The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy (13 page)

'Has he indeed?'

'He's been spending so much time examinin' the collection that frankly I got a bit browned-off having to be with him all the time. So I gave him a spare key so he could come and go as he pleased.'

'And he had the key overnight?'

'Presumably.'

'Where was your key last night?'

'On my dressing table. I ought to put it in me study safe, really, I suppose - that's got a combination lock. But I don't usually bother.'

'So actually anybody could creep into your dressing room adjoining your bedroom, pick up the keys, come here, take the gun, and replace the keys after, without you being any the wiser?'

Lord Burford looked guilty. 'Afraid so.'

'Did you take the keys with you when you went down in the night?'

'No.'

'When you picked up that bunch this morning, did you happen to notice if they were in exactly the same place as last night?'

But Lord Burford couldn't say. Deveraux sighed. 'Well, we'd better have a word with Peabody.'

'What - now?' Lord Burford looked a little startled.

'Yes.'

'Oh, I, er, don't think he's up yet.'

'Then I'll have to wake him, I'm afraid.'

Lord Burford bit his lip. 'Are you sure you really want to do that? I mean, I'm sure you've got other things to do. Why not let me talk to him for you?'

'That's very kind of you, but I must speak to him myself -and as quickly as possible. It's important.'

'Oh, all right then. I'll come with you.'

They made their way to the Royal Suite and found Peabody in shirt-sleeves in his dressing room. His wife, he told them, was still asleep.

'Any news of the necklace?' he asked eagerly.

Wilkins said: 'I'm afraid not, sir. We wanted to ask you about another matter. Have you got the spare key to the gun room?'

'Why, yes.'

'Where is it?'

'In the pocket of one of my suits. Do you want it?'

'If you please, sir.'

Peabody went to a clothes cupboard, reached in and came back with a key identical to the one on Lord Burford's ring. He handed it to Wilkins.

Deveraux said: 'It was there all night?'

'That's correct.'

'Did many people know you had it?'

'Why, yes. I made a jocular remark about it at tea yesterday. Took it out and said how I really figured I'd made it to the top now I'd got the key to the Burford collection.'

'I remember,' Deveraux said. 'Nothing to stop anyone coming in here last night while you were asleep in the next' room, taking it and replacing it later, was there?'

'None, I suppose. Why, gentlemen, don't tell me somebody's robbed the gun room?'

'In rather a big way,' Deveraux said. They've stolen Lord Burford's Bergman pistol and left a replica in its place.'

'You don't say!' Peabody sounded shocked. 'Why, that's terrible. I can hardly believe it. Earl, I'm mighty sorry. I know how I'd feel if I lost mine.'

Deveraux said: 'Yours is still safe, I suppose?'

'Mine? Sure, it's over here.' He went across the room and picked up the case in which he kept the pistol. 'Here we are, gentlemen. The new pride of the Peabody collection.' He opened the case. Then he gave a gasp of horror. 'It's gone!'

Lord Burford gave a squeak. 'What! Don't say the case is empty?'

Peabody turned and held up the empty case for them to see. His face was a blank mask.

In a whisper Lord Burford said: 'The bounder's got 'em both. The Wraith's nabbed the pair.'

'But no replica left in place of this one,' Deveraux said.

'You can see what happened,' Wilkins put in. 'He found out either about his lordship's or Mr. Peabody's gun, decided to try for it at the same time as he went for the necklace, and had a replica made to leave in its place. It wasn't until later, when it was too late to get a second replica made, that he discovered there was a pair of pistols under the same roof.'

Peabody gave a groan. 'The New York exhibition. I cabled, entering mine.'

'Don't worry, sir,' Wilkins said unexpectedly. They all looked at him. He spoke to Deveraux: 'I was wrong. The Wraith didn't take both those guns.'

'I tend to agree with you,' Deveraux said. 'Tell me how your mind is working.'

'Whoever took his lordship's gun took ammunition as well - so he intended to use it. Now the Wraith is not a killer. He'd only want the gun for its value. So although he may have stolen one of the pistols, he didn't steal them both: the other was taken by the murderer to shoot Adler. And if the killer's got an ounce of sense, he isn't going to have hung on to the gun after the shooting. He'll most likely have thrown it away in the grounds - probably in the lake. So I reckon it will turn up.'

Lord Burford frowned. 'But surely it's my gun you're suggestin' was taken by the killer. The ammunition was stolen from the same room; on the other hand, we know the Wraith was in this suite, so it must have been him took Peabody's gun.'

'It would seem so, my lord. But there's a weakness in that argument: it would be the Wraith - not the killer - who'd want to stop the gun's absence being discovered until he had a chance to sell it. The killer would realise that as soon as the bullet was removed from the body we'd identify the murder weapon and would spot the substitution. So it was the Wraith who had the replica made. Now the replica was substituted for your gun. Therefore the Wraith has your pistol, and the killer used Mr. Peabody's. My theory is that the Wraith came to this suite, stole the necklace, but didn't know of Mr. Peabody's gun, went to the collection room and took your lordship's pistol. Then later the killer went there also, after your gun, discovered it missing, remembered that Mr. Peabody had a similar one, so came along and took that, pinching some ammo from the collection room before he left it.'

Inspector Wilkins looked round with the nearest approach to pleasure on his face that he had yet displayed. But the reaction he received was not encouraging. Peabody seemed to have developed a sudden interest in the catch of his case, while Lord Burford intently studied the pattern on the carpet.

Deveraux said: 'Well, that's an interesting theory, Wilkins.'

'I think so,' said Wilkins. 'It implies quite a coincidence. But I suppose no more coincidence than the one involved in his lordship and Mr. Peabody buying the two pistols independently in the first place, as you were telling me.'

'Actually,' said Lord Burford, 'that's not quite so much a coincidence as you might think.'

'No,' Peabody said, 'we've discussed this. Granted that the pair were only recently discovered, got split up almost immediately, and were then sold separately to dealers - well, then the Earl and I are two of the most obvious people in the world for the dealers to offer them to.'

They left Peabody to finish dressing and Lord Burford went downstairs to continue his breakfast.

Deveraux said: 'What now?'

'Well,' Wilkins said, 'the butler was asking me about cleaning up the breakfast room and boarding over the window temporarily. I think I can let them, but I suppose I'd better have a look at it first, just for the sake of form.'

CHAPTER TWENTY

The Bloodstained Egg Cosy

Deveraux and Wilkins went down to the breakfast room. Glass was still scattered around, the chair lying where it had fallen, the step ladder against the wall, the pair of wire cutters on the floor next to the pot plant.

Wilkins righted the chair, stood on it, and examined the burglar alarm wire where it went behind the picture rail. He got down, picked up the wire cutters aimlessly, and kicked a piece of glass with his foot.

'No interesting prints in here, I suppose?' Deveraux asked.

'Just those you'd expect, where you'd expect them.'

'Have your boys found out where the step ladder comes from?'

'Cupboard outside the butler's pantry. Easy enough to find - the obvious sort of place, to look.'

He went to the window and gazed out. 'The bloke turned left, did he?'

'Yes.'

'Well, that ties up with the body being found in the lake.'

'No footprints anywhere?'

'No, but that paved path runs almost straight down to the lake and if he kept to that he wouldn't leave any.' He turned round. 'What's this about a secret passage?'

'Oh, I'll show you.'

Deveraux went to the cupboard door, opened it, and turned the knob as Gerry had demonstrated. The panel slid back.

'My, my, my,' Wilkins said, 'how very romantic.' He put his head through the opening, looked into the darkness, then withdrew and said: 'Do you think it's a coincidence it should be this room - the one with the entrance to the passage - that was involved?'

'I'm not sure. Whoever broke the window might have come down through the passage in order to avoid me and the girls. But then he would have had to go and get the step ladder. Why bring it back here? There are other windows nearer that cupboard where it's kept, which he could have escaped through.'

'Unless he had the ladder already here, waiting for him.'

'That means he would have had to come down earlier in the night, put it here ready, and go back up again. Why?'

Wilkins sighed. 'Don't ask me. I'm baffled by the whole affair. One thing I'm getting more and more sure about, though, is that the clue to Adler's behaviour lies in these political talks. Saunders and Felman must know something they haven't told us. Yet we've hardly spoken to them so far. Shall we now?'

'Good idea.'

'How do we set about that, do you know? I mean, what's the etiquette? Should we go and search for them, or just ring for the butler and ask him to fetch them?'

'A nice point. I think we can certainly go to our ops room, ring for the butler and tell him to ask Felman to join us. As regards Saunders, I'm not so sure. I think I'll wait for inspiration. Let's get Felman over first, though.'

They were about to go out when Sergeant Leather entered. He was carrying a small object, which he handed to Wilkins.

'We've just found this, sir,' he said.

Wilkins held the object up. It was made of wool. At one time it had been white, but was now darkened with dried mud and earth. There was also a small reddish-brown stain, which Wilkins put his finger on. 'Blood?'

'Looks like it, sir.'

'Where was it?'

'One of the men found it caught waist-high on a lavender bush by the side of the path that runs down to the lake.'

'It's quite dry.'

'Yes, sir. So it wasn't out there during the storm. It wouldn't have dried out yet.'

'Anybody know what time the rain stopped?'

'Between about two-fifty and three-forty,' Deveraux said.

Wilkins said: 'Go and find out exactly, will you, Jack?'

'Yes, sir.' Leather left the room.

'Now,' Wilkins said, 'what is this thing? An ear muff? A doll's hat?'

'May I?' Deveraux took the object and examined it. 'I fancy it's what is known as an egg cosy.'

'What - one of those things you put over a boiled egg to keep it hot?'

'That's it.'

'I believe you're right. What the dickens was it doing out there? And where did all this mud and stuff come from? I wonder if it's from the house.'

'We can soon find out.' Deveraux rang the bell.

Just then they heard footsteps in the corridor and Gerry came in. 'Good morning,' she said.

'Ah,' Deveraux said, 'just the person we want. Can you identify this beautiful thing?'

Gerry took it gingerly. 'Ugh! What is it?'

'We believe an egg cosy.'

Gerry frowned. Then her face cleared. 'Oh yes. Mummy bought some at the Sale of Work a couple of years ago - along with a load of other equally useless stuff. We always get lumbered with a lot of junk. No doubt they were crocheted by one of the old pussies in the village. I doubt if they've ever been used. Ghastly things.' She raised it to her nose and sniffed. 'Smells of lavender.'

'Yes, it was found caught on a lavender bush outside. Where was that kept normally?'

'I've no idea. Merry would know.'

The next moment Merryweather arrived.

'Merry, where are our egg cosies kept?' Gerry asked him.

'In the right-hand drawer of the sideboard, your ladyship.'

Deveraux turned round and opened the drawer. Inside, together with various napkin rings and table mats, were a number of white pristine replicas of the bedraggled object in Gerry's hand. He took one out. 'How many here normally?'

'Six, sir.'

'Sure?'

'Yes, sir. Unfortunately, I see them most days.'

'Only five here now.' Deveraux put the clean cosy back and closed the drawer. 'Any idea,' he asked, 'why that particular one her ladyship is holding should have been attached to a lavender bush outside, smeared with earth and stained with blood?'

'None at all, sir.'

'Lady Geraldine?'

'Search me. I can't find it in my heart to grieve over its suffering, either.'

'I don't know why everyone dislikes them so,' Wilkins said, 'I think they're very nice.'

'Mr. Wilkins,' Gerry said, 'you are very welcome to them.' She went to the sideboard, took out the five egg cosies and handed them to him with a ceremonial curtsy. 'Compliments of the management.'

'Why, thank you, your ladyship. That's very kind. I'm extremely partial to boiled eggs and these will be most useful.' He put them in his pocket.

'Well,' Gerry said, 'on this cordial note I leave you.' She tossed the bloodstained egg cosy to Deveraux and went out.

Merryweather said: 'Will that be all, sir?'

'Yes, thank you, Merryweather. But you might ask Mr. Felman if he'd kindly join us in the music room in ten minutes.'

'Very good, sir.' Merryweather made for the door, then stood aside to allow Sergeant Leather to enter before withdrawing.

Leather said: 'I've 'phoned the meteorological office. They estimate the rain must have stopped here at between two-fifty and three.'

Deveraux frowned. 'Within minutes, that is, of my coming back in. And as we already know nobody left the house before the window was broken at just before two-fifty, the information doesn't really add anything.'

'I suppose,' said Wilkins, 'that the most likely explanation is that somebody was running carrying it and either threw it away, or it caught accidentally on the bush and he didn't have time to stop for it.'