Found floating, p.19
Found Floating, page 19
‘Oh,’ said French, much interested. ‘That didn’t come out in the paper.’
‘No. We thought it wiser to keep our knowledge dark. Well, it seemed clear this was an attempt to murder Mant Carrington, and that the other five had been doped as a blind. The idea apparently was that ptomaine would be assumed. But, if suspicion were aroused, arsenic might be found in the analyses. If so, it would be supposed that it had done the damage—having got into the food accidentally—and the other poison would not have been looked for.’
‘A smart enough idea, too.’
‘Yes, and the whole thing might have worked only for two points. First, the maids had eaten some of all the food, and they remained well. That was bad luck for the murderer’—Kirby gave a twisted smile—‘for it showed us that the poison couldn’t have got into the food accidentally, but must have been put there by a trick.’
‘That’s right. A good point, if I may say so.’
Kirby made a gesture dissociating himself from the praise. ‘Unfortunately it didn’t help us. Anyone of the family, and goodness knows who else besides, could have got hold of both poisons. There was weed-killer in the garden and eserine in a cupboard in the bathroom. So, on the face of it, anyone who had the entry to the house could be guilty.’
‘It looks like it,’ French agreed. ‘But look here, one point puzzles me. If this was really murder, why didn’t the murderer give a fatal dose of the eserine? It’s not a poison I know much about, but I understand a little kills.’
Kirby nodded his appreciation. ‘Quite so, sir: I asked the same question myself. But we can’t make anything of that. He did give a fatal dose.’
‘Then why didn’t Carrington die?’
‘He escaped for a cause that one would scarcely guess: because of the arsenic. The arsenic made him sick and he got rid of the eserine before it did him serious harm.’
‘H’m. That looks as if the murderer, for all his cleverness, didn’t know quite enough about these poisons.’
‘Either that, or he made a genuine mistake. Well, the next thing was to find out how the doses could have been given,’ and Kirby described the reconstruction which led him to suspect the glasses. ‘I can show you one of them,’ he added. ‘Get it from the back room, Scarlett.’
The sergeant vanished, reappearing immediately with the glass in his hand. French examined it curiously.
‘The lighting of the dining-table was dim,’ Kirby explained. ‘Only four small-power electric candles, and we found it possible to have as much as five drops of liquid in these glasses unnoticed by some of our other men. We therefore assumed that a few drops of some arsenical solution had been put into all the glasses, and the little pellets of eserine into Mant’s as well. The doctor tells us they would have dissolved at once.’
‘Very good,’ French approved again.
‘It seemed the only way out. Then the big question arose: Who could be guilty?’
French nodded. All this was admirable: exactly the way in which he would have carried on the case himself had it been in his hands. An investigation, not directed by chance or whim, but proceeding in ordered sequence from step to step, each new step developing logically from the last. That was the way to achieve results. Why, he wondered, had such good work failed to get a conviction?
‘If we were right so far,’ Kirby continued, ‘it seemed to confine the guilty person to someone in the house, either one of the party or one of the maids. Of course there was the possibility that some stranger had entered the house and done it, but this didn’t appear likely. All the lower windows were bolted, and the evidence of Miss Shirley and the maids was that they had been bolted all the afternoon. Then the front door could only have been opened by someone with a key, and no such person was known. Besides it would have been very risky for any outsider to have entered the dining room. If one of the guests had been found there he could have made some excuse, but no stranger could. After thinking it over, we decided the guilty person must be one of the party, though I admit it’s not absolutely proved.’
‘I agree it sounds likely.’
‘Yes, sir. Then we found that every single person in the house could have got into the dining room alone before dinner, for a period of at least two minutes. But here again there was no evidence who it was.’
‘Not to be wondered at. If anyone had gone in, it would be secretly.’
‘Quite. It then became a question of trying to find motives, and as you know, sir, that’s not so easy, particularly among a family party.’
‘I know it only too well.’
‘But we did find motives, in three cases. Whether any of them were strong enough, we don’t know.
‘There was first Mrs Dugdale. She’s a very beautiful woman, Mrs Dugdale, and it seems Mant Carrington was pestering her with unwanted attentions. He would go to the house in the late afternoons after dark, and also in the evenings when the husband was away, as he had sometimes to be on the firm’s business. We got that easily enough from various people who had seen him here and there, as you’ll know yourself, sir. But it wasn’t so easy to find out whether the lady had encouraged him. But from pumping her daily help and so on, we got to believe she hadn’t.’
‘Not very convincing, that part of it,’ French suggested.
‘No, sir, I admit that. All the same if Mant was bothering her and she objected, she would be in a nasty position. Mant was the boss of the firm, and the jobs of both her husband and her brother depended on him. And she’s reported to be very fond of both. Mant could have brought a lot of pressure to bear on her, and the only way she could have really safeguarded herself was by getting him out of the way. And she had ample opportunity to get both the poisons and put them into the glasses before dinner. In fact, you might almost say she got rid of Miss Shirley, who had gone upstairs with her, when she was taking off her things.’
French whistled. ‘You’ve made a case there all right, but it’s not proven.’
‘No, sir, it’s certainly not. And her getting rid of Miss Shirley upstairs might be simply thoughtfulness, to let her see to the serving of the dinner.’
‘She couldn’t have know that Miss Shirley wouldn’t have gone into the dining room when she was dropping in the stuff.’
‘She could, sir. She could have followed Miss Shirley to the head of the stairs and watched her into the sitting room. She would know she would be unlikely to come out again before the meal.’
‘I suppose that’s so. Well, you said there were two other suspects?’
‘Yes, sir. There was the husband, Luke Dugdale. If he knew what was going on he’d be tempted to do Mant in from two points of view. First, if he was in love with his wife, and he’s supposed to be, he’d want to kill Mant out of jealousy. Then, secondly, he’d know that if there was a burst up, he’d probably lose his job. So that he’d have a double motive.’
‘Also not proven.’
‘Admitted, sir. But there it is. Then there’s Mrs Dugdale’s brother, Jim Musgrave. He’s a man with a grievance. He’s a member of the family, and yet he has only a subordinate position in the works. It appears he has always felt this keenly, and when the old man retired, he thought he should have got the job. When Mant was brought over from Australia, he hated him from the first. And by all accounts he and Mant haven’t got on too well. Then again if Mant was out of the way, there would be no one for the job but himself. There’s no doubt Jim Musgrave had a motive, real or fancied, to kill Mant.’
‘And again no proof?’
‘No, sir; none whatever.’
‘Then the other two?’
‘We’ve no reason to suspect either. Miss Shirley’s a woman of excellent character, very kindly and all that, and not the type to turn to murder. Besides, we’ve found no motive. And old Mr Williams, besides being ill, had himself brought Mant over to do just what he was doing. He had no grievance and, from all we’ve heard, they got on well together. Besides, I doubt if the old man was in good enough health to have carried through the job.’
‘And you’ve learnt nothing to make you suspect anyone outside the family?’
‘No, sir; nothing whatever.’
For some moments French sat thinking over what he had heard. Up to a point these men had done extremely well, but for all that they had certainly left the case in the air. Three suspects known, other possible suspects admitted, and no proof about any of them.
‘Then there’s this new development,’ French went on. ‘What do you think of that? That whoever it is has got Mant at last?’
‘I don’t know the details, but it’s certainly what I’d think.’
French nodded. ‘You may be right: I don’t know. At all events I’m grateful to you for your help. Now I’d like to have a look through these folders before I go, so that if any question occurs to me I can ask it. What time must I leave here?’
‘About seven, sir.’
‘Right then, just leave me here. And will you come back a bit before seven?’
Kirby hesitated. ‘My missus wondered if you’d come home and have a lie down? It’s none too comfortable here.’
‘Very good of you, I’m sure. But half the night’s gone, and it’s not worth it. Besides, it’ll take me the rest of the time to look over these.’
Murmuring regrets, Kirby and Scarlett left him, and settling down as comfortably as he could, French set to work to make up the dossier so that he could ask any needful questions before leaving.
15
The Peregrination of French
When French had finished his breakfast in the seven-thirty train from Birmingham to Euston he lit his pipe and settled down to consider what he had learnt of the case. He felt he ought to try and sleep while he had the chance, but his coffee had been strong and his brain was active. And it was certainly true that the more thought he put into the affair now, the better able he would be to deal with the new development when he reached the ship.
It seemed to him that the Bromsley police were right on two points: first, that the poisoning was a case of attempted murder, and second, that the arsenic and eserine had been administered by being dropped before dinner into the glasses. So much he thought he might take for granted. No other explanation that he could see would meet the facts.
What, he wondered, could he deduce from these conclusions? One thing at least was obvious: that the criminal was an extremely able person. That idea of giving poison to everyone who was at the dinner was brilliant. It in itself was well calculated to rule out the suspicion of murder and supply a strong suggestion that what had taken place was accidental. And then the actual carrying out of the scheme postulated ability of no mean order. A person not only of inventive genius, but of coolness and nerve. Kirby was right when he said that had the maids not had identically the same food and drink without ill effect, suspicion might never have been aroused.
Next there came that vital question: must the job have been done by someone from within the house? Kirby had believed so, but had admitted that there was no absolute proof. French examined once again the plan of the building, the photographs of the fastenings on the various windows, and reread the statements of those concerned.
It seemed clear that no one could have opened those windows from the outside when they were latched, or latched them from the outside after he had passed out through them. And the evidence was fairly conclusive that all the downstairs windows were latched. To have attempted an entrance by a ladder through an upstairs window would have been so risky that French thought he might eliminate the possibility. If he were right, an outsider could therefore have entered and left only through the front door. But this meant a key of the door. Who could have had one?
Here again the evidence was that no one could, but though this might be an honest opinion, it was not necessarily a correct one. A person wishing to commit such a crime could doubtless have obtained a key secretly.
But what did seem certain was that such a criminal would have to be very intimate with the family, not only to obtain a pressing of some member’s key unsuspected, but also to have that detailed knowledge of the household which would have enabled him to carry out his plan. He would have to be thoroughly acquainted with the arrangements for the birthday party; the hour of the dinner; the dim lighting employed; the fact that tinted, goblet-shaped glasses would be used which would enable the drops to lie in them unnoticed; the hour at which secret access to the dining room would be possible; and last, but by no means least, the place at the table which Mant Carrington would occupy. Could anyone, not actually a member of the family, have all this information?
The more French considered it, the less likely it seemed, particularly when he read Katherine Shirley’s evidence that normally they had few people to lunch or dinner. No, Kirby was probably correct in his opinion that the criminal was one of the party who had sat down to dinner on that tragic night.
Either old William Carrington, Katherine Shirley, Jim Musgrave, or Luke or Eva Dugdale, that was. One of five persons! If that were true, it would surely be an easy matter to learn which.
Kirby had not found it so, however. French shrugged. These local police were good, but they couldn’t be expected to have the knowledge or experience of the men of Scotland Yard. When he himself got going, he was sure he would have no difficulty in clearing the thing up.
His thoughts turned to the development Sir Mortimer Ellison had outlined. Of this he did not know the details, but Mant Carrington had died and it was evidently believed that he had been murdered. If so, was it a case of the second attempt succeeding?
It might well be, and if so, it should greatly simplify the investigation. Only persons common to both situations need be considered. But that meant these same five persons, and so far as he knew, no one else. But steady! There was another person whom he had overlooked. That doctor! Jellicoe was now practically a member of the family. Kirby had thought the engagement was subsequent to the poisoning, but how could he know? It might easily have been in existence, but unannounced. And though Jellicoe was not at that dinner, he might well have obtained a pressing of the front-door key, and have had the details of the household arrangements necessary for the attempt. And Jellicoe had gone with the others on the cruise.
There was, of course, no evidence incriminating Jellicoe; but it was obvious that he must be included in the list of suspects. That brought them up to six. Well, six was a small number compared to what he had been up against in many of his previous cases. He would soon eliminate five, and then his job would be done.
But not too soon! He would do his level best of course, but he hoped the investigation would take long enough to let him see Athens and Istanbul at least!
At the Yard French was handed a copy of all the messages which had passed between the ship and the owners and cruise agents, as well as a special passport, travel tickets, reservations and money. He also took a large suitcase of professional apparatus, aids of various kinds to the art of detection. There was not time to go home and change, as he would have liked, but at Victoria he found Mrs French standing guard over another enormous suitcase.
‘My word, Em, I’m doing myself proud,’ he exclaimed, looking at the two huge pieces. ‘Might as well be one of those lords or ladies you’re so fond of.’
‘I hope I’ve forgotten nothing,’ she answered. ‘But if I have, there’s a shop on board, or so I’ve always heard.’
‘The thing I’ll want most will be a way of getting the murderer, but I don’t suppose they’ll sell that.’
‘It is a murder case, is it?’
‘Supposed to be. I haven’t heard much about it yet. And now, old lady, I want to talk to you. What are you going to do while I’m away?’
‘I don’t know,’ she returned. ‘A trip to Paris with that nice Mr Sedding, I suppose.’
‘I was just afraid of that,’ he declared, ‘and I’m going to run no risks. You’re not to stay at home at all. You’re to go to Yorkshire,’ and he outlined his plan for her holiday.
She was obviously pleased, though at first she demurred. But he would listen to no objections. ‘I’ve been sitting up half the night to write a cheque,’ he concluded, ‘and here it is. You can’t turn me down after that.’
She glanced at the paper. ‘Oh, Joe,’ she murmured, ‘it’s too much. You mustn’t.’
‘It’s not too much,’ he assured her; ‘we can afford it well. Now have a good time and take Rose on excursions. And my best respects to Tom.’
The Olympic party was going by special train, ten minutes in advance of the ordinary. While French and his wife were talking they had passed through the barrier and French had pushed his way into a second class near the engine. The train was practically full and he got one of the last seats. Porters were still hurrying up with vast truckloads of luggage, which was being hastily stowed in the front van. The driver with true Olympian calm looked superciliously down on the struggling forms, then glanced forward where a bloodshot eye which had been menacing him had suddenly vanished and an innocuous green one had appeared in its place. A moment later the last of the luggage had been swallowed up, various officials had raised their arms as if in valediction, and the platform with Mrs French’s figure upon it, began slowly to move away in the direction of St Paul’s.
In spite of his years French felt like a boy leaving school for a particularly promising holiday. As he looked out and saw sober Father Thames also on the move after the platform, he could have hugged himself or sung aloud.
Presently he began to look at his fellow passengers. In front was an elderly clergyman with a posse of daughters; or so he thought at first. Then he saw that not all of the girls were daughters. They were talking of books and he overheard one say she had read the clergyman’s new book with great interest. Not a daughterly remark, that. On the other side of the corridor was a middle-aged pleasing-looking lady zealously nursing a round hat case, and opposite her a strong-faced young man with a pretty woman. These were obviously two separate parties, but they were already making friends. Immediately opposite himself was a young man, a schoolmaster, French imagined. He thought he might as well follow the example of his neighbours. He therefore told the young man that it looked as if they would get it calm in the Straits.
