by Sax Rohmer
CHAPTER VI
THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER
Detective-Inspector Dunbar arrived at New Scotland Yard in a veritablefever of excitement. Jumping out of the cab he ran into the buildingand without troubling the man in charge of the lift went straight onupstairs to his room. He found it to be in darkness and switched onthe green-shaded lamp which was suspended above the table. Its lightrevealed a bare apartment having distempered walls severely decoratedby an etching of a former and unbeautiful Commissioner. The blindswere drawn. A plain, heavy deal table (bearing a blotting-pad, apewter ink-pot, several pens and a telephone), together with threeuncomfortable chairs, alone broke the expanse of highly polishedfloor. Dunbar glanced at the table and then stood undecided in themiddle of the bare room, tapping his small, widely separated teethwith a pencil which he had absently drawn from his waistcoat pocket.He rang the bell.
A constable came in almost immediately and stood waiting just insidethe door.
"When did Sergeant Sowerby leave?" asked Dunbar.
"About three hours ago, sir."
"What!" cried Dunbar. "Three hours ago! But I have been here myselfwithin that time--in the Commissioner's office."
"Sergeant Sowerby left before then. I saw him go."
"But, my good fellow, he has been back again. He spoke to me on thetelephone less than a quarter of an hour ago."
"Not from here, sir."
"But I say it _was_ from here!" shouted Dunbar fiercely; "and I toldhim to wait for me."
"Very good, sir. Shall I make inquiries?"
"Yes. Wait a minute. Is the Commissioner here?"
"Yes, sir, I believe so. At least I have not seen him go."
"Find Sergeant Sowerby and tell him to wait here for me," snappedDunbar.
He walked out into the bare corridor and along to the room of theAssistant Commissioner. Knocking upon the door, he opened itimmediately, and entered an apartment which afforded a strikingcontrast to his own. For whereas the room of Inspector Dunbar waspractically unfurnished, that of his superior was so filled withtables, cupboards, desks, bureaux, files, telephones, bookshelvesand stacks of documents that one only discovered the AssistantCommissioner sunk deep in a padded armchair and a cloud of tobaccosmoke by dint of close scrutiny. The Assistant Commissioner was small,sallow and satanic. His black moustache was very black and his eyeswere of so dark a brown as to appear black also. When he smiled herevealed a row of very large white teeth, and his smile was correctlyMephistophelean. He smoked a hundred and twenty Egyptian cigarettesper diem, and the first and second fingers of either hand werecoffee-coloured.
"Good-evening, Inspector," he said courteously. "You come at anopportune moment." He lighted a fresh cigarette. "I was detained hereunusually late to-night or this news would not have reached us tillthe morning." He laid his finger upon a yellow form. "There is anunpleasant development in 'The Scorpion' case."
"So I gather, sir. That is what brought me back to the Yard."
The Assistant Commissioner glanced up sharply.
"What brought you back to the Yard?" he asked.
"The news about Max."
The assistant Commissioner leaned back in his chair. "Might I ask,Inspector," he said, "what news you have learned and how you havelearned it?"
Dunbar stared uncomprehendingly.
"Sowerby 'phoned me about half an hour ago, sir. Did he do so withoutyour instructions?"
"Most decidedly. What was his message?"
"He told me," replied Dunbar, in ever-growing amazement, "that thebody brought in by the River Police last night had been identifiedas that of Gaston Max."
The Assistant Commissioner handed a pencilled slip to Dunbar. It readas follows:--
"Gaston Max in London. Scorpion, Narcombe. No report since 30th ult.Fear trouble. Identity-disk G. M. 49685."
"But, sir," said Dunbar--"this is exactly what Sowerby told me!"
"Quite so. That is the really extraordinary feature of the affair.Because, you see, Inspector, I only finished decoding this messageat the very moment that you knocked at my door!"
"But----"
"There is no room for a 'but,' Inspector. This confidential messagefrom Paris reached me ten minutes ago. You know as well as I know thatthere is no possibility of leakage. No one has entered my room in theinterval, yet you tell me that Sergeant Sowerby communicated thisinformation to you, by telephone, half an hour ago."
Dunbar was tapping his teeth with the pencil. His amazement was toogreat for words.
"Had the message been a false one," continued the Commissioner, "thematter would have been resolved into a meaningless hoax, but themessage having been what it was, we find ourselves face to face withno ordinary problem. Remember, Inspector, that voices on the telephoneare deceptive. Sergeant Sowerby has marked vocal mannerisms----"
"Which would be fairly easy to imitate? Yes, sir--that's so."
"But it brings us no nearer to the real problems; viz., first, thesender of the message; and, second, his purpose."
There was a dull purring sound and the Assistant Commissioner raisedthe telephone.
"Yes. Who is it that wishes to speak to him? Dr. Keppel Stuart?Connect with my office."
He turned again to Dunbar.
"Dr. Stuart has a matter of the utmost urgency to communicate,Inspector. It was at the house of Dr. Stuart, I take it, that youreceived the unexplained message?"
"It was--yes."
"Did you submit to Dr. Stuart the broken gold ornament?"
"Yes. It's a scorpion's tail."
"Ah!" The Assistant Commissioner smiled satanically and lighted afresh cigarette. "And is Dr. Stuart agreeable to placing his unusualknowledge at our disposal for the purposes of this case?"
"He is, sir."
The purring sound was repeated.
"You are through to Dr. Stuart," said the Assistant Commissioner.
"Hullo" cried Dunbar, taking up the receiver--"is that Dr. Stuart?Dunbar speaking."
He stood silent for a while, listening to the voice over the wires.Then: "You want me to come around now, doctor? Very well. I'll bewith you in less than half an hour."
He put down the instrument.
"Something extraordinary seems to have taken place at Dr. Stuart'shouse a few minutes after I left, sir," he said. "I'm going backthere, now, for particulars. It sounds as though the 'phone messagemight have been intended to get me away." He stared down at thepencilled slip which the Assistant Commissioner had handed him, butstared vacantly, and: "Do you mind if I call someone up, sir?" heasked. "It should be done at once."
"Call by all means, Inspector."
Dunbar again took up the telephone.
"Battersea 0996," he said, and stood waiting. Then:
"Is that Battersea 0996?" he asked. "Is Dr. Stuart there? He isspeaking? Oh, this is Inspector Dunbar. You called me up here at theYard a few moments ago, did you not? Correct, doctor; that's all Iwanted to know. I am coming now."
"Good," said the Assistant Commissioner, nodding his approval. "Youwill have to check 'phone messages in that way until you have run yourmimic to earth, Inspector. I don't believe for a moment that it wasSergeant Sowerby who rang you up at Dr. Stuart's."
"Neither do I," said Dunbar grimly. "But I begin to have a glimmer ofa notion who it was. I'll be saying good-night, sir. Dr. Stuart seemsto have something very important to tell me."
As a mere matter of form he waited for the report of the constable whohad gone in quest of Sowerby, but it merely confirmed the fact thatSowerby had left Scotland Yard over three hours earlier. Dunbarsummoned a taxicab and proceeded to the house of Dr. Stuart.
