Coroner's Pidgin Author:Margery Allingham Albert Campion was used to surprises, in his life as a private detective, and after years of overseas during the war 'on a mission', as he put it, 'so secret that even I never discovered what it was'. All this had taught him to expect the unusual, yet there were times when even so wary an investigator as Mr. Campion was caught unawares. After al... more »l, there was no reason to anticipate any complications. Here he was, just safely back in wartime London after years abroad, lazing in the bath, placidly planning the next few hours which were to culminate in a leisurely journey to the station, and so home for a long leave; no rush and no fuss. Then he heard steps on the outside stairs, heavy steps that betokened no good. Into the room clamped two persons carrying a third, and as Mr. Campion peered out of the bathroom door, he could make out Lugg, his factotum, a lady of unmistakably aristocratic bearing, and the corpse of a woman. It was unnerving, to say the least, but he determined to avoid the consequences. He even went so far as to disclaim any responsibility he might incur as owner of the flat, and he left behind this consulate group of people who had hoped for his help. He even got into a taxi to go to the station, but alas, it was not an ordinary taxi, and indeed, after all, he was impelled to take an interest in the mystery corpse, the extraordinary behavior of a well known public figure, and the alarming disappearance of some well known art treasures. A disappearance which had more than an ordinary interest for Scotland Yard.« less