Dark Threat (26 page)

‘The police were already searching it.’

‘That is true. But he had wasted twenty minutes quarrelling with his wife. He knew that he was suspected by the police. If at this juncture he tried to reach Captain Pilgrim, I think it was because he knew something and was no longer prepared to hold his tongue about it. Suppose for a moment that he knew something about Miss Day—something that connected her with the death of Henry Clayton. You have to remember that he was on duty in the hall that night, that he believed Henry Clayton to have seduced his daughter, and that now, a bare month after that daughter’s tragic death, Henry Clayton was at Pilgrim’s Rest to marry another woman. If he had seen or suspected something that night, do you not think it very possible that he would hold his tongue? But now it is too dangerous. He is aware that he is himself suspected by the police, and he goes to his master to make a clean breast of what he knows. As I said before, we cannot tell what passed between him and Miss Day. He may have warned her that he could no longer hold his tongue. He must, I think, have said something which made her take a desperate risk to silence him.’

Frank Abbott leaned forward.

‘Are you suggesting that it was she who locked us in?’

She said soberly, ‘I think so. I am unable to see why Robbins should have locked the door. Even if he had been seen, he had only to rush into the next room and fling himself from the window. But if it was he who looked in, he would know that you had not seen him. If it was his design to commit suicide, he had all the time he required. I do not believe that he had any such design. I think he went upstairs to go to his room. Hearing that the police were there, he turned in next door to wait till they had finished. And there he met the same fate as Roger Pilgrim.’

March leaned back.

‘Will you be offended if I congratulate you on your imagination? But you know, it won’t do. It’s an enthralling bit of fiction, but I’m a policeman and I’ve got to stick to facts. You haven’t a leg to stand on—you really haven’t. And what’s more, you know you haven’t. The only shred of fact in the whole of that very interesting piece of special pleading is that Robbins went to Jerome Pilgrim’s door and asked to see him. You find this inexplicable, but speaking for myself, I do not expect to follow all the mental processes of a murderer who is about to commit suicide. He may have had some wild idea of confessing, of being helped to get away—I don’t know, and to tell you the honest truth, I don’t much care. He had a strong enough motive for taking Clayton’s life, he had all the opportunity anyone could want, and the whole night in which to clear up after the crime. When you add to this that he was, at least occasionally, in the habit of taking hashish, a drug capable of producing mental derangement with in some cases homicidal tendencies, and, as a climax, that Clayton’s wallet has been found hidden in his room, I think you would have to go very far to find a jury who would not convict him, or anyone who would feel a moment’s uneasiness at their doing so.’

Miss Silver stood with her fingertips resting lightly on the edge of the table. She smiled benignly and said, ‘Ah, yes—the wallet—I meant to tell you about that. It is extremely interesting.’

March restrained himself.

‘What did you mean to tell me?’

‘A very interesting
fact
, Randall.’

‘Well?’

She gave her slight cough.

‘In our previous discussion we were upon rather theoretical ground. As you produced the supposition that Robbins had concealed the wallet amongst his papers, I met theory with theory and held back my fact. To tell you the truth, I was doubtful of its reception and hoped to be able to reinforce it. Now that so much else has come out, I see no reason why I should not tell you what I know.’

‘I am glad about that. What are you going to tell me?’

‘That the wallet was certainly not in that chest of drawers this morning.’

Frank Abbott’s faint sarcastic smile went out. March said.

‘What!’

‘It was not there when I searched the room this morning.’

‘You searched the room this morning?’

‘Yes, Randall. I removed all the drawers from the chest, and I searched every drawer. The wallet was not then in any of them, nor was it lodged in the frame where Frank and Sergeant Smith found it this afternoon.’

March looked at her severely.

‘You know, you really had no business—’

She gave him a disarming smile.

‘I am aware of that, and prepared to hear you say so.’

Frank Abbott’s hand went up to his mouth. He heard her say,

‘That of course is why I preferred to hold my fact in reserve.’

March was frowning.

‘And now we’ve got it, what does it amount to? Evidence that Robbins concealed the wallet when he knew that the house was to be searched?’

Miss Silver shook her head.

‘No, Randall—there was no opportunity after that. You spoke about the search to Captain Pilgrim and sent Judy Elliot for Frank and Sergeant Smith. Robbins was then downstairs. Mrs. Robbins tells me that he heard Judy give her message, and immediately after that the front door bell rang and he went to answer it. As he crossed the hall he met Captain Pilgrim and asked him whether it was true that the house was to be searched. When he had let Miss Freyne in he came back to the kitchen, where he remained until Miss Columba took him to the morning-room. Before he had any opportunity of getting to his room Frank and Sergeant Smith were there.’

She spoke in a pleasant, reasonable manner, but March’s frown deepened.

‘Then he put it there earlier—that’s all. He would most likely be up in his room before lunch. The wallet could have been hidden in the back of the chest then—or after lunch. I can’t pretend to give the exact moment, but there was plenty of time between your search and the official one.’

She bowed her head, as if admitting agreement.

‘Plenty of time, as you say. And what motive? I cannot find one. Whereas Miss Day’s motive would be very strong. Since it is certain that the wallet had been placed in the chest only a very short time before it was found there, you have, I think, to consider the motive very carefully. You have also to consider why so incriminating a piece of evidence was preserved. I believe that it was Miss Day who kept it, and that she did so with the intention of using it to divert suspicion from herself. If Robbins had been guilty he would have destroyed it long ago.’

March waited until she had finished. Then he said with evident restraint,

‘I am sorry, but I simply cannot agree. You have built up an ingenious theory without any evidence to support it. As you know, I have a great respect for your opinion, but you would not expect me to accept it against my own judgment. To my mind there could hardly be a clearer case.’

Miss Silver shook her head slightly.

‘Thank you for listening to me so patiently,’ she said. ‘I must not take up any more of your time.’

She went to the door, smiled at Frank Abbott who stood there to open it for her, and was gone.

M
ARCH WENT UP
to see Jerome Pilgrim, and went alone. Miss Silver had not convinced him, but she had disturbed his mind. The suggestion that after three, and possibly four, deaths the person responsible for them had remained unsuspected and was still at large was calculated to plant a thorn, and a very uncomfortable and irritating thorn at that. To vary the simile, he was in the position of a man who does not believe in ghosts, but cannot rest easy in a haunted house.

He found himself sitting opposite Jerome and saying, ‘I’m sorry to bother you.’

‘Not at all. I wanted to see you.’

‘I’m afraid this must have been a shock.’

‘To us all. It doesn’t seem possible that it was Robbins, and yet I suppose—’

‘I can’t see that there’s any doubt about it. But I’m anxious to know what you heard.’

Jerome lifted a hand from the arm of his chair and let it fall again.

‘I can’t be sure that I heard anything.’

March looked over his shoulder.

‘You’ve two windows looking out that way.’

‘Yes.’

‘You had the wireless on?’

‘Miss Day had turned it on. I wasn’t listening.’

‘What was on—music?’

‘It was a band programme. I’ve looked it up since. I couldn’t have told you if I hadn’t.’

‘That argues an uncommon degree of abstraction, doesn’t it? Were you reading?’

‘No. I was—thinking of other things.’ After a moment’s hesitation he continued. ‘As a matter of fact Miss Freyne and I had just become engaged—my mind was entirely taken up with my great good fortune. I’m afraid I was for the time being completely oblivious of what was going on around me. As this is not exactly the moment to give out the engagement, I shall be glad if you will keep it to yourself.’

March said sincerely, ‘I’m very glad. I can see no reason why it should be mentioned until you wish it.’

‘Well, that’s the position—I don’t know whether I heard anything or not. I have an impression that I did, but nothing to swear to.’

‘Will you tell me just what happened from the time Miss Freyne left?’

‘Certainly. I came up here, found Abbott and Smith had finished and gone upstairs, and sat down where I am now. Miss Day came in in a fuss—an excellent nurse but rather inclined to pull on the leading-rein—’

March interrupted him.

‘What do you mean by “in rather a fuss”?’

Jerome laughed.

‘She thought I’d been doing too much, scolded me about it, and ordered me to rest. She switched on the wireless and went off to get my tea.’

‘Did she come back again?’

‘Yes. She was here when Robbins came to the door.’

‘Did you know it was Robbins?’

‘Yes—I heard his voice.’

‘Did you hear what he said?’

‘Only that he wanted to see me. I wish now—’ He broke off, frowning. ‘He was upset about the search, you know. We met in the hall when he was going to let Miss Freyne in, and he asked me about it then. I thought he would just be wanting to harp on it, and I wasn’t feeling like a wrangle, so I let Lona send him away.’

‘You didn’t hear what she said to him?’

‘No, just their voices. She went out of the room and shut the door.’

‘How long were they talking? Have you any idea?’

‘I don’t know that I have—I wasn’t really attending. I do remember a vague impression that Robbins was making rather a song and dance about it.’

‘You thought it was Robbins who was doing the talking?’

‘I had that impression. Look here, why not ask Miss Day about it? She’ll know.’

March nodded.

‘Oh, yes. I just wanted your side of it. What happened next? Did Miss Day come back?’

‘Almost at once.’

‘Did she stay?’

‘No—just said Robbins wanted to see me and she’d told him he couldn’t. Then she went off to get my tea.’

‘And how long was she away that time?’

Jerome smiled disarmingly.

‘I’m afraid I have no idea. That was where I rather lost myself.’

‘When Miss Day did come back, did she seem just as usual?’

‘No—she was upset and trying to hide it. I could see at once that something had happened. She brought in my tray and set it down, and I said, “What’s the matter?”She went over and turned off the wireless and said, “It’s no good—you’ll have to know.”I said, “What is it?” and she told me Robbins had committed suicide.’

‘She was upset?’

‘Who wouldn’t be? He’d just been speaking to her. I suppose it means he did Henry in, but I don’t seem able to believe it.’

March leaned forward.

‘Look here, Pilgrim, will you give me a straight answer? Clayton was, I gather, a philanderer. Did you ever suspect that he took an interest in Miss Day?’

‘I should have said he hardly knew her.’

‘That sort of thing isn’t always a matter of time. The fact is, a letter has turned up—lodged in the chimney of the room Clayton used to occupy, the one Miss Silver has now. An attempt had been made to burn it, but the draught had carried it up the chimney. Miss Silver suggests that it was written by Miss Day.’

‘Surely the writing—’

‘I’m afraid not. It’s written in pencil with the sort of clumsy capitals of a child’s copybook—no date, no address, no signature. It says, “I must see you just once more to say goodbye. As soon as it is safe. I shall be waiting. I must see you just once more. Burn this.” ’

Jerome’s shoulder lifted.

‘Well, you know, it might be from anyone.’

‘So I told her.’ March’s tone was dry. ‘Imagination has its uses, but women have too much of it—they work it to death.’

Jerome gave a short laugh.

‘I wonder how many letters of this sort Henry had had in his time. I should say the only novel feature was the attempt to disguise the handwriting. Women are not generally so discreet, especially when they are working up for a final scene.’

‘You think it was that?’

‘Looks like it.’

There was a moment of silence. Then March said, ‘Then you never saw any sign of mutual attraction between Clayton and Miss Day?’

‘It never came into my head. Henry had that sort of manner with women—he looked at every girl he met as if he were head over ears in love with her. And of course they fell for it.’

‘Do you mean that he looked like that at Miss Day and she fell for it?’

‘My dear March, he looked like that at my Aunt Columba—he looked like that at old Mrs. Pell, Pell’s mother, when she wasn’t far short of a hundred—he looked like that at Mrs. Robbins. And they all fell for it. I don’t suppose Lona was any different from the rest, but as to anything serious—as you say, Miss Silver has too much imagination.’

All the same, when March came out of Jerome’s room and saw Judy Elliot at the end of the passage he walked to meet her.

‘Will you do something for me, Miss Elliot?’

‘Of course.’

‘Could we go into your room for a minute?’

They went in. He left the door open, standing just inside where he could see the corridor and the door opening on the back stair.

‘I just want to time something. I want to know just how long it would take anyone to run up those stairs, lock Mrs. Robbins’ door, go into the next room as far as the window, and come back again. I want to time you whilst you do all that.’