The Complete Four Just Men (60 page)

‘Oh yes, quite,’ replied Leon.

He took a short stick from his trousers pocket, a stick made of rhinoceros hide, and called in South Africa a ‘sjambok’. It was about a foot and a half in length, but it was a formidable weapon and was one of the articles which Leon had asked for. He examined it in the light.

‘No, I didn’t cut his scalp,’ he said. ‘I was afraid I had.’

‘Who was this?’

Before he replied, Leon put out the light, pulled back the curtains from the open window and looked out. He came back, replaced the curtains, and put the light on again.

‘He has gone away, but I do not think we have seen the last of that crowd,’ he said.

He drank a glass of water, sat down by the table and laughed.

‘Do you realise, my dear Manfred,’ he said, ‘that we have a friend in Mr Fare, the Police Commissioner, and that he occasionally visits us?’

‘I realise that very well,’ smiled Manfred. ‘Why, have you seen him?’

Leon shook his head.

‘No, only other people have seen him and have associated me with the Metropolitan Constabulary. I had occasion to interview our friend Mr Bingley, and he and those who are working with him are perfectly satisfied that I am what is known in London as a “split”, in other words a detective, and it is generally believed that I am engaged in the business of suppressing gambling-houses. Hence the mild attention I have received and hence the fact, as I recognised when I was on my way back to Jermyn Street today – luckily I had forgotten to tell the cabman where to stop and he passed the watchers before I could stop him – that I am under observation.’

He described his visit to the hospital and his interview with Mr Birn.

‘Birn, who of course is Bingley, is the proprietor of three, and probably more, big gambling-houses in London, at least he is the financial power behind them. I should not imagine that he himself frequents any of them. The house in Mayfair was, of course, shut up tonight and I did not attempt to locate it. They were afraid that our poor friend would inform the police. But oh, my dear Manfred, how can I describe to you the beauties of that lovely house in Bayswater Road, where all that is fashionable and wealthy in London gathers every night to try its luck at baccarat?’

‘How did you get there?’ asked Manfred.

‘I was taken,’ replied Gonsalez simply. ‘I went to dinner at Martaus Club. I recognised Mr Welby and greeted him as an old friend. I think he really believed that he had met me before I went to the Argentine and made my pile, and of course, he sat down with me and we drank liqueurs, and he introduced me to a most beautiful girl, with a most perfectly upholstered little run-about.’

‘You weren’t recognised?’

Leon shook his head.

‘The moustache which I put on my face was indistinguishable from the real thing,’ he said not without pride. ‘I put it on hair by hair, and it took me two hours to manufacture. When it was done you would not have recognised me. I danced with the beautiful Margaret and – ’ He hesitated.

‘You made love to her,’ said Manfred admiringly.

Leon shrugged.

‘My dear Manfred, it was necessary,’ he said solemnly. ‘And was it not fortunate that I had in my pocket a diamond ring which I had brought back from South America – it cost me 110 guineas in Regent Street this afternoon – and how wonderful that it should fit her. She wasn’t feeling at her best, either, until that happened. That was the price of my admission to the Bayswater establishment. She drove me there in her car. It was a visit not without profit,’ he said modestly. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a stiff bundle of notes.

Manfred was laughing softly.

Leon was the cleverest manipulator of cards in Europe. His long delicate fingers, the amazing rapidity with which he could move them, his natural gift for palming, would have made his fortune either as a conjurer or a card-sharper.

‘The game was baccarat and the cards were dealt from a box by an intelligent croupier,’ explained Leon. ‘Those which were used were thrown into a basin. Those in the stack were, of course, so carefully arranged that the croupier knew the sequence of them all. To secure a dozen cards from the basin was a fairly simple matter. To stroll from the room and rearrange them so that they were alternately against and for the bank, was not difficult, but to place them on the top of those he was dealing – My dear Manfred, I was an artist!’

Leon did not explain what form his artistry took, nor how he directed the attention of croupier and company away from the ‘deck’ for that fraction of a second necessary – the croupier seldom took his hands from the cards – but the results of his enterprise were to be found in the thick stack of notes which lay on the table.

He took off his coat and put on his old velvet jacket, pacing the room with his hands in his pockets.

‘Margaret Vane,’ he said softly. ‘One of God’s most beautiful works, George, flawless, gifted, and yet if she is what she appears, something so absolutely loathsome that . . . ’

He shook his head sadly.

‘Does she play a big part, or is she just a dupe?’ asked Manfred.

Leon did not answer at once.

‘I’m rather puzzled,’ he said slowly. He related his experience in Mr, Birn’s office, the glimpse of the red-haired man and Mr Birn’s fury with him.

‘I do not doubt that the “she” to whom reference was made was Margaret Vane. But that alone would not have shaken my faith in her guilt. After I left the Bayswater house I decided that I would discover where she was living. She had so skilfully evaded any question on this matter which I had put to her that I grew suspicious. I hired a taxi-cab and waited, sitting inside. Presently her car came out and I followed her. Mr Birn has a house in Fitzroy Square and it was to there she drove. A man was waiting outside to take her car, and she went straight into the house, letting herself in. It was at this point that I began to think that Birn and she were much better friends than I had thought.

‘I decided to wait, and stopped the car on the other side of the Square. In about a quarter of an hour the girl came out, and to my surprise, she had changed her clothes. I dismissed the cab and followed on foot. She lives at 803 Gower Street.’

‘That certainly is puzzling,’ agreed Manfred. ‘The thing does not seem to dovetail, Leon.’

‘That is what I think,’ nodded Leon. ‘I am going to 803 Gower Street tomorrow morning.’

Gonsalez required very little sleep and at ten o’clock in the morning was afoot.

The report he brought back to Manfred was interesting.

‘Her name is Elsie Chaucer, and she lives with her father, who is paralysed in both legs. They have a flat, one servant and a nurse, whose business it is to attend to the father. Nothing is known of them except that they have seen better times. The father spends the day with a pack of cards, working out a gambling system, and probably that explains their poverty. He is never seen by visitors, and the girl is supposed to be an actress – that is, supposed by the landlady. It is rather queer,’ said Gonsalez thoughtfully. ‘The solution is, of course, in Birn’s house and in Birn’s mind.’

‘I think we will get at that, Leon.’

Leon nodded.

‘So I thought,’ said he. ‘Mr Birn’s establishment does not present any insuperable difficulties.’

Mr Birn was at home that night. He was at home most nights. Curled up in a deep armchair, he puffed at a long and expensive cigar, and read the
London Gazette
which was to him the most interesting piece of literature which the genius of Caxton had made possible.

At midnight his housekeeper came in. She was a middle-aged Frenchwoman and discreet.

‘All right?’ queried Mr Birn lazily.

‘No, monsieur, I desire that you should speak to Charles.’

Charles was Mr Birn’s chauffeur, and between Charles and Madame was a continuous feud.

‘What has Charles been doing?’ asked Mr Birn with a frown.

‘He is admitted every evening to the kitchen for supper,’ explained madame, ‘and it is an order that he should close the door after he goes out. But, m’sieur, when I went this evening at eleven o’clock to bolt the door, it was not closed. If I had not put on the lights and with my own eyes have seen it, the door would have been open, and we might have been murdered in our beds.’

‘I’ll talk to him in the morning,’ growled Mr Birn. ‘You’ve left the door of mademoiselle’s room unfastened?’

‘Yes, m’sieur, the key is in the lock.’

‘Good night,’ said Mr Birn resuming his study.

At half past two he heard the street door close gently and a light footstep passed through the hall. He looked up at the clock, threw away the end of his cigar and lit another before he rose and went heavily to a wall safe. This he unlocked and took out an empty steel box, which he opened and placed on the table. Then he resumed his chair.

Presently came a light tap at the door.

‘Come in,’ said Mr Birn.

The girl who was variously called Vane and Chaucer came into the room. She was neatly but not richly dressed. In many ways the plainness of her street costume enhanced her singular beauty and Mr Birn gazed approvingly upon her refreshing figure.

‘Sit down, Miss Chaucer,’ he said, putting out his hand for the little linen bag she carried.

He opened it and took out a rope of pearls and examined every gem separately.

‘I haven’t stolen any,’ she said contemptuously.

‘Perhaps you haven’t,’ said Mr Birn, ‘but I’ve known some funny things to happen.’

He took the diamond pin, the rings, the two diamond and emerald bracelets, and each of these he scrutinised before he returned them to the bag and put the bag into the steel box.

He did not speak until he had placed them in the safe.

‘Well, how are things going tonight?’ he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders.

‘I take no interest in gambling,’ she said shortly and Mr Birn chuckled.

‘You’re a fool,’ he said frankly.

‘I wish I were no worse than that,’ said Elsie Chaucer bitterly. ‘You don’t want me any more, Mr Birn?’

‘Sit down,’ he ordered. ‘Who did you find tonight?’

For a moment she did not reply.

‘The man whom Welby introduced last night,’ she said.

‘The South American?’ Mr Birn pulled a long face. ‘He wasn’t very profitable. I suppose you know that? We lost about four thousand pounds.’

‘Less the ring,’ said the girl.

‘The ring he gave you? Well, that’s worth about a hundred, and I’ll be lucky to get sixty for it,’ said Mr Birn with a shrug. ‘You can keep that ring if you like.’

‘No thank you, Mr Birn,’ said the girl quietly. ‘I don’t want those kinds of presents.’

‘Come here,’ said Birn suddenly, and reluctantly she came round the table and stood before him.

He rose and took her hand.

‘Elsie,’ he said, ‘I’ve got very fond of you and I’ve been a good friend of yours, you know. If it hadn’t been for me what would have happened to your father? He’d have been hung! That would have been nice for you, wouldn’t it?’

She did not reply but gently disengaged her hand.

‘You needn’t put away those jewels and fine clothes every night, if you’re sensible,’ he went on, ‘and – ’

‘Happily I am sensible, if by sensible you mean sane,’ said the girl, ‘and now I think I’ll go if you don’t mind, Mr Birn. I’m rather tired.’

‘Wait,’ he said.

He walked to the safe, unlocked it again and took out an oblong parcel wrapped in brown paper, fastened with tapes and sealed.

‘There’s a diamond necklace inside there,’ he said. ‘It’s worth eight thousand pounds if it’s worth a penny. I’m going to put it in my strong box at the bank tomorrow, unless – ’

‘Unless – ’ repeated the girl steadily.

‘Unless you want it,’ said Mr Birn. ‘I’m a fool with the ladies.’

She shook her head.

‘Does it occur to you, Mr Birn,’ she said quietly, ‘that I could have had many necklaces if I wanted them? No, thank you. I am looking forward to the end of my servitude.’

‘And suppose I don’t release you?’ growled Mr Birn as he put back the package in the safe and locked the door. ‘Suppose I want you for another three years? How about that? Your father’s still liable to arrest. No man can kill another, even if he’s only a croupier, without hanging for it.’

‘I’ve paid for my father’s folly, over and over again,’ said the girl in a low voice. ‘You don’t know how I hate this life, Mr Birn. I feel worse than the worst woman in the world! I spend my life luring men to ruin – I wish to God I had never made the bargain. Sometimes I think I will tell my father just what I am paying for his safety, and let him decide whether my sacrifice is worth it!’

A momentary look of alarm spread on the man’s face.

‘You’ll do nothing of the kind,’ he said sharply. ‘Just as you’ve got into our ways! I was only joking about asking you to stay on. Now, my dear,’ he said with an air of banter, ‘you’d better go home and get your beauty sleep.’

He walked with her to the door, saw her down the steps and watched her disappear in the darkness of the street, then he came back to lock up for the night. He drank up the half glass of whisky he had left and made a wry face.

‘That’s a queer taste,’ he said, took two steps towards the passage and fell in a heap.

The man who had slipped into the room when he had escorted Elsie Chaucer to the door came from behind the curtain and stooping, loosened his collar. He stepped softly into the dimly lit passage and beckoned somebody, and Manfred came from the shadows, noiselessly, for he was wearing rubber over-boots.

Manfred glanced down at the unconscious man and then to the dregs in the whisky glass.

‘Butyl chloride, I presume?’

‘No more and no less,’ said the practical Leon, ‘in fact the “knock-out-drop” which is so popular in criminal circles.’

He searched the man, took out his keys, opened the safe and removing the sealed packet, he carried it to the table. Then he looked thoughtfully at the prostrate man.

‘He will only be completely under the “drop” for five minutes, Manfred, but I think that will be enough.’

‘Have you stopped to consider what will be the pathological results of “twilight sleep” on top of butyl?’ asked Manfred. ‘I saw you blending the hyocine with the morphia before we left Jermyn Street and I suppose that is what you are using?’