.”

There was a pause as George grimaced remembering the dark night that he was unwillingly clawed into assisting with the murder of Mrs Delaney. 

“Come on. Go on.” I snarled through gritted teeth. 

“Just give me my share of the gold, then I might go on.”

“You fool, after all I have given you, can’t you just tell me how it went. What if they question me?”

“They have nothing on you, my share, now.”

I lifted my creaking muscles to standing and loafed over to the safe. It was ‘safely’ behind my bookshelf.  I chuckled aloud at my own thoughtful pun. My arrogance was sublime. This one wasn’t going to get one droplet of gold, but I did need his story. I needed to remain undercover, and at this rate, George was going to blab.