Mystery on Southampton Water

by Freeman Wills Crofts

  ‘I agree with Brand that we must treat the Chayle threats seriously, whether they’re bluffing or not,’ said King. ‘But I don’t agree with him in anything else. I think we should refuse the financial demands.’

  ‘In toto?’

  ‘In toto. I look at it like this. We know they’re making enormous profits. If they go to the police these profits will probably be lost. Well, they’re not going to risk that. If we hold on as we’re doing, they continue to make their profits. We don’t take any away from them because the market’s big enough for us both. I propose we refuse, for I’m certain they’ll do nothing.’

  ‘And Brand’s morality argument?’

  ‘If there ever was anything in that argument, which I doubt, it’s too late in the day to bring it up now. Besides we’ve discussed it before. How often has it been pointed out that we went into this, not to injure them, but to prevent them destroying us? And that’s all I now propose.’

  Tasker smiled a little grimly. ‘Well, that’s not so bad. We’ve now got two absolutely opposite opinions. Brand for acceptance, King for refusal. Does that mean that I’ve got to settle it?’

  ‘Looks like it,’ said King.

  ‘If I were tactful,’ Tasker went on, ‘I’d say I sympathised with both your points of view. As I’m not, I’ll say I don’t agree with either of you. I don’t think, Brand, that we should just throw up our hand and sit down under this. On the other hand, King, I think a mere blank refusal would be unwise. I’m therefore all for compromise. I suggest we meet them, but bargain for better terms.’

  ‘I would agree to that,’ Brand said at once.

  ‘There’s another point,’ Tasker went on. ‘I for one don’t hold with the people who think that money counts for everything. For instance, of all the strikes I have known, not one has really been about money. Superficially, money of course. But really in every case it was not money but a sense of injustice which took the men out. It’s human nature. Here I question if the same thing mightn’t obtain. These people have worked out their process at possibly a lot of trouble and expense. Now they see us sailing in and getting the benefit of their work. I can imagine them saying, “We’re damned if they’re going to get away with it.”’

  Brand was impressed with this argument, but King scorned it. ‘I don’t believe that,’ he declared. ‘I’ll counter it at all events. We can’t agree to their terms, because agreement would be an admission of guilt.’

  Tasker nodded. ‘I’ve considered that point, but I don’t think you’re right, King. We say to them: We’re innocent, but we admit the circumstances look suspicious, and though we’re satisfied we could prove our innocence, we don’t want the annoyance of having to do so. We’re therefore willing to pay a certain amount—not a great deal, but a certain amount—to avoid this unpleasantness. That strikes me as a reasonable attitude and not in the least compromising’

  Opinion still remained divided. Brand agreed that Tasker’s idea was better than his own, but King wanted a fighting policy. ‘The strongest defence is attack,’ he declared, whereupon Tasker told him not to be an ass and made disparaging remarks about clichés.

  In the end Tasker put the question to the vote. With some unwillingness King came round and Tasker’s proposal was carried unanimously.

  Brand felt a good deal happier for the discussion. He now saw, as he had not seen when considering the affair himself, that however strong the Chayle people’s position might be, they hadn’t it all their own way. It now again began to look as if the Joymount lives and liberty, their capital and their jobs, were after all reasonably secure. Chayle would have no motive to give them away and a strong one to refrain from doing so.

  In due course Tuesday arrived and with it the next conference. The Chayle party again came over in their motor launch, engineered and navigated by Samson. Tasker had not taken the same precautions for secrecy as had Haviland: in fact it looked almost like bravado that a steamer should actually be loading an emergency cargo during the visit. Not however to be outdone in courtesy, King waited on the wharf for the visitors and conducted them to the office.

  Tasker made no attempt to outshine Haviland as host. His attentions to his visitors were entirely adequate, but he made no pretence at undue friendliness. In this Brand thought he was wise. It gave him a stronger position than if he had seemed to be currying favour.

  The preliminaries over, Tasker got to business. He made a short informal speech, taking up the position which had been decided on at the Friday conference. Firstly, he said, the Joymount people admitted nothing whatever. The death of Clay was the real kernel of the affair, and they absolutely and categorically denied having murdered him. Further, they believed they could prove their innocence, if challenged. Their consciences were entirely clear. However they saw very well that certain circumstances looked suspicious, and they realised that police suspicion would be irksome. They wished to avoid this.

  The avoidance of such annoyance would undoubtedly be of some financial value to them, though not of a great deal. They were willing however to pay for it, and if they could get the necessary assurances from the Chayle representatives that no question of police interference would arise, they would pay a royalty on all cement produced under the new process. Of course they could not believe that Haviland had been serious when he suggested seventy-five per cent as the amount of the royalty. He, Tasker, thought twenty-five per cent would be an excessive figure, though they might be willing to go to this extent.

  Haviland, suave and urbane, replied to this effort by saying that he and his companions were glad to learn that their Joymount friends were in agreement with them on the principle involved. Once the principle was admitted and agreed on, details could be settled amicably.

  Tasker then said that as they were now actually in agreement on principles he thought that they might as well begin at the beginning of their proposed schedule and check over the items in turn. If they found that six articles out of seven were settled, it would encourage them to deal with the unhappily contentious seventh. With a view to facilitating their discussion, he had taken the liberty of drafting out a set of seven clauses, as the basis of their convention. These were simply Haviland’s clauses, slightly extended and modified to meet the Joymount point of view. The only question that really had to be dealt with was whether Chayle could accept these unimportant modifications. If they could, their work was done. If not, they must try to find a compromise. With this Tasker produced his draft.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he apologised, ‘that I’ve only one copy. As a matter of fact I typed it myself, and as I’m not a typist I funked the mysteries of carbon copies. However I think we can manage.’

  The document was to all intents and purposes a legally phrased draft of Haviland’s seven items. The alterations were comparatively trifling, with the single exception that for the words ‘seventy-five per cent’ in Clause 7, ‘twenty-five per cent’ had been substituted.

  As in Haviland’s draft, the first five clauses were in effect an agreement that the two firms would work together on equal terms and for their mutual benefit. As it happened, these non-contentious clauses spaced out so as to finish on Sheet 1. On Sheet 2 were typed Clauses 6 and 7, Clause 6, which agreed that the new process was the absolute property of Chayle, and Clause 7, which laid down that Joymount would work the process under licence from Chayle, paying a royalty thereon.

  The principal alterations introduced by Tasker were that Chayle thereby gave to Joymount a licence to use the process, which could not under any circumstances be revoked; that it mentioned the salient features of the process, to distinguish it from any other that might subsequently be evolved; that the royalty was to be calculated, not on the profits, but on the excess profits of the new process over those of the old; and of course that the royalty was to be twenty-five per cent and not seventy-five per cent of such profits.

  Following the example of Tasker a week before, Haviland expressed a lively satisfaction with the draft, which, he said
, seemed at first sight to be exactly what they wanted. ‘Except of course Clause 7,’ he went on. ‘We cannot think that you’re serious about the change in it.’

  Tasker repeated his suggestion that each clause should be taken in turn, and this was done. The first six clauses were debated, and after some further slight modifications had been introduced into the draft, were agreed to. Then they came to Clause 7.

  The framework of the clause gave little difficulty. Tasker accepted a modification that the royalty should be calculated from a figure to be certified by an agreed firm of auditors, and everything was settled except the question of the amount of the percentage.

  ‘Well,’ Tasker began, when at last they were face to face with the real issue, ‘I think I’ve already made our position clear. The process is ours, but because of the peculiar circumstances we’re willing to pay twenty-five per cent to be saved the annoyance of a police investigation. It’s not worth our paying more for this privilege. If you want to charge more, our answer would be to pay nothing and put up with the investigation.’

  Haviland shook his head gravely. ‘My colleagues and I understood you to say so,’ he said. ‘But we think that is due to failure to appreciate the real position. Again I am most anxious to avoid saying anything which might seem unpleasant, but do take it from me, gentlemen, that you couldn’t stand a police investigation.’

  ‘But don’t you think that’s our business and not yours?’ Tasker asked suavely.

  ‘No. It’s ours because you don’t know what information we are prepared to give the police, and we do. Therefore we are the best judges of the situation.’

  Tasker smiled. ‘If you want to impress us, I’m afraid you’ll have to tell us what that information is likely to be.’

  ‘Well,’ Haviland answered, ‘if you insist, I have no alternative but to do so, but you must realise that I could not supply details, as that might be giving away our privileged position. You see, I’m being perfectly straight with you.’

  ‘It’s the only way to reach a conclusion satisfactory to both sides.’

  If the thing hadn’t been so deadly serious, Brand would have laughed at the dignity of Tasker’s bluff. Once again he wondered whether Haviland was bluffing also, or whether there really was something to fear in the situation. Well, if the man were speaking the truth, they would soon know.

  ‘There are two things to which I might call your attention,’ Haviland went on. ‘The first is that the safes from which our £415 and the formula for our secret process were extracted were opened by keys—as of course you know. When I say our process was extracted, I don’t mean removed: I am aware that it was not taken away, but merely read and returned. Well, neither safe was opened by the Chayle keys: therefore keys were specially cut for the purpose. You follow?’

  ‘Your reasoning sounds conclusive.’

  ‘The police agree with it at all events. Now these keys were not cut by Clay; he hadn’t the knowledge or skill. They were cut by someone who obtained possession of either my or Mairs’s bunch.’

  Tasker nodded.

  ‘I have surely only to mention a certain journey I had the pleasure of taking with my friend—I hope I may say, my friend—Mr King. A journey in the tea car of the 4.50 from Waterloo to Portsmouth on the 27th of last July. I stupidly fell asleep in the train that afternoon. There was some little matter of a shortage of sugar. Twice I passed my sugar bowl to my travelling companion: once before I helped myself and once after. When I add that I afterwards found on my bunch of keys a tiny scrap of wax, you will see that I could scarcely avoid jumping to a certain conclusion.’

  ‘That is indeed interesting, but I don’t see that it affects the present argument.’

  ‘No? That’s because, as I have said, I have had to keep back a little fact. A very little fact, but quite conclusive. That fact is known by the three of us alone, but there is no reason why it should not be divulged to the police. If such became necessary I would say that a possible significance of it had just struck me, and did they think there was anything in it? They might be trusted, I think, to do the rest. That’s the first of the two matters.’

  ‘Very interesting indeed,’ Tasker said again.

  ‘I think so too,’ Haviland answered, ‘but to my mind this second item is a good deal more interesting still. We know who bought the car. I’m not going to tell you how we know, for the reason already given. But we can give absolute proof, if necessary. And you don’t need me to point out that whatever could be argued about bowls of sugar, only one explanation exists about the buying of cars.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Tasker dispassionately, ‘I think of the two, that is the more interesting piece of information. A pity though that you have to keep back everything that makes it convincing.’

  ‘Mr King may not think so,’ Haviland returned. ‘However, it’s now a matter for your good selves. I have given you a hint of the line our information would take. I only undertook to give a hint, and I explained why I could not give you more. The next move, gentlemen, is up to you.’

  ‘But, Haviland, suppose your theories were correct, which I deny, do you mean that you would be willing to become accessories after the fact?’

  ‘Certainly not. I’ve explained how we should avoid that. The same method would be adopted in each case—that we had the information, but didn’t realise what it involved.’

  ‘Do you think that would be believed?’

  Haviland shrugged. ‘It wouldn’t matter. It couldn’t be disproved.’

  ‘Then morally at least, you would be willing to compound a murder?’

  Haviland made a disclaiming gesture. ‘We have no responsibility for what happened. Nor are we the guardians of public morality nor yet the forces of the Crown. No, Tasker, we are, I hope, about to be friends and partners. We don’t wish trouble to our friends.’

  From this position neither argument nor blandishments could move him, and Tasker finally said he would like to retire with his colleagues to talk the matter over. While they were away, there was the whisky and the cigars and he hoped his visitors would make themselves at home.

  ‘Let’s go to your office, Brand,’ said Tasker in serious tones, ‘I may want you to get out some figures. I’m afraid,’ he went on when the door was shut, ‘they’ve got us. I’ve rather come round to Brand’s view that we should agree to their terms. What do you say now, King?’

  King shrugged. ‘I’m a bit shaken myself,’ he admitted. ‘If Haviland is prepared to swear it was I who passed him the sugar, it might be awkward enough. I’ve got an alibi for the night of Clay’s death, but not for that train journey.’

  ‘I think we should settle,’ Brand declared earnestly. These views he found very disquieting.

  ‘I don’t think we should settle straight off,’ Tasker returned. ‘I suggest still trying for better terms. But if they won’t give way I think we must.’

  After a little more discussion this was agreed to, and Tasker went on. ‘Now look here, I want some figures to argue from. First I want a statement of our costs for the new process, our estimated output with the new plant, and our estimated profits. I want these to show,’ and Tasker became technical. ‘I think, Brand,’ he resumed, ‘we could best get them out together, so that’s why I suggested we should come in here.’ He turned to King. ‘While Brand and I are doing this, King, I wish you’d make me out a short statement of how you reached the process. I don’t mean the story of your journey to Chayle’—he smiled slightly—‘but a rough note of the experiments which you say put you on the right track. It has occurred to me that it might make a good bluff. Can you do that quickly?’

  ‘In ten minutes. I’ve got all the experiments written up, and I’ve only to type out a covering note, showing how they’re connected.’

  ‘Good,’ said Tasker, ‘then get at it.’

  King went into his office next door and began clicking away on his typewriter. Tasker, as always, knew just what he wanted and kept Brand busy getting out figure after figure
from the books. These he wrote down as Brand gave them to him.

  ‘I may not use this,’ he said in respect of more than one, ‘but I want to have it in case of need.’

  King also seemed to know what he wanted. The noise of his typewriter was continuous, except on one or two occasions when Brand heard him opening and closing his safe. Then, as usual, came unmelodiously some bars of Schubert. Brand, whose nerves were on edge, swore. ‘I wish to heaven that blessed march had never been written,’ he grumbled. ‘If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it six million times!’

  As if King had heard the protest, the ‘Marche Militaire’ came to an untimely end and his speaking voice was heard instead.

  ‘You don’t want dates, I suppose, Tasker?’

  Tasker paused. ‘No, don’t trouble,’ he called back; ‘just the experiments.’

  ‘Right-ho!’ shouted King, and the typing began again. Presently the clicking stopped and King came in.

  ‘Do you think this is complete enough?’ he asked Tasker, holding out two typewritten sheets. ‘It’s a sort of synopsis of the job, correlating the experiments. These old sheets I’ve attached contain the details of the individual experiments.’

  Tasker looked at the work and agreed that it was what he wanted. He had not however got all he required from Brand, and King looked over their shoulders till the financial statement was complete.

  ‘These are tip-top,’ Tasker said at last. ‘With these figures and King’s experiments, we should be able to do something.’

  Thus girded for the fray, the three men returned to the scene of the battle.

  16

  Tragedy Comes Again to Chayle

  In this final round they found Haviland unexpectedly obdurate. Tasker put up a well reasoned case. He said he admitted that their aims and objects were identical, to get as much money out of the process as they could on the one hand, and on the other to avoid unpleasantness. Then he went on to figures, pointing out that while figures were not so important as principles, they had to deal with them. He stuck to it that the process used at Joymount had been worked out by King, produced the record of the experiments, and explained that they had been at the expense of carrying these out and of providing the necessary new plant. For this they were entitled to an adequate return. At the same time they recognised that Chayle could do them a service for which they agreed that it was right that they should pay. They thought that the twenty-five per cent that they had suggested was ample for this, but they didn’t want to quarrel with their new friends, and they were willing, if it would settle the question, to propose an even division of fifty-fifty.