Simon

by J. Storer Clouston

  XXIII

  SIMON'S VIEWS

  "Well," said Mr. Rattar deliberately, "I think myself that the actualevidence is very slight and extremely inclusive."

  "You mean the direct evidence afforded by the unfastened window,position of the body, table said to have been overturned, and so forth?"

  "Exactly. That evidence is slight, but so far as it goes it seems to meto point to entry by the door and to the man having been in the housefor some little time previously."

  "Well?" said Carrington in an encouraging voice.

  "So much for the direct evidence. I may be wrong, but that is my decidedopinion. No bad characters are known to the police to have been in thecounty at that time, and there was no robbery."

  "Apparently confirming the direct evidence?"

  "Decidedly confirming it--or so it seems to me."

  "Then you think there is something in the popular theory that thepresent baronet and Miss Farmond were the guilty parties?"

  Simon was silent for a moment, but his face was unusually expressive.

  "I fear it looks like it."

  "An unpleasant conclusion for you to come to," observed Mr. Carrington."You are the family lawyer, I understand."

  "Very unpleasant," Mr. Rattar agreed. "But, of course, there is noabsolute proof."

  "Naturally; or they'd have been arrested by now. What sort of a fellowis Sir Malcolm?"

  "My own experience of him," said the lawyer drily, "is chiefly confinedto his visits to my office to borrow money of me."

  "Indeed?" said Carrington with interest. "That sort of fellow, is he? Hewrites, I understand."

  Simon nodded.

  "Any other known vices?"

  "I know little about his vices except that they cost him considerablymore than he could possibly have paid, had it not been for SirReginald's death."

  "So the motive is plain enough. Any evidence against him?"

  Simon pursed his lips and became exceedingly grave.

  "When questioned next morning by the superintendent of police andmyself, he led us to understand that he had retired to bed early and wasin no position to hear or notice anything. I have since found that hewas in the habit of sitting up late."

  "'In the habit,'" repeated Carrington quickly. "But you don't suggesthe sat up that night in particular?"

  "Undoubtedly he sat up that night."

  "But merely as he always did?"

  "He might have been waiting for his chance on the previous nights."

  Carrington smoked thoughtfully for a moment and then asked:

  "But there is no evidence that he left his room or was heard movingabout that night, is there?"

  "There is not yet any positive evidence. But he was obviously in aposition to do so."

  "Was his room near or over the library?"

  "N--no," said the fiscal, and there seemed to be a hint of reluctance inhis voice.

  Carrington glanced at him quickly and then gazed up at the ceiling.

  "What sort of a girl is Miss Farmond?" he enquired next.

  "She is the illegitimate daughter of a brother of the late SirReginald's."

  Carrington nodded.

  "So I gathered from the local gossips. But that fact is hardly againsther, is it?"

  "Why not?"

  Carrington looked a little surprised.

  "Girls don't generally murder their uncles for choice, in my ownexperience; especially if they are also their benefactors."

  "This was hardly the usual relationship," said the lawyer with a touchof significance.

  "Do you suggest that the irregularity is apt to breed crime?"

  Simon's grunt seemed to signify considerable doubt as to the morals ofthe type of relative.

  "But what sort of girl is she otherwise?"

  "I should call Miss Farmond the insinuating type. A young man likeyourself would probably find her very attractive--at first anyhow."

  Mr. Carrington seemed to ponder for a moment on this suggestivedescription of Miss Farmond's allurements. And then he asked:

  "Is it the case that she is engaged to Sir Malcolm?"

  "Certainly."

  "You are sure?"

  Something in his voice seemed to make the lawyer reflect.

  "Is it called in question?" he asked.

  Carrington shook his head.

  "By nobody who has spoken to me on the subject. But I understand that ithas not yet been announced."

  "No," said Simon. "It was a secret engagement; and marriage would havebeen impossible while Sir Reginald lived."

  "So there we get the motive on her part. And you yourself, Mr. Rattar,_know_ both these young people, and you believe that this accusationagainst them is probably well founded?"

  "I believe, Mr. Carrington, that there is no proof and probably neverwill be any; but all the evidence, positive and negative, together withthe question of motive, points to nobody else. What alternative ispossible?"

  "That is the difficulty, so far," agreed Carrington, but his thoughts atthe moment seemed to be following his smoke rings up towards theceiling. For a few moments he was silent, and then he asked:

  "What other people benefited by the will and to what extent?"

  The lawyer went to his safe, brought out the will, and read through thelegacies to the servants, mentioning that the chauffeur and gardenerwere excluded by circumstances from suspicion.

  "That leaves Mr. Bisset," observed Carrington. "Well, I shall be seeinghim to-morrow. Any other legatees who might conceivably have committedthe crime?"

  Simon looked serious and spoke with a little reluctance that he seemedto make no effort to conceal.

  "There is a relative of the family, a Mr. Cromarty of Stanesland, whocertainly benefited considerably by the will and who certainly lives inthe neighbourhood--if one once admitted the possibility of the crimebeing committed by some one outside the house. And I admit that it is apossibility."

  "Ah!" said Carrington. "I heard about him last night, but so farsuspicion certainly hasn't fastened on him. What sort of a fellow ishe?"

  "He has lived the greater part of his life in the wilder parts ofAmerica--rather what one might call a rough and ready customer."

  It was apparent that Mr. Carrington, for all his easy-going air, wasextremely interested.

  "This is quite interesting!" he murmured. "To what extent did he benefitby the will?"

  "L1,200."

  "L1,200!" Carrington repeated the words with an odd intonation andstared very hard at the lawyer. There was no doubt that his interest washighly excited now, and yet it seemed to be rather a different qualityof interest this time.

  "A considerable sum," said Simon.

  "That is the only point about it which strikes you?"

  Simon was manifestly puzzled.

  "What else?" he enquired.

  "No coincidence occurs to you?"

  The lawyer's puzzled look remained, and the next instant Carringtonbroke into a hearty laugh.

  "I beg your pardon, Mr. Rattar," he cried. "What an owl I am! I havejust been dealing lately with a case where that sum of money wasinvolved, and for the moment I mixed the two up together!" He laughedagain, and then resuming his businesslike air, asked: "Now, what elseabout this Mr. Cromarty? You say he is a relation. Near or distant?"

  "Oh, quite distant. Another branch altogether."

  "Younger branch, I presume."

  "Poorer but not younger. He is said to be the head of the family."

  "Really!" exclaimed Mr. Carrington, and this information seemed to haveset him thinking again. "He is the head of the family, and I hear hetook up the case with some energy."

  Simon's grunt seemed to be critical.

  "He got in our way," he said.

  "Got in your way, did he?"

  Carrington was silent for a few moments, and then said:

  "Well I am afraid I have taken up a great deal of your time. May I havea line of introduction to Mr. Bisset before I go?"

  While the line was bein
g written he walked over to the fire and clearedthe stump of his last cigarette out of the holder. This operation wasvery deliberately performed, and through it his eyes seemed scarcely tonote what his hands were doing.

  He put the note in his pocket, shook hands, and then, just as he wasgoing, he said:

  "I want to understand the lie of the land as exactly as possible. Yourown attitude, so far has been, I take it--no proof, therefore no arrest;but a nasty family scandal left festering, so you decided to call me in.Now, I want to know this--is there anybody else in the neighbourhood whoknows that I have been sent for?"

  Mr. Rattar replied with even more than his usual deliberation, and afterwhat is said by foreigners to be the national habit, his replyconsisted of another question.

  "You say that your employer made a particular point of having hisidentity concealed?"

  "Yes, a particular point."

  "Doesn't that answer your question, Mr. Carrington?"

  "No," said Carrington, "not in the least. I am asking now whether thereis any other employer in this neighbourhood besides yourself. And I maysay that I ask for the very good reason that it might be awkward for meif there were and I didn't know him, while if I did know him, I couldconsult with him if it happened to be advisable. Is there any one?"

  He seemed to hang on the lawyer's answer, and Simon to dislike makingthe answer.

  Yet when he did make it, it was quite emphatic.

  "No," he replied.

  "That's all right then," said Mr. Carrington with his brightest smile."Good afternoon, Mr. Rattar."

  The smile faded from his ingenuous face the moment the door had closedbehind him, and it was a very thoughtful Mr. Carrington who slowly wentdownstairs and strolled along the pavement. If his morning's interviewhad puzzled him, his afternoon's interview seemed to have baffled himcompletely. He even forgot to relapse into the thoughtless youngsportsman when he entered the hotel, and his friend the manageress,after eyeing him with great surprise, cried archly:

  "A penny for your thoughts, Mr. Carrington! About shooting or fishing,I'm sure!"

  Mr. Carrington recovered his pleasant spirits instantly.

  "Quite right," said he. "I was thinking about fishing--in very deepwaters."