The Affair of the Mutilated Mink (24 page)

Allgood decided on shock tactics. 'Everard,' he snapped, 'did you kill Laura Lorenzo?'

Sebastian slowly transferred the sweet to his cheek. 'You've got to ask that, have you? In the jolly old book of rules, sort of thing?'

'No, I—'

'Ah, your own idea, is it? Don't everybody say no, always?'

'Mostly, but—'

'Seems rather pointless, then, what?'

'Answer the question, sir!'

'Oh, sorry. Er, what was it again?'

'Did you kill—?'

'Oh, yes, of course. Well, as a matter of fact, the answer's no, actually. Sorry. Is that all?'

'No, it is not. How well did you know the deceased?'

'Who?'

'Miss Lorenzo.'

'Oh, her. Hardly at all, mores the pity. Quite a corker, what?'

'So you were attracted to her?'

'Who wouldn't be?'

'Was your wife aware of this?'

'Cec?' He frowned. Then his face cleared. 'Oh — see what you mean. I say, don't get me wrong; happily married man and all that. Fellow can look, though, can't he?'

'You contented yourself with looking?'

'Eh?'

'You didn't perhaps make advances to her, advances that were repelled?'

'Golly, no. Never have the nerve for anything like that. Nor the inclination, really. Such a drain, all that sort of thing. These married chaps who have a little bit of fluff on the side live on their nerves, if you ask me. Not worth the effort. All for the quiet life myself.'

'Do you know anything about the murder?'

Sebastian scratched his head. 'Been trying to make sense of it, actually. Everyone seemed to think young Carter'd done it, then Gerry said he hadn't and Lavinia said it was a tramp, and Gerry said you'd said somebody'd cut up a fur coat because the room was too hot, and she was really shot through the bathroom window with two different guns, and the chap was going to get away on the motor-bike, but couldn't because the ignition key was locked in George's safe, so he hid it in the art gallery. I only heard one shot, though. I expect it was the Mafia.'

Allgood blinked. 'Mafia?'

'Yes, you know: Italians and Sicilians and all that.'

Allgood was silent. Clearly it would be an utter waste of time to try and get from Sebastian any coherent account of the events leading up to the murder, or ask if he'd seen or heard anything untoward. He sighed. 'All right, Everard,' he said. 'You can go.'

'Jolly good,' said Sebastian.

Allgood sat quietly thinking for ten minutes before sending Leather to fetch Hugh.

* * *

Hugh said, 'Look, I thought I was in the clear. My alibi—'

'It holds. But there are things I want to talk to you about. First, your motor-bike. The Earl gave me your message. Odd affair, I agree. However, I shan't bother to have it dusted for prints: there'll obviously be dozens of strange ones on it, impossible to check; in addition anybody here could have touched it quite innocently while it was parked outside, so their fingerprints on it would prove nothing.'

'As you wish. But there is a bit more you ought to know. Somebody's put fuel in the tank. When I went out to check it after the garage chap brought it back Friday midday, I found it was practically dry - not more than a cupful in it. I was irritated that I hadn't told them at the garage to fill it up, or that they'd not had the sense to do so without being told. Now there's - well, not a lot, but a pint or two at least.'

'Which cars were parked nearest it on Friday?'

Hugh thought. 'Everard's on one side and Carter's on the other.'

Allgood nodded. 'And Carter ran out of petrol Friday night. He was surprised. He knew he didn't have much in, but had been sure he had enough to get back here.'

Understanding came into Hugh's eyes. 'You mean someone siphoned fuel from his tank and put it in mine? I see. But why? If t hey were going to steal the bike, yes. But why put petrol in, just to take it to the picture gallery? It doesn't make sense.'

'There's a lot that doesn't make sense so far, Quartus. But everything will soon. And you may be able to help. You had the room next to Laura Lorenzo's. I want you to think very carefully if you mightn't have seen or heard something that night which could help this investigation, something you may not have considered important at the time.'

'Do you think I haven't racked my brains about that? The answer's no. On Friday night I went straight up to my room after bringing Gerry home and threw myself down on the bed fully dressed. I was in a bit of a temper and wanted to think. I just lay in the dark, smoking. I heard nothing until the shot.'

'As you went along the corridor towards your room, did you happen to notice if Signorina Lorenzo's door was open?'

'No, I didn't. If it was, then the light was off in her room. I'd certainly have noticed if it hadn't been, as the corridor was rather dimly lit.'

'So you were unable to see if there was a gun on the floor?'

'Perhaps if I'd been looking for something there I might have seen it. But I wasn't.'

'What did you do after you heard the shot?'

'Went to the door and got it open just in time to see Gerry's back as she sprinted past. I joined her in the doorway of Laura's room.'

'Didn't it take you rather a long time to get your door open? Lady Geraldine ran the full length of two corridors while you merely crossed your room.'

'Well, I was scared.'

'Scared?'

'Yes, I admit it. Gunshots are no doubt an everyday part of your life, Allgood. They're not of mine. I did what I think most people would do if they heard a shot outside their door: sat tight .and wondered if it was safe to investigate or if someone might take a potshot at me.'

'You definitely thought the shot had been fired with criminal intent and wasn't just an accident or horseplay?'

Hugh looked a little surprised. 'Yes, now you mention it, I did. My immediate assumption was that someone had been shot - deliberately.'

'Signorina Lorenzo?'

He nodded. 'I believe so.'

'Do you know why you assumed that?'

'Just because she was in the next room, I suppose. I know now the shot was actually fired in the corridor, but I didn't realise that at the time. It was just a shot, close at hand.'

'But Miss Fry's room was equally close at hand, and Carter's was only a short distance away.'

'What are you getting at?'

'Trying to find a reason for your instinctive assumption that it was Signorina Lorenzo who had been shot at. You see, I believe you had more to do with her than anybody else here.'

'Well, I speak Italian, you see.'

'Precisely. And I'm wondering if she said anything which might have subconsciously led you to believe she was in danger.'

'No, no, I'm sure she didn't.'

'What did you talk about?'

'Films, art. She asked me to paint her portrait. So you see, it wouldn't have really mattered if I hadn't had an alibi. I could have made quite a considerable sum, by my standards, for that painting - money I urgently need. I had every reason for wanting her alive. Apart from the fact that she was a beautiful woman, a great actress and a very charming lady.'

Hugh's voice was suddenly soft. He was silent for a few seconds. Then he looked hard at Allgood. 'You'll get him, won't you? I want that swine to hang.'

* * *

'Gerry,' Paul said, 'I've been thinking of that second pistol. I fancy, in spite of Allgood clearing me officially, that there are still people here who don't believe in that other gun. I'd love to find it and prove I wasn't making the whole thing up.'

'It would be rather fun.'

'Then let's have a go. Where would
you
hide a pistol here?'

'Oh, that's easy. Among the guns in Daddy's collection.'

'I thought of that. But I think it would have been too risky for the murderer to have gone back there. It would be obvious your father would go in to investigate the taking of the murder weapon. Where else?'

'Dozens of places.'

'Name one. Look, you're a murderer. You've got a gun in your possession which would point to you as the killer. What do you do with it? And remember, you don't know the house too well.'

She frowned. 'I suppose one place that springs to mind would be where the gun was hidden when we had our last murder here - how awful that sounds! - in the secret passage. Everybody here must know that story.'

'I say, that's an idea. All right, let's try there first.'

They went up to the linen room and Paul opened the panel. 'Do you want to look?' he asked.

'You bet.' She stepped into the passage, reached for the flashlight, switched it on and shone it round on the floor. Then she gave a gasp. 'It's here!'

'No!'

She bent down. 'Don't touch it,' he said. 'Prints.'

'I know! Got a pen, or something?'

He handed her his fountain pen and a moment later she emerged with the pen inserted into the muzzle of an automatic pistol.

He gave a whistle. 'First time lucky! Congrats, darling.'

She looked modest. 'You started me on the chase.'

'But you thought where to look. Come on, let's take it to Allgood.'

* * *

'Thank you very much, Lady Geraldine,' Allgood said.

'That was extremely smart of you. And you, Carter.'

'It is
the
gun, I suppose,' Paul said.

'Oh, indubitably, I should say. One shot's been fired from it.'

'Does it tell you anything?' Gerry asked.

'Not just by looking at it, not even me. I'll have it checked for prints, of course, but it's a forlorn hope.'

'It's not a lot of use to you, then?'

'It confirms the hypothesis I'm working on.'

'And ought to convince everybody I
am
innocent, don't you think?' Paul said hopefully.

'All except the most bigoted, certainly. There's no conceivable way you could have planted this in the passage after the shot was heard. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get on with my interrogations. Be so good as to tell Ransom I'm ready for him, will you?'

They found Rex in the library and passed on Allgood's message. He stood up. 'Oh, right. I suppose this is the time I ought to draw my sword, shout "Back, you villainous dogs!", and leap out of the window. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my sword with me.' He sauntered from the room.

Gerry wondered if he was aware of the beads of the sweat on his brow.

Chapter Nineteen

'Sit down, Mr Ransom,' Allgood said.

'Thanks.' Rex sat.

Allgood pulled a sheet of paper towards him and picked up a pen. 'Your full name is Rex Ransom?'

'Yes.'

'And your age?'

'I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me.'

'We have no fifth amendment over here, Mr Ransom. But I'll put "over twenty-one".'

'I'll settle for that.'

'Are you married?'

'Not at the moment.'

'And your occupation?'

Rex stared. 'You're kidding!'

'Oh, of course, I believe somebody did mention it. You're an actor, is that right?'

'As you know perfectly well, Mr Allgood. Do you have any more questions?'

'A few. How well did you know Laura Lorenzo?'

'Not at all. I only met her last Thursday.'

'Did you converse with her much?'

'Very little.'

'Isn't that rather surprising? Two film actors meet in a strange country, staying under the same roof with the likelihood of soon appearing together in a film, and they talk very little?'

'We didn't have a lot in common, I'm afraid. Her movies were - or had pretensions to being - intellectual. She tended to look down on my kind of picture.'

'You resented that?'

'Not at all. It's an attitude I'm used to. It means nothing. Most genuine intellectuals thoroughly enjoy my stuff.'

'In spite of her attitude toward your type of film, she was planning to take a part in one. Why, do you suppose?'

'I don't know, of course, but I guess she needed the money. I've no idea how well her recent pictures have done in Europe, but they've grossed zilch in the States.'

'But couldn't she have made more money with one of the bigger studios than with Haggermeir?'

'Maybe, but she'd turned them all down in the past, you know. And the moguls don't take kindly to rejection. She might have figured she'd get the brush-off if she went back to any of them now. Could be, too, she thought she'd carry more weight with Cyrus than with a Goldwyn or a Zanuck - get her own way easier, have the script adapted to her requirements, and so on.'

'That couldn't have been a pleasant prospect for you.'

Rex smiled. 'I think she would have found Cyrus a tougher proposition than she imagined. He's a mighty canny bird, knows exactly what the public wants and gives it to them. I doubt Laura's ideas would have coincided with that. And while he might have liked the idea of the prestige he'd get from signing her, when it came to a choice between kudos with the critics and bucks at the box office he'd choose the latter every time. Which is why I doubted from the start she'd ever appear in this picture, and why I wasn't especially worried. Certainly not worried enough to murder her to prevent it.' He paused. 'Besides, I must be in the clear, anyway.'

'How do you make that out?'

'Well, she was killed between five and ten after one, right?'

'Yes.'

'And according to what Gerry told us, your theory is that the killer waited in Laura's room until Carter came along, and then the alarm shot was fired. Well, I was talking to Gerry in my sitting-room ten minutes before that shot was heard.'

Allgood shrugged. 'I may have been wrong about the murderer remaining in the room all the time. It could have been you. Say you couldn't stand the suspense of waiting any longer and crept out to see what was happening. Or perhaps suddenly realised you'd forgotten something — the second gun, say - and hurried back to your room to get it. While you were there Lady Geraldine knocked at your door. That would explain your odd manner when you were talking to her. As soon as she left, you ran silently back to Signorina Lorenzo's room, getting there just a minute or so before Carter left his room a second time and provided you with your fall guy.'