CHAPTER XXXI
THE HYDE PARK TEA-HOUSE
Once outside the Pompadour Hotel the chief and his subordinate hurried ata great pace towards the Lancaster Gate entrance to Kensington Gardens.And when they had crossed Bayswater Road the superior pulled himself up,took a breath, and looked around him.
"No sign of them yet, Chettle," he observed. "Did he say at once?"
"Said they'd be on their way in two minutes, sir," answered Chettle. "Andit wouldn't take them many minutes to run up here."
"I wonder what it's all about?" mused the chief. "Some new developmentsince we left the Yard, of course. Well--I think we may probably findsomething in this parcel, Chettle, that will surprise us as much as anynew development can possibly do. It strikes me--"
"Here they are, sir!" interrupted Chettle. He had lingered on thekerb, looking towards the rise of the road going towards the MarbleArch, and his quick eyes had spotted a closed taxi-cab which came outof the Marlborough Gate at full speed and turned down in theirdirection. "Blindway and two others," he announced. "Seems to be inforce, sir, anyhow!"
The taxi-cab pulled up at the little gate leading into Kensington Gardensby the pumping-station, and Blindway, followed by two other men,hurriedly descended and joined his superior.
"Well, what is it?" demanded the chief. "Something new? And aboutthis affair?"
Blindway made a gesture suggesting that they should enter the Gardens;once within he drew the chief aside, leaving his companions with Chettle.
"About half an hour ago," he said, "a telephone message came on from theCity police. They said they'd received some queerish information aboutthis affair, but only particularly about the death of that man down atthe hotel in the Docks. Their information ran to this--that the actualmurderer has an appointment with some of his associates this afternoon atthat tea-house in Hyde Park, and that if the City police would send someplain-clothes men up there he'll be pointed out. So the City lot want usto join them, and I was sent along to meet you here, sir--I've broughtthose two men and of course there's Chettle. We're all to go along tothis tea-house, not in a body, naturally, but to sort of drop in, and towait events. Of course, sir, that last murder occurred in the City, andso the City police want to come in at it, and--"
"No further details?" asked the chief, obviously puzzled. "Nothing as towho's going to point out the murderer, and so on?"
"Nothing!" replied Blindway. "At least, nothing reported to us. All we'vegot to do is to be there, on the spot, and to keep our eyes open for thecritical moment."
"And what time is the critical moment to be?" asked the chief, a littlesuperciliously. "It all seems remarkably vague, Blindway--why couldn'tthey give us more news?"
"Don't know, sir--they seemed purposely vague," replied the detective."However, the time fixed is two o'clock. To be there about two--that wasthe request--at least four of us."
The chief turned and summoned the other three men.
"You'd better break up," he said. "Two of you approach the place from oneway--two from another. It's now a quarter-past one--you've plenty oftime. Stroll across the park to this spot--I'll join you by two o'clock.I believe you can get light refreshments at this tea-house; getyourselves something, so as to look like mere loungers--but keep youreyes open."
"Do you want me, sir?" asked Chettle, eyeing the parcel with evidentdesire to know what mystery it concealed.
"No--you go with Blindway," answered the chief. "He'll tell you what'shappened. I must join Mr. Allerdyke and Mr. Appleyard--then we'll comeover to you. Don't take any notice of us."
The four detectives went off into Hyde Park, and there separated incouples; the chief turned and went along the straight path which runsparallel with Bayswater Road just within the shrubberies of KensingtonGardens. Presently he caught sight of Allerdyke and Appleyard, whooccupied two chairs under a shady hawthorn tree, and he laid hold ofanother, dragged it to them, and sat down. Each looked a silent inquiry,and the chief, with a smile, held up the parcel.
"Chettle and I," he said, "have, in the presence of the manager andmanageress of the Pompadour, made a thorough examination of the room andthe belongings of the young lady who resides there under the name of MissSlade. There is not a jot or tittle of anything there to show that she isalso Mrs. Marlow--except one thing. That, Mr. Allerdyke, is theall-important photograph of your cousin James, which is hanging, in aneat silver frame, over her mantelpiece. What do you think of that,gentlemen?"
"Odd!" said Appleyard, after a moment's reflective silence.
"Very queer!" said Allerdyke frowning. "Very queer, indeed--considering."
"Queer and odd!" assented the chief. "As to considering--well, I don'tquite know what it is that we are considering. If Miss Slade, alias Mrs.Marlow, is a member of the gang--if there is one--which killed and robbedJames Allerdyke, it's a decidedly odd and queer thing that she shouldframe the victim's portrait and hang it where she'll see it last thing atnight and first thing in the morning. Most extraordinary! And it's mademe think a good deal. I believe you once said, Mr. Allerdyke, that yourcousin was a bit of a ladies' man?"
"Bit that way inclined, was James," replied Allerdyke laconically."Yes--he fancied the ladies a bit, no doubt. In quite a proper way, youknow--liked their society, and so on."
"Just so!" assented the chief. "Well, I wonder if he and Miss Slade,alias Mrs. Marlow, knew each other at all--outside business? But it's notmuch use to speculate on that just now--we've more urgent matters toattend to. And first--this!"
He had put a copy of a morning newspaper round the small brown paperparcel, and now took it off and showed the parcel itself to the twowondering men. One of them at any rate uttered a sharp exclamation.
"Brown paper, sealed with black wax!" said Allerdyke, remembering whatChettle had told him. "Good Lord--what--"
"I don't suppose this is the original brown paper, nor these theoriginal dabs of black wax," remarked the chief as he produced a pocketpen-knife. "But this parcel, gentlemen, was recently confided by MissSlade to the care of the manageress of the Pompadour, to be put in thehotel safe--from which it was produced to me twenty minutes ago. And--Iam now going to see what it contains."
The others sat in absorbed silence while the chief delicately removed thewrappings of the mysterious parcel. A sheet of brown paper, a sheet ofcartridge paper beneath it--and within these very ordinary envelopings anold cigar-box, loosely tied about with a bit of knotted string.
"Now for it!" said the chief. "The box contains--"
He raised the lid as the other two leaned nearer. A stray ray ofsunlight, filtering through the swaying boughs of the hawthorn, shot downon the box as the chief lifted a wad of soft paper and revealed aglittering mass of pearls and diamonds.
"The Princess Nastirsevitch's jewels!" said the chief softly. "That'sjust what I expected ever since the manageress gave me this parcel. This,of course, is the parcel which your cousin sent that night from Hull, Mr.Allerdyke. It fell into Mrs. Marlow's hands--alias Miss Slade--and hereit is! That's all right."
The other two men stared at the contents of the cigar-box, then at thechief, then at each other. A deep silence had fallen--it was some minutesbefore Allerdyke broke it.
"All wrong, I should say!" he muttered. "However, if those are thethings--I only say if, mind--I suppose we're a step nearer to somethingelse. But--what?"
The chief, who appeared to both of them to be strangely phlegmatic aboutthe whole affair, proceeded to close the box, re-invest it in itswrappings, and tie it about with the original string.
"We are certainly a step nearer to a good deal," he said, making a neatjob of his parcel and patting it affectionately as if he had been amilliner's apprentice doing up a choice confection. "And the next thingwe do is to take a walk together into Hyde Park. On the way I will tellyou why we are going there--that is, I will tell you what I know of thereason for such an expedition. It isn't much--but it has certainpossibilities."
The two North-countrymen listened with great cu
riosity as they marchedacross the grass towards the tea-house. Each possessed the North-countrylove of the mysterious and the bizarre--this last development tickledtheir fancy and stirred their imagination.
"What on earth d'ye make out of it all?" asked Allerdyke. "Gad!--it'smore like a children's game of hide-and-seek in an old house of nooks andcorners than what I should have imagined police proceedings would be.What say you, Ambler?"
"I don't know how much romance and adventure there usually are in policeproceedings," replied Appleyard cautiously.
"A good answer, Mr. Appleyard," said the chief laughing. "Ah, there's alot more of both than civilians would think, in addition to all thesordid and dismal details. What do I make out of it, Mr. Appleyard?Why--I think somebody has all this time been making a specialinvestigation of this mystery for himself, and that at last he's going towind it up with a sensational revelation to--us! Don't you be surprisedif you've an application for that fifty thousand pound reward beforeto-night!"
"You really think that?" exclaimed Allerdyke incredulously.
"I shouldn't be surprised," answered the chief, "Something considerableis certainly at hand. Now let us settle our plan of campaign. Thistea-garden, I remember, is a biggish place. We will sit down at one ofthe tables--we will appear to be three quiet gentlemen disposed to take acup of coffee with our cigars or cigarettes--we will be absorbed in ourown conversation and company, but at the same time we will look about us.Therefore, use your eyes, gentlemen, as much as you like--but don'tappear to take any particular interest in anything you see, and don'topenly recognize any person you set eyes on."
It was a very warm and summer-like day, and the lawns around thetea-house were filled with people, young and old. Some were drinking tea,some coffee; some were indulging in iced drinks. Nursemaids and childrenwere much in evidence under the surrounding trees; waitresses wereflitting about hither and thither: there was nothing to suggest that thiseminently London park scene was likely to prove the setting of the lastact of a drama.
"You're much more likely to see and to recognize than we are," remarkedAllerdyke, as the three gathered round a table on the edge of the crowd."For my part I see nothing but men, women, and children--except that Ialso see Chettle, sitting across yonder with another man who's no doubtone of your lot."
"Just so," assented the chief. He gave an order for coffee to a passingwaitress, lighted a cigar which Allerdyke offered him, and glanced roundas if he were looking at nothing in particular. "Just so. Well, I see myown four men--I also see at least six detectives who belong to the Citypolice, and there may be more. But I know those six personally. They arespread about, all over the place, and I daresay that every man is verymuch on the stretch, innocent enough as he looks."
"Six!" exclaimed Appleyard. "And four of yours! That looks as if theyexpected to have to tackle a small army!"
"You never know what you may have to tackle in affairs like this,"replied the chief. "Nothing like having reserves in hand, you know. Nowlet me give you a tip. It is almost exactly two o'clock. Never mind thepeople who are already here, gentlemen. Keep your eyes open on anynew-comers. Look out--quietly--for folk who seem to drop in as casuallyas we do. Look, for example, at those two well-dressed men who are comingacross the sward there, swinging their sticks. They--"
Allerdyke suddenly bent his head towards the table.
"Careful!" he said. "Gad!--I know one of 'em, anyhow. Van Koon, as Ilive!"
The Rayner-Slade Amalgamation Page 31
