CHAPTER XII
THE THIRD MURDER
Fullaway's exclamation was followed by a murmur of astonishment fromCelia, and by a low growl which meant many things from Allerdyke. Thechief turned the banknotes over silently, moved to his desk, and pickedup a reference book.
"I'm not very familiar with Russian money--paper or otherwise," heremarked. "How much does this represent in ours, now?"
"I can tell you that," said Fullaway, taking the wad of notes and rapidlycounting them. "Five hundred pounds English," he announced. "And you seethat all the notes are new--don't forget to note that."
"Yes?--what do you argue from it?" asked the chief, with obviousinterest. "It proves--what?"
"That these notes were given to this woman in Russia, recently--mostlikely in St. Petersburg," replied the American. "And, in my opinion,their presence--their discovery--proves more. It suggests at any ratethat this woman, the dead maid, was a tool in the conspiracy to rob MissLennard and Mr. James Allerdyke, that this money is her reward, or partof it, and that the whole scheme was hatched and engineered in Russia."
"Good!" muttered Allerdyke. "Now we're getting to business."
"We shall have to get some evidence from Russia," observed the chiefmeditatively. "That's very evident. If the thing began there, or was putinto active shape there--"
"The Princess Nastirsevitch is on her way now," said Fullaway. He pulledout his pocket-book, and began searching amongst its papers. "Here youare," he continued producing a cablegram. "That's from the Princess--yousee she says she's leaving for London at once, via Berlin and Calais, andwill call upon me at my hotel as soon as she arrives. Now, that was sentoff two days ago--she'd leave St. Petersburg that night. It's seventy-twohours' journey--three days. She'll be in London tomorrow evening."
The chief sat down at his desk and picked up a pen.
"Give me your addresses please, all of you," he said. "Then I cancommunicate with you at any moment. Miss Lennard, you mentioned BedfordCourt Mansions. What number? Right.--yours, Mr. Fullaway, is the WaldorfHotel--permanently there? Very good. You, Mr. Allerdyke, live inBradford? It will be advisable, if you really want to clear up themystery of your cousin's death, to remain in town for a few days, at anyrate--now that we've got all this in hand, you'd better be close to thecentre of things. Can you give me an address here?"
"I've a London office," answered Allerdyke. "I can always be heard ofthere when I'm in town. Allerdyke and Partners, Limited, GreshamStreet--ask for Mr. Marshall Allerdyke. But as I'll have to put up here,I'll go to the Waldorf, with Mr. Fullaway, so if you want me you'll findme there. And look here," he went on, as the chief noted theseparticulars, "I want to know, to have some idea, you know, of what'sgoing to be done. I tell you, I'll spare no time, labour, or expense ingetting at the bottom of this! If it's a question of money, say theword, and--"
"All right, Mr. Allerdyke, leave it to us--for the present," said thechief, with an understanding smile. "I know what you mean. We're onlybeginning. This affair is doubtless a big thing, as Mr. Fullaway hassuggested, and it will need some clever work. Now, at present, thiscase--the joint case of the Hull affair and the Eastbourne Terraceaffair, for they're without doubt both parts of one serious whole--is inthe hands of two of my best men. This is one of them: Detective-SergeantBlindway. If and when Blindway wants any of you, he'll come to you. MissLennard, you'll be wanted at the inquest on your late maid--the Coroner'sofficer will let you know when. You two gentlemen will doubtless go withMiss Lennard. You'll all three certainly be wanted at that adjournedinquest at Hull. Now, that's all--except that when you, Miss Lennard,return home, you must at once begin searching for the references you hadwith your maid--let me have them as soon as they're found--and that you,Mr. Fullaway, must bring the Princess Nastirsevitch here as soon as youcan after her arrival."
Outside New Scotland Yard Celia Lennard relieved her feelings with afervent exclamation.
"I wish I'd never spent a penny on pearls or diamonds in my life!" shesaid vehemently. "Insane folly! What good have they done? Leading to allthis bother, and to murder. What fools women are! All that money thrownaway!--for of course I shall never see a sign of them again!"
"That's a rather hopeless way of looking at it," observed Fullaway."You've got the cleverest police in Europe on the search for them; alsoyou've got our friend Allerdyke and myself on the run, and we'reneither of us exactly brainless. So hasten home in this taxi-cab, getsome lunch, have an hour's nap, and then begin putting your papersstraight and looking for those references. Search well!--you don't knowwhat depends on it."
He and Allerdyke strolled up Whitehall when Celia had gone--in silence atfirst, both wrapped in meditation.
"There's only one thing one can say with any certainty about this affair,Allerdyke," remarked the American at last, "and that is precisely whatthe man we've been talking to said--it's a big do. The folk at the backof it are smart and clever and daring. We'll need all our wits. Well,come along to the Waldorf and let's lunch--then we'll talk some more.There's little to be done till the Princess turns up tomorrow."
"There's one thing I want to do at once," said Allerdyke. "If I'm goingto stop in town I must wire to my housekeeper to send me clothes andlinen, and to the manager at my mill. Then I'm with you--and I wish toHeaven we'd something to do! What I can't stand is this forced inaction,this hanging about, waiting, wondering, speculating--and doing naught!"
"We may be in action before you know it's at hand," said Fullaway. "Inthese cases you never know what a minute may bring forth. All we can dois to be ready."
He led the way to the nearest telegraph office and waited while Allerdykesent off his messages. The performance of even this small task seemed torestore the Yorkshireman's spirits--he came away smiling.
"I've told my housekeeper to pack a couple of trunks with what I want,and to send my chauffeur, Gaffney, up with them, by the next express," hesaid. "I feel better after doing that. He's a smart chap, Gaffney--thesort that might be useful at a pinch. If any one wanted anythingferreted out, now!--he's the sense of an Airedale terrier, that chap!"
"High praise," laughed Fullaway. "And original too. Well, let's fix upand get some food, and then we'll go into my private rooms and have atalk over the situation."
Mr. Franklin Fullaway, following a certain modern fashion, introducedinto life by twentieth-century company promoters and magnates of the highfinance, had established his business quarters at his hotel. It was awise and pleasant thing to do, he explained to Allerdyke; you had theadvantage of living over the shop, as it were; of being able to go out ofyour private sitting-room into your business office; you had the brightand pleasant surroundings; you had, moreover, all the various rooms andsaloons of a first-rate hotel wherein to entertain your clients if needbe. Certainly you had to pay for these advantages and luxuries, but nomore than you would have to lay out in the rents, rates, and taxes ofpalatial offices in a first-class business quarter.
"And my line of business demands luxurious fittings," remarked theAmerican, as he installed Allerdyke in a sybaritic armchair and handedhim a box of big cigars of a famous brand. "You're not the firstmillionaire that's come to anchor in that chair, you know!"
"If they're millionaires in penny-pieces, maybe not," answered Allerdyke.He lighted a cigar and glanced appraisingly at his surroundings--at thethick velvet pile of the carpets, the fine furniture, the bookcasesfilled with beautiful bindings, the choice bits of statuary, the two orthree unmistakably good pictures. "Doing good business, I reckon?" hesaid, with true Yorkshire curiosity. "What's it run to, now?"
Fullaway showed his fine white teeth in a genial laugh.
"Oh, I've turned over two and three millions in a year in this littleden!" he answered cheerily. "Varies, you know, according to what peoplehave got to sell, and what good buyers there are knocking around."
"You keep a bit of sealing wax, of course?" suggested Allerdyke. "Takecare that some of the brass sticks when you handle it, no doubt?"
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p; "Commission and percentage, of course," responded Fullaway.
"Ah, well, you've an advantage over chaps like me," said Allerdyke. "Now,you shall take my case. We've made a pile of money in our firm,grandfather, father, and myself; but, Lord, man, you wouldn't believewhat our expenses have been! Building mills, fitting machinery--and then,wages! Why, I pay wages to six hundred workpeople every Friday afternoon!Our wages bill runs to well over fourteen hundred pound a week. You'venaught of that sort, of course--no great staff to keep up?"
"No," answered Fullaway. He nodded his head towards the door of a roomthrough which they had just passed on their way into the agent's privateapartments. "All the staff I have is the young lady you just saw--Mrs.Marlow. Invaluable!"
"Married woman?" inquired Allerdyke laconically.
"Young widow," answered Fullaway just as tersely. "Excellent businesswoman--been with me ever since I came here--three years. Speaks andwrites several languages--well educated, good knowledge of my particularline of business. American--I knew her people very well. Of course, Idon't require much assistance--merely clerical help, but it's got to beof a highly intelligent and specialized sort."
"Leave your business in her hands if need be, I reckon?" suggestedAllerdyke, with a sidelong nod at the closed door.
"In ordinary matters, yes--comfortably," answered Fullaway. "She's a bita specialist in two things that I'm mainly concerned in--pictures anddiamonds. She can tell a genuine Old Master at a glance, and she knows alot about diamonds--her father was in that trade at one time, out inSouth Africa."
"Clever woman to have," observed Allerdyke; "knows all your business,of course?"
"All the surface business," said Fullaway, "naturally! Anything but aconfidential secretary would be useless to me, you know."
"Just so," agreed Allerdyke. "Told her about this affair yet?"
"I've had no chance so far," replied Fullaway. "I shall take her adviceabout it--she's a cute woman."
"Smart-looking, sure enough," said Allerdyke. He let his mind dwell for amoment on the picture which Mrs. Marlow had made as Fullaway led himthrough the office--a very well-gowned, pretty, alert, piquant littlewoman, still on the sunny side of thirty, who had given him a sharpglance out of unusually wide-awake eyes. "Aye, women are clever nowadays,no doubt--they'd show their grandmothers how to suck eggs in a good manynew fashions. Well, now," he went on, stretching his long legs overFullaway's beautiful Persian rug, "what do you make of this affair,Fullaway, in its present situation? There's no doubt that everything'sconsiderably altered by what we've heard of this morning. Do you reallythink that this French maid affair is all of a piece, as one may term it,with the affair of my cousin James?"
"Yes--without doubt," replied Fullaway. "I believe the two affairs allspring from the same plot. That plot, in my opinion, has originated froma clever gang who, somehow or other, got to know that Mr. James Allerdykewas bringing over the Princess Nastirsevitch's jewels, and who alsoturned their eyes on Zelie de Longarde's valuables. The French maid,Lisette, was probably nothing but a tool, a cat's paw, and she, havingdone her work, has been cleverly removed so that she could never split.Further--"
A quiet knock at the door just then prefaced the entrance of Mrs. Marlow,who gave her employer an inquiring glance.
"Mr. Blindway to see you," she announced. "Shall I show him in?"
"At once!" replied Fullaway. He leapt from his chair, and going to thedoor called to the detective to enter. "News?" he asked excitedly, whenMrs. Marlow had retired, closing the door again. "What is it--important?"
The detective, who looked very solemn, drew a letter-case from hispocket, and slowly produced a telegram.
"Important enough," he answered. "This case is assuming a verystrange complexion, gentlemen. This arrived from Hull half an hourago, and the chief thought I'd better bring it on to you at once. Yousee what it is--"
He held the telegram out to both men, and they read it together, Fullawaymuttering the words as he read--
From _Chief Constable, Hull, to Superintendent C.I.D., NewScotland Yard_.
Dr. Lydenberg, concerned in Allerdyke case, was shot dead in High Streethere this morning by unseen person, who is up to now unarrested and towhose identity we have no clue.
The Rayner-Slade Amalgamation Page 12
