by Robert Barr
CHAPTER VIII.
"Now," said John Speed to William Brenton, "we have got Stratton fairlystarted on the track, and I believe that he will ferret out the truthin this matter. But, meanwhile, we must not be idle. You must rememberthat, with all our facilities for discovery, we really know nothingof the murderer ourselves. I propose we set about this thing just assystematically as Stratton will. The chances are that we shall penetratethe mystery of the whole affair very much quicker than he. As I toldyou before, I am something of a newspaper man myself; and if, with thefacilities of getting into any room in any house, in any city and in anycountry, and being with a suspected criminal night and day when he neverimagines any one is near him--if with all those advantages I cannotdiscover the real author of that crime before George Stratton does, thenI'll never admit that I came from Chicago, or belonged to a newspaper."
"Whom do you think Stratton suspects of the crime? He told the sheriff,"said Brenton, "that he had the name in his pocket-book."
"I don't know," said Speed, "but I have my suspicions. You see, he hasthe names of all the guests at your banquet in that pocket-book of his;but the name of Stephen Roland he has marked with two crosses. The nameof the servant he has marked with one cross. Now, I suspect that hebelieves Stephen Roland committed the crime. You know Roland; what doyou think of him?"
"I think he is quite capable of it," answered Brenton, with a frown.
"Still, you are prejudiced against the man," put in Speed, "so yourevidence is hardly impartial."
"I am not prejudiced against any one," answered Brenton; "I merely knowthat man. He is a thoroughly despicable, cowardly character. The onlything that makes me think he would not commit a murder, is that he istoo craven to stand the consequences if he were caught. He is a coolvillain, but he is a coward. I do not believe he has the courage tocommit a crime, even if he thought he would benefit by it."
"Well, there is one thing, Brenton, you can't be accused of flatteringa man, and if it is any consolation for you to know, you may be prettycertain that George Stratton is on his track."
"I am sure I wish him success," answered Brenton, gloomily; "if hebrings Roland to the gallows I shall not mourn over it."
"That's all right," said Speed; "but now we must be up and doingourselves. Have you anything to propose?"
"No, I have not, except that we might play the detective on Roland."
"Well, the trouble with that is we would merely be duplicating whatStratton is doing himself. Now, I'll tell you my proposal. Supposingthat we consult with Lecocq."
"Who is that? The novelist?"
"Novelist? I don't think he has ever written any novels--not that Iremember of."
"Ah, I didn't know. It seemed to me that I remembered his name inconnection with some novel."
"Oh, very likely you did. He is the hero of more detective stories thanany other man I know of. He was the great French detective."
"What, is he dead, then?"
"Dead? Not a bit of it; he's here with us. Oh, I understand what youmean. Yes, from your point of view, he is dead."
"Where can we find him?"
"Well, I presume, in Paris. He's a first-rate fellow to know, anyhow,and he spends most of his time around his old haunts. In fact, if youwant to be certain to find Lecocq, you will generally get him duringoffice hours in the room he used to frequent while in Paris."
"Let us go and see him, then."
* * * * *
"Monsieur Lecocq," said Speed, a moment afterwards, "I wish to introduceto you a new-comer, Mr. Brenton, recently of Cincinnati."
"Ah, my dear Speed," said the Frenchman, "I am very pleased indeed tomeet any friend of yours. How is the great Chicago, the second Paris,and how is your circulation?--the greatest in the world, I suppose."
"Well, it is in pretty good order," said Speed; "we circulated fromChicago to Paris here in a very much shorter time than the journeyusually occupies down below. Now, can you give us a little of your time?Are you busy just now?"
"My dear Speed, I am always busy. I am like the people of the secondParis. I lose no time, but I have always time to speak with my friends."
"All right," said Speed. "I am like the people of the second Chicago,generally more intent on pleasure than business; but, nevertheless, Ihave a piece of business for you."
"The second Chicago?" asked Lecocq. "And where is that, pray?"
"Why, Paris, of course," said Speed.
Lecocq laughed.
"You are incorrigible, you Chicagoans. And what is the piece ofbusiness?"
"It is the old thing, monsieur. A mystery to be unravelled. Mr. Brentonhere wishes to retain you in his case."
"And what is his case?" was the answer.
Lecocq was evidently pleased to have a bit of real work given him.
The detective.]
Speed briefly recited the facts, Brenton correcting him now and thenon little points where he was wrong. Speed seemed to think these pointsimmaterial, but Lecocq said that attention to trivialities was the wholesecret of the detective business.
"Ah," said Lecocq, sorrowfully, "there is no real trouble in elucidatingthat mystery. I hoped it would be something difficult; but, you see,with my experience of the old world, and with the privileges one enjoysin this world, things which might be difficult to one below are veryeasy for us. Now, I shall show you how simple it is."
"Good gracious!" cried Speed, "you don't mean to say you are going toread it right off the reel, like that, when we have been botheringourselves with it so long, and without success?"
"At the moment," replied the French detective, "I am not prepared to saywho committed the deed. That is a matter of detail. Now, let us see whatwe know, and arrive, from that, at what we do not know. The one fact, ofwhich we are assured on the statement of two physicians from Cincinnati,is that Mr. Brenton was poisoned."
"Well," said Speed, "there are several other facts, too. Another fact isthat Mrs. Brenton is accused of the crime."
"Ah! my dear sir," said Lecocq, "that is not pertinent."
"No," said Speed, "I agree with you. I call it very impertinent."
Brenton frowned, at this, and his old dislike to the flippant Chicagoman rose to the surface again.
The Frenchman continued marking the points on his long forefinger.
"Now, there are two ways by which that result may have been attained.First, Mr. Brenton may have administered to himself the poison;secondly, the poison may have been administered by some one else."
"Yes," said Speed; "and, thirdly, the poison may have been administeredaccidentally--you do not seem to take that into account."
"I do not take that into account," calmly replied the Frenchman,"because of its improbability. If there were an accident; if, forinstance, the poison was in the sugar, or in some of the viands served,then others than Mr. Brenton would have been poisoned. The fact that oneman out of twenty-six was poisoned, and the fact that several people areto benefit by his death, point, it seems to me, to murder; but to besure of that, I will ask Mr. Brenton one question. My dear sir, did youadminister this poison to yourself?"
"Certainly not," answered Brenton.
"Then we have two facts. First, Mr. Brenton was poisoned; secondly, hewas poisoned by some person who had an interest in his death. Now wewill proceed. When Mr. Brenton sat down to that dinner he was perfectlywell. When he arose from that dinner he was feeling ill. He goes to bed.He sees no one but his wife after he has left the dinner-table, and hetakes nothing between the time he leaves the dinner-table and the momenthe becomes unconscious. Now, that poison must have been administered toMr. Brenton at the dinner-table. Am I not right?"
"Well, you seem to be," answered Speed.
"Seem? Why, it is as plain as day. There cannot be any mistake."
"All right," said Speed; "go ahead. What next?"
"What next? There were twenty-six people around that table, with twoservants to wait on them, making twenty-eight in all. There wer
etwenty-six, I think you said, including Mr. Brenton."
"That is correct."
"Very well. One of those twenty-seven persons has poisoned Mr. Brenton.Do you follow me?"
"We do," answered Speed; "we follow you as closely as you have everfollowed a criminal! Go on."
"Very well, so much is clear. These are all facts, not theories. Now,what is the thing that I should do if I were in Cincinnati? I would findout whether one or more of those guests had anything to gain by thedeath of their host. That done, I would follow the suspected persons. Iwould have my men find out what each of them had done for a month beforethe time of the crime. Whoever committed it made some preparation. Hedid something, too, as you say, in America, to cover up his tracks. Verywell. By the keen detective these actions are easily traced. I shall atonce place twenty-seven of the best men I know on the track of thosetwenty-seven persons."
"I call that shadowing with a vengeance," remarked the Chicago man.
"It will be very easy. The one who has committed the crime is certain,when he is alone in his own room, to say something, or to do something,that will show my detective that he is the criminal. So, gentlemen, ifyou can tell me who those twenty-seven persons are, in three days or aweek from this time I will tell you who gave the poison to Mr. Brenton."
"You seem very sure of that," said Speed.
"Sure of it? It is simply child's play. It is mere waiting. If, forinstance, at the trial Mrs. Brenton is found guilty, and sentenced, theone who is the guilty party is certain to betray himself or herselfas soon as he or she is alone. If it be a man who hopes to marry Mrs.Brenton, he will be overcome with grief at what has happened. He willwring his hands and try to think what can be done to prevent thesentence being carried out. He will argue with himself whether it isbetter to give himself up and tell the truth, and if he is a coward hewill conclude not to do that, but will try to get a pardon, or at leasthave the capital sentence commuted into life imprisonment. He willpossibly be cool and calm in public, but when he enters his own room,when his door is locked, when he believes no one can see him, when hethinks he is alone, then will come his trial. Then his passions andhis emotions will betray him. It is mere child's play, as I tell you,and long before there is a verdict I will give you the name of themurderer."
"Very well, then," said Speed, "that is agreed; we will look you up in aweek from now."
"I should be pained," said Lecocq, "to put you to that trouble. As soonas I get the report from my men I will communicate with you and letyou know the result. In a few days I shall give you the name of theassassin."
"Good-bye, then, until I see you again," answered Speed; and with thishe and Brenton took their departure.
"He seems to be very sure of himself," said Brenton.
Jane Morton.]
"He will do what he says, you may depend on that."
The week was not yet up when Monsieur Lecocq met John Speed in Chicago.
"By the look of satisfaction on your face," said Mr. Speed, "I imagineyou have succeeded in unravelling the mystery."
"Ah," replied the Frenchman; "if I have the appearance of satisfaction,it is indeed misplaced."
"Then you have not made any discovery?"
"On the contrary, it is all as plain as your big buildings here. Itis not for that reason, but because it is so simple that I should befoolish to feel satisfaction regarding it."
"Then who is the person?"
"The assassin," replied the Frenchman, "is one whom no one has seemed tothink of, and yet one on whom suspicion should have been the first tofall. The person who did Monsieur Brenton the honour to poison him isnone other than the servant girl, Jane Morton."