The Mad Hatter Mystery dgf-2

by John Dickson Carr

  Rampole felt uneasy. He thought he might look a fool or a coward; the strain of the day had made his thoughts more than a little muddled.

  `All: right' he said, `all right. Pour a big one.' He glanced across at Dalrye, who nodded wearily.

  'I think I know what you're talking about, Doctor,' Dalrye said, in a low voice. `I know I wasn't here, and I'm not sure, but I still think I know what you mean.'

  `The person I’m interested in talking about,' Hadley interposed, `is Lester Bitton. You're pretty well aware, aren't you, Fell, that he's the murderer?'

  The doctor was setting out glasses. He took the bottle from Hadley, waved away the other's suggestion of washing the glasses, and filled them. He said: `Suppose Bitton has an alibi? You've got almost a case to go to the jury on… unless he has an alibi. That's what's worrying me. Tell me, Mr

  Dalrye, when did you last see Sir William Bitton?'

  `Sir…?' Dalrye raised his head and regarded the other with puzzled eyes. `Sir William?' he repeated. `Why, at the house to-night. General Mason suggested that I go back with him, when he returned from the Tower of London.!

  'Did the general tell him about who really owned the manuscript? Arbor, I mean? Or did you know about it?'

  'I knew about it. Sir William goes about telling everybody,' Dalrye answered, grimly, 'that nobody knows of the, manuscript, and then proceeds to share his secret with everybody. Did he tell you that you were the first to hear of it?'

  `Yes'

  'He's told both the general and myself the same thing. We heard it weeks ago.'

  'What did he say when Mason told him it belonged to Arbor?'

  'That's the funny part. Nothing much. He just said, "I see," and got very quiet.' It's pretty clear that he suspected as much all along. Then he said.. '

  Dalrye looked towards the door with dull eyes. It had become like a warning, repeated over and over until it grows horrible. The telephone bell was ringing again.

  There was nothing in that ring that should have sent a chill through anybody. But Rampole went cold. And in the silence beneath the clamour of that insistent bell Dr- Fell said:

  'I shouldn't let Miss Bitton answer that, Hadley.'

  Hadley was out of the door in a moment into the study, and the door closed behind him.

  While nobody moved, the rest of them could hear Sheila moving about in the kitchen down the passage Hadley did not speak for a long time on the phone. He opened the study door presently… they could hear the sharp squeak of its hinge. Then he came with slow steps down the passage, entered, and closed the dining-room door behind him.

  It's all up,' he said. 'Get your coats on.'

  'What is it?' the doctor asked.

  The chief inspector put a hand over his eyes.

  'I know what you mean now. I should have seen what sort of mood he was in when he left us. At least, I should have been warned by what Miss Bitton said. That was the way he said he wanted to die.'

  Dr Fell brought his hand slowly down on the table. 'Is it…?'

  'Yes,' Hadley answered, nodding. 'That's it. Lester Bitton has shot himself.'

  17. Death at Bitton House

  During the ride in Hadley's car to Berkeley Square, the only words spoken were questions and answers on the little Hadley had been told about the tragedy.

  'It happened about ten minutes before they phoned,' he explained. 'That was the butler talking. The household had been up late, and the butler was still' sitting up; he'd been ordered to wait for Sheila Bitton's return. He was in his pantry when he heard the shot, and he ran upstairs. The door of Lester Bitton's room: was open; he smelled the smoke. Bitton was lying across the bed in his room, with the gun in his hand.'

  'What happened then?' Dr Fell demanded.

  'Hobbes… that's the butler… tried to wake up Sir William. But he'd taken a sleeping-draught and the door of his room was locked; Hobbes couldn't rouse him. Then Hobbes remembered Miss Bitton's talking to us, and where we were, so he phoned on the chance of getting me.'

  The moist, chill air whipped through the open windscreen the tyres of the car sang, and above the roofs there were stars. It had been very quiet, Hadley's handling of the situation. Sheila Bitton had not been told of her uncle's death. They had left her there, with Dalrye to break the news when they were gone.

  'I'd better not take, her back to the house,' Dalrye had said. 'She'd only be in the way and she'd get hysterical… he was her favourite. I know a great friend of hers, a girl who lives in Park Lane. I'll drive her over there and get Margaret to put her up for the, night. Then I'll join you.'

  The only thing that had surprised Rampole was the doctor's insistence that Hadley should see Arbor.

  'Or, on second thoughts,' the doctor had added, 'you'd better let me see him. He still thinks I'm Chief Inspector Hadley. And if we try to explain matters at this stage, when he's in terror of his life, he may suspect all kinds of a put-up job.'

  `I don't care who sees him, so long as he talks,' the chief inspector replied, testily. `You can stay here and wait for him, if you like. But I'd much prefer that you came along with me. We can leave Mr Rampole to talk to him until we get back.

  `Tell them to bring him to Bitton's.'

  'To Bitton's? But, good God, man! You don't want, `I have rather a fancy,' said the doctor, `to see how he acts there. Let poor Marks stay in the flat and direct them over when they get here.'

  It had been arranged that way. Hadley's Daimler flashed through the quiet streets, and the hands of the illuminated clock on the dashboard pointed to nearly one o'clock as they reached Berkeley Square.

  When they went up the shallow steps of the Bitton house, Hadley paused with his hand on the bell.

  `I know only two quotations,' he said, quietly, `but I'm going to tell one of them now. Do you know what it is?'

  Dr Fell dropped the ferrule of his cane on the step with a hollow shock which had its echo.

  "'It must be confessed," ' he repeated, "'It will be confessed; there is no refuge from confession but suicide, and suicide is confession."'

  Hadley rang the bell.

  There was no sign of confusion in the house when the heavy door was opened. All the blinds had been drawn and the curtains closed, but every light was on. It was the absolute hush which was sinister. An old, grave-faced man ushered them into a massive blue entrance hall with, a crystal chandelier.

  `Chief Inspector Hadley, sir?' the old man asked. `I am Hobbes, sir; I telephoned you. Shall I take you upstairs?' He hesitated as Hadley nodded. `Under such circumstances, sir, I have always heard that it is customary to summon a doctor. But Mr Bitton was obviously dead, and unless you wish it..

  `It will not be necessary for the moment. Is Sir William up yet?'

  'I have not been able to rouse him, sir.'

  `Where is Mrs Bitton?'

  `In her room, sir. This way, if you please.'

  The butler took them up a heavily carpeted stair, with bronze figures in the niches, and along a passage at the top. It was stuffy up here; and Rampole could distinctly smell the stale reek of cordite.

  A bright light streamed out against the gloom of this upper hall At the door Hobbes stood aside for them to enter.

  Here the odour of burnt powder: was stronger, but nothing seemed disturbed. It was a high room, with cornices and another long chandelier, severely furnished against a background of dull brown and yellow-threaded walls.

  Lester Bitton lay sideways across the bed; they could see his feet from the door. Closer, they could see that he was fully dressed. The bullet had gone through the right temple and emerged about an inch above the left ear; following Hadley's glance, Rampole could discern the splintered place where it had lodged in the ceiling. The dead man's face was curiously peaceful, and there was very little blood. His outflung right hand, turned under at the wrist, held a Webley-Scott service automatic of the standard forty-five calibre army pattern.

  Hadley did not immediately examine him. He spoke in a low voice to Hobbes.
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  `I think you told me you were in your pantry and heard the shot. You ran up here immediately, and found him just as he is. Did anybody else hear it?'

  `Mrs Bitton, sir. She came in a moment later.'

  'Where is Mrs Bitton's room?'

  Hobbes indicated a door near the fireplace `A dressing room, sir, which communicates with her own room.'

  What did Mrs Bitton do?'

  `She- stood looking at him for a long time, and suggested that I wake Sir William. Then she returned to her room.'

  Hadley went over to the writing-table, looked at the chair beside it, and turned. `Mr Bitton was out this evening. He must have returned here about eleven o'clock. Did you see him?'

  `Yes, sir. He returned just before eleven, and went directly to the library. He asked me to bring him a cup of cocoa, and when I brought it he was sitting in front of the library fire. When I passed by, the door of the library, about an hour later, I went in and asked him if he wished anything more., He was still sitting in the same chair. When I spoke he said, "No, nothing more." Then he rose and walked past me and up the stairs..: For the first time Hobbes faltered, a trifle the man's self-control was amazing. `That was the last I saw of him, sir, before.. before this.’

  `How long afterwards did you hear the shot?'

  `I am not positive, sir. Not more than five minutes, I should say, and probably less.'

  `Did his manner seem strange?'

  A slight pause before the answer. `I am afraid so, sir. Mr Bitton has not been exactly himself for the past month. But there was nothing… well, sir, excited about him.'

  Hadley glanced down at the floor. The carpet was of so thick and smooth a nap that it was almost possible to trace the path a man had taken, as though by footprints. They were standing near the door, and as Rampole followed the chief inspector's glance he could see with terrible clarity what Lester Bitton must have done. For Lester Bitton was a heavy and gigantic man; his footfalls were there where a lighter person's might not have been visible. First he had gone to the fireplace. Then he had walked to the reading-table facing the fireplace, the open drawer telling where the gun had come from. From there he had gone to the bureau, whose mirror was now tilted so that a tall man could look at himself clearly. The impress of his feet, together, — was heavy there; he must have stood for some time. Lastly he had walked straight to the bed, stood with his back to it so that he should fall there, and raised the automatic.

  `The gun is his own'?' Hadley asked.

  `Yes, sir. He kept it in that table drawer.'

  Softly Hadley punched his fist into his palm, softly and steadily as lie looked about.

  `I want you to give me a complete account of everything Mr Bitton did to-day, so far as you know.'

  Hobbes's hands plucked at the sides of his trousers.

  `Yes, sir. I observed him, sir, because I was a trifle concerned about his welfare. He left the house this morning at about half past ten, sir, and returned at noon. I believe he had been to Mr Philip`s flat'

  `Was he carrying anything when he returned?'

  `I believe he had a package of some sort, wrapped in brown paper. He left the house again early, in the afternoon. I know that he ate no lunch, sir. I reminded him of this when he returned, and he said he merely wanted a cup of cocoa sent to his room. He left before the unfortunate occurrence at Sir William's car; the thief, sir.'

  `He left for the City?'

  `N-no, sir, I believe not. As he was leaving, Sir William, who intended to go to the City himself later, offered him a lift in the car. Major Bitton said he did not intend to go to his office. He.. he mentioned that he was going for a walk.'

  `What was his manner then; nervous, upset…?'

  'Well, sir, say restless.'

  `When did he return?'

  `I'm afraid I don't remember, sir. Mrs Bitton had brought back the horrible news about Mr Philip, and… ' Hobbes shook his head. He was biting at his lips now, trying to keep calm.

  `That's all, thank you. I suggest that you make another effort to wake Sir William before you go.'

  Hobbes bowed and closed the door behind him as he went out.

  'I think,' Hadley said, turning to his companions, `you two had better go downstairs. I've got to make an examination.. just in case… and I warn you it won't be pretty. There's no good you can do. I want you to be there for Arbor when he arrives.'

  Dr Fell grunted. He went over, bent across the body, and held his eyeglasses on while he had a brief look at it. Then he signalled to Rampole and waddled towards the door without a word.

  In silence they descended the stairs. Rampole thought he heard behind them somewhere the click of a closing latch. He thought he saw a figure somewhere in the upper hall but his thoughts were so warped with stealth and murder, and the ghostliness of this ancient house, that he paid scant attention.

  He followed Dr Fell down the lower hallway until they reached the library. It was another high room at the rear, done in white. Three walls, even around the window spaces, were built entirely of books; the white-painted lines of the shelves showed up startlingly against the dark old volumes. The fourth wall was cream-panelled, with a white marbled fireplace above which hung a full-length portrait of Sir William Bitton in a massive gilt frame. Flanking the fireplace, two long windows looked out on a garden.

  Dr Fell stood in the middle of the dusky room, peering about curiously. A low fire flickered on the brass and irons a pink-shaded lamp burned on a table amid the heavy upholstered furniture round the fireplace.

  `There's only one thing now,' the doctor said in a' low voice, `that I've got to be profoundly thankful for. Arbor still thinks I'm Hadley. I may be able, to keep him away from Hadley altogether.

  'Thankful? Why?'

  `Look behind you,' the other said, nodding.

  Rampole switched round. He had not heard Laura Bitton come in over, the thick carpet. And for a moment he scarcely recognized her.

  She seemed much older and much quieter. Nor was she the vigorous young woman with the firm step and the level brown eyes who had walked so confidently into the Warders' Hall that afternoon. The eyes were a trifle red; the face fixed and dull.

  'I followed you down,' she said, evenly. 'I heard you in the other room: The voice was queer, as though she could not quite understand yet that her husband was dead. `You know all about it, don't you?'

  `All about what, Mrs Bitton?'

  `Oh, don't quibble. About Phil and me. I knew you would find out'

  Dr Fell inclined his head. `You should not have broken into his flat this afternoon, Mrs. Bitton. You were seen.'

  She was not interested. `I suppose so. I had a key, but I broke the lock, of the door with a chisel I found there to pretend it was a burglar; but it didn't go down. Never mind. I just want to tell you one thing… ' But she could not go on with it. She looked from one to the other of them, and shut her lips.

  `Ma'am,' said the doctor, leaning on his cane, `I know what you were going to say. You only realized just then how it would sound if you said it. You were going to say you never loved Driscoll. Ma'am, isn't it rather late for that?'

  `Did you see what he had in his hand?' she asked.

  `Yes,' he replied, as she closed her eyes `Yes, ma'am, I did?

  `Not the gun! The other hand, I mean. He got it out of the drawer. It was a snapshot of me.'

  She spoke steadily, the brown eyes level and glazed, the jaw firm. 'I looked at it, and went back to my room. I have been sitting at the window in the dark, looking out…. If you think I'm trying to excuse myself, you're a fool. But since I saw him lying on that, bed, I think I've seen a thousand, million, God knows how many images and they're all his. I've seen all my life with him. I can't cry now. I cried to-day, about Phil's death, but I can't cry now. I know I loved Lester. It was only because his ideas were so different from mine that I had to hurt him. Now I'll go. And maybe I can cry'

  She paused in the doorway, a hand unsteadily on her rumpled brown hair.

 
`There was only one other thing,' she said, in a quiet voice: `Did Lester kill Phil?'

  For a long space the doctor remained motionless. Then he nodded his head.

  'Keep that thought with you, ma'am,' he said:'

  The door closed behind her.

  'You see?' Dr Fell asked. `Or don't you? There's been enough tragedy in this house. I' won't add another, Lester Bitton is dead and the Driscoll case is closed. If Hadley is satisfied, there needn't be any publicity. It can go down as "unsolved"; and Lester Bitton shot himself over money troubles, real or imaginary. And yet…''

  He was still standing there brooding, under the vast walls of books, when Hobbes knocked at the door.

  'Excuse me, sir,' said Hobbes. `I have succeeded in waking Sir William. The key was on the inside of his door; I took the liberty of getting a pair of pliers and turning it from the outside. He is upset, sir,' and not very well. But he will be down presently, sir. And there is something else…. '

  'Eh?'

  'Two policemen are at the door, sir. A recent guest of ours is with them. A Mr Arbor.'

  'H'm… Got a little confidential work for you, Hobbes. Do you follow me?'

  'Well, Sir?'

  'Put those policemen somewhere out of sight. Tell Mr Arbor Mr Hadley is here in the library, and send him back to me. You needn't inform Mr Hadley yet. Got it?'

  'Yes, sir.'

  There was a brief interval while Dr Fell stumped back and forth on the padded floor, muttering to himself. He turned sharply, as the door opened again, and Hobbes ushered in Julius Arbor.

  18. Mr Arbor Hears a Voice

  Mr Arbor was now imbued with a certain degree of calmness. But he was not at his ease. His glance had gone to the portrait of Sir William, a white eagle in the dusky room, and his discomfort seemed to grow. He had not let Hobbes take his hat or coat.

  `Good evening, Inspector,' he said. `Tritely, I suppose I ought to say good morning. It… er '… I confess, Inspector, that your request to come here somewhat startled me. I…'