Their conference had been arranged for 8.45 on the previous evening, and they had arrived at Joymount punctually—indeed slightly ahead of time owing to a strong following wind. The Joymount representatives had met them in a friendly way, and their business had been little more than to register the agreement which both sides had already reached. Tasker had typed out some clauses which had been considered and finally initialled. That brought it to about ten o’clock. Tasker had then insisted on their dividing a bottle of champagne to celebrate their achievement, and this took about half an hour. The three Joymount men came out to their wharf to see them off, and they had parted with congratulations on both sides.
No sooner had they started than Haviland said that as they had finished the conference earlier than they had expected, he would very much like to call for a few minutes at Hamble to enquire for his sister. Haviland’s sister had married a Major Ashe, and they had rung him up to say that she had had a son that day. He would look in for a moment if the others did not mind waiting. Both, of course, said they didn’t, and they put in at Hamble.
The Ashes lived about half a mile from the hard, and Haviland set off to walk. Mairs and Samson remained in the launch. They smoked and chatted over their recent meeting, while Samson amused himself by rubbing up the bright parts of the motor. After a while Haviland returned to say that his sister and the child were doing well, and they started for Chayle. Samson then repeated his story of the explosion.
Though Carter had taken the statement down in shorthand, French had made occasional notes of salient points. These he now studied. Then slowly he began to ask questions.
‘This whole disaster strikes one as a very extraordinary affair. Can you offer any theory as to what might have really taken place?’
‘Absolutely none, Chief-Inspector. It’s just about the most mysterious thing I’ve ever been up against.’
‘You think it wasn’t the petrol? It’s a petrol launch, isn’t it?’
‘It was,’ Samson returned wrily. ‘No, I don’t see how it could have been the petrol. There are three reasons why,’ and Samson repeated the arguments he had put up to Hanbury; the excellence of the petrol installation, the rapidity of the explosion, and the fact that a petrol fire would not have immediately sunk the launch. To this was now added the fact that a petrol explosion would never have caused the injuries found on Mairs’s body.
‘Supposing then it was not a petrol explosion,’ went on French, ‘it follows that some other explosive found it’s way aboard. Now, how could that have been?’
‘It couldn’t have been. I had none and I’m positive that neither Haviland nor Mairs would have brought any aboard without mentioning it. In fact, if either had done so, I should have seen it.’
‘Quite so.’ French nodded, then sat forward and spoke more gravely. ‘Now if this was not a petrol explosion, and if neither you nor Mr Haviland nor Mr Mairs took any explosive aboard, it follows that someone else must have done so. See where that leads us?’
Samson saw it only too clearly. From his manner French judged that he had seen it from the start.
‘Now I’d like to ask you two more questions. First leave out of account how such explosive could have been put on board and fixed up to go off at the right moment, and confine your attention to another point. Tell me who, in your opinion, might have wished such an accident to happen. Wait,’ he held up his hand as Samson would have spoken, ‘I want you to understand that answering this question does not mean that you are accusing anyone. If you imagine that any person or group of persons might have been glad to have you and your friends out of the way, your saying so will merely indicate to me a possible line of research.’
Samson smiled a trifle grimly. ‘If I thought anyone had tried to murder me, I should only want to get him hanged. But I don’t suspect anyone. And in any case, I don’t see how anyone could have tampered with the launch.’
‘That is my second question,’ French went on. ‘Why do you think the launch couldn’t have been tampered with? Weren’t all three of you away from it during your meeting?’
‘Yes, but there were a lot of people about the wharf. You know it, do you?’
‘Yes, I’ve been there.’
‘Well, we came in at the steps at the end of the wharf, close to the boathouse. Both the berths at the wharf were occupied by steamers, in fact, we had to go round the stern of one of them, which was projecting past the end of the wharf. Now that boat was loading: some hurry job in Plymouth, Tasker told us. She was loading when we went in and she was loading all the time we were there, and she was loading when we went away. No one could have tampered with the launch without being seen by the men.’
‘And did none of the men see anyone?’
‘I don’t know that. I mean that under those conditions no one would have risked monkeying with the launch.’
‘There’s something in that,’ French admitted, though with a mental reservation.
‘Now there’s nothing significant in this question,’ he went on, ‘I ask it as a matter of routine. Were the three Joymount men whom you went to meet, actually in your presence during the whole time you were out of your launch?’
Samson smiled. ‘That cat, I’m afraid, won’t jump, Chief-Inspector,’ he declared. ‘They were not in our presence all the time, but there’s nothing in it all the same. On our arrival King was waiting for us on the wharf. We went with him straight from the launch to their offices. Tasker and Brand were there. None of them therefore could have tampered with the launch before our meeting. And after our meeting they came down with us and saw us off. It’s true all three went out of the room in the middle of the negotiations to discuss one or two points in private. But they were within hearing all the time.’
‘All three?’
‘Yes. They went just across the passage and we could hear the murmur of Tasker’s and Brand’s voices, though we couldn’t hear what they were saying. We also heard King’s voice at intervals. He was typing some figures for Tasker, I think, for we heard his machine going, and at intervals he broke into song, as his habit is.’
‘So that whoever may be guilty, it wasn’t one of those three?’
‘It certainly was not.’
Again French sat thinking silently. His first idea had been that some of the Joymount people had after all murdered Clay and stolen the secret process, and that Chayle had somehow got wise to it and was holding it over them to obtain some business advantage: blackmailing them really. If this were so, to fake an accident which would destroy all three of the men who had this fatal knowledge would be a likely enough move. But now he began to wonder if he hadn’t been too ready to jump to conclusions. There were undoubted difficulties in the theory.
French was an immense believer in reconstructing his cases from the point of view of time. Now, while the affair was fresh in Samson’s memory, he obtained as accurate a timetable of their movements on the previous evening as the engineer could compile. This he noted in Bradshaw form as follows:
8.00 leave Chayle wharf.
8.40 arrive Joymount wharf.
8.50 begin conference.
10.00 finish conference and begin celebration.
10.30 leave Joymount wharf.
10.35 arrive Hamble.
11.20 depart Hamble.
11.45 explosion.
‘Tell me,’ he said, ‘did you know before you left Joymount that you were going to Hamble?’
‘No,’ said Samson, ‘none of us knew that. I believe Haviland only thought of it himself after we started. It was not till we had headed downstream that he suddenly suggested it, and I had to alter our course.’
‘Could Haviland have mentioned it to any of the Joymount people?’
‘As a matter of fact, he didn’t. I was with him all the time and I should have heard him if he had.’
French asked a number of further questions, but without learning anything more, and presently, with thanks to Samson for his help, he and Carter took their leave.
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br /> 18
French Gets Help from Routine
The interview with Samson had given French a number of lines of enquiry, and as they drove back to Cowes he arranged them in his mind in the order in which they could be most conveniently dealt with. The result was that he spent some minutes first with Hanbury, and on the telephone to Goodwilly in Southampton and Crawford in Eastleigh, arranging a programme of joint work. Then he further commandeered the superintendent’s car to convey himself and Carter to Ryde, where they arrived in time to catch the 2.55 boat to Portsmouth. From there they took the ferry to Gosport and after a short search among the shipping, they found the small collier Benbolt. By four o’clock they were on board and asking for the master.
French did not expect to learn much from his call, but he took it first on his programme for two reasons. First, he knew where the Benbolt was at the moment, but if he waited till she had discharged her cargo and left Gosport, it might be long enough before he found her again. Secondly, via Ryde, Portsmouth and Gosport was as good a way as any to Joymount, where he really wanted to go.
As he had foreseen, Captain Jones had little to add to his statement to Locke. He repeated it in detail, agreeing with Samson that petrol would never have produced so sharp a detonation.
French had hoped to begin his investigations at Joymount that day, but it was now too late. There was one enquiry he could make, however, and he began by looking up some place to stay near Joymount. He decided on Swanwick, to which they took the first train.
At the hotel he rang up Major Ashe, saying he wished to call that evening with reference to the death of his brother-in-law, and after dinner he hired a car and set off with Carter. By nine o’clock the two men reached Brantings, Major Ashe’s house near Hamble.
Here they speedily confirmed a part of Samson’s story. Haviland had called on the previous evening to enquire about his sister. His visit had been unexpected, and he had explained that it was due to a sudden idea which had occurred to him after leaving Joymount. Owing to the late hour the times of his arrival and departure had been noted. He had reached Brantings at 10.45 and left at 11.10.
French took the opportunity of being in the neighbourhood to walk from the house to the hard at Hamble, and found that it took about eight minutes. This pretty well confirmed Samson’s estimates that they had arrived at Hamble at 10.35 and left at 11.20.
Swanwick was convenient for Joymount, and next morning the two men got the car again and drove down to the works. They asked for Tasker and were immediately shown into his office.
French was considerably impressed with Tasker’s quiet efficiency. The managing director received his visitors with courtesy, but without effusion, and asked what he could do for them.
‘I understand, sir,’ French explained after the usual introductions had passed, ‘that it was from here that the party were going when the accident happened, and I want you to tell me everything you can about their visit in the hope of clearing up some of the mystery which surrounds their fate.’
Tasker was very willing to tell all he knew, though he did not think anything he could say would be of much use to the Chief-Inspector. He had been terribly shocked when he had heard what had taken place. The affair was a complete mystery to him and he could form no opinion of what had happened. As to a statement, he thought that it would be better if the Chief-Inspector would ask questions, which he would answer as completely as he could.
French began with the object of the visit, and Tasker told of the first coming of Haviland and Mairs, and their suggestion that the two firms should in future work in co-operation instead of in competition. He recounted the various negotiations which had taken place, and said that the meeting on the fatal Tuesday evening had been to put in writing the conclusions which had by then been reached. This had been done, and he produced and handed over the first sheet of the agreement, bearing as it did his own and Haviland’s initials and the date.
French read the document carefully, noted that the works were being treated on a basis of absolute equality, and returned the paper. He then went on to enquire as to the details of the interview. Tasker was perfectly open, but could tell him nothing which added to his knowledge. So far as he, Tasker, could see, everything was perfectly normal about both men and launch. He was however obviously surprised to learn that the trio had not gone straight back to Chayle. The launch, he said, had headed downstream, and he had not seen it turn across towards Hamble.
French then enquired if any of the three visitors had been out of Tasker’s sight for any time during the visit. Tasker replied, ‘only for ten or fifteen minutes,’ and went on to say that he and his friends had left the conference for about that time, in order to get out certain figures which he thought he might require in the discussion. Both Brand and King had helped him with these, Brand on the financial side, and King on the technical.
French next asked if the three Joymount men were together during the time they were out of the conference room. To this Tasker replied that they were—practically. He and Brand had been in Brand’s room working together and King had been in his next door, typing some required data.
All this confirmed Samson’s statement. French had never, as a matter of fact, suspected Tasker of crime—only Brand and King. When therefore he had got all the information he could from Tasker, he went on with somewhat greater eagerness to interrogate Brand.
Brand however corroborated Tasker on every point. French was not surprised at this. Either their statements were true, in which case they would naturally be the same, or they were false, in which case they would have carefully arranged what was to be said. But French’s interest was aroused by Brand’s manner. He seemed nervous, even apprehensive, and was obviously relieved when his interrogation was over. It almost looked as if he knew something material. On the other hand French felt satisfied that he was innocent of the launch explosion, his horror and bewilderment at the disaster being obviously genuine.
King, whom French next interrogated, also told the same story, and when he considered the corroboration of Samson, French felt that he must accept the statements. This corroboration of Samson’s was very convincing, as had the Chayle engineer suspected the Joymount men’s guilt, he would have been the first to declare it.
Another of Samson’s statements was that, whenever the explosive might have been put aboard the launch, it could not have been done while at Joymount. To test this conclusion was the next item on French’s list.
He went down to the wharf with the three men and got them to point out to him where the launch was moored, and also to explain just what work had been in progress during the time of the visit. Then he began to note and consider.
The wharf was of simple construction. The river bank had been sloped down uniformly and pitched with stones to preserve it from wave action. On this sloped bank was erected the wharf proper, which was composed of reinforced concrete piles, carrying a reinforced concrete deck. About halfway up the longer piles and visible only at low water, were horizontal walings, tying the various piles together, both longways and crossways.
The structure was about a hundred feet long, and at the right hand end were the boat steps. These followed the slope of the pitching, but were raised about two feet above it, so that the bow or stern of a boat could come to the steps at any state of the tide. On the other side of the steps to the wharf the small basin had been dredged, on to which the works boathouse opened.
On the Tuesday night, so Tasker explained, the Chayle launch had been moored to the steps. Though the tide was fairly high, the water was still seven or eight feet below the top of the wharf, and it would have been quite impossible for anyone to have got into her otherwise than from the steps. Two small steamers were at the wharf. That nearest the steps, the Lucy Jane, was taking a cargo of cement to Plymouth, and as it was to fill an urgent order, work had been carried on till midnight. Under the circumstances no one could possibly have gone down the steps to the launch unseen by the workmen.
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Of these workmen, Tasker explained, two were concerned with the general direction of operations and with tallying on behalf of the company and the carriers respectively. There was at the winch on the steamer a driver, and there were six men wheeling forward and loading the bags of cement, though these latter were alternatively on the wharf and in the works yard. The wharf moreover was well lighted.
As French pictured the scene, he became convinced that Samson was correct in saying that no one could have reached the launch unnoticed by these men. The launch itself would have been out of sight, being screened by the end of the wharf. But the approach to the steps would have been in their full view.
French next had the Joymount men who had been present sent out to him. The tallyman was absolutely positive that no one had passed. So were the six wheelers, and as there had never been less than three of them on the wharf at any one time, French felt he must accept their statements. His belief in their reliability was strengthened by the fact that they had noticed the presence of all those who were known to have used the wharf.
French left Joymount with the unhappy consciousness that what had seemed a promising line of investigation looked like petering out. As he and Carter drove back to Swanwick he felt that he must try elsewhere for his solution. Arrived at the hotel he sat down, lit a pipe, and gave himself up to thought.
From the moment he had heard the details of the explosion, the idea of a time bomb had been subconsciously in his mind. He imagined that someone wishing the destruction of the Chayle principals, had hidden a time bomb in the launch. This idea still seemed to him more probable than any other, but he now began to reverse his original opinion that the bomb had been placed at Joymount. He wondered if it could have been set before the launch left Chayle.
Mystery on Southampton Water Page 21