CHAPTER XVIII
"YOU are on the wrong track, Mr. Crewe," said Gillett, who wasdetermined not to part with the theory he had built up round theevidence he had collected. "I was positive the murder took place inthe house. This man Jauncey, whom I mentioned, can swear that he hearda shot fired. And more than that, he can swear that he was hit by thebullet. This is the bullet that was extracted from his wound in theleft arm. It fits this revolver."
"My dear Gillett, I don't dispute any of these things," said Crewe."They merely support my contention that the murder was not committedat the farm, but that the body was brought there, and that the man whotook the body there took certain steps with the object of creating theimpression that the tragedy took place in the room in which the bodywas found."
"What evidence have you of that?" asked Sergeant Westaway, coming tothe aid of his official superior.
"The bullet that killed Lumsden went clear through his body--so muchwas decided at the post-mortem examination," Crewe said. "But that factwas also evident from a cursory examination of the body, as we saw itin the chair. You will remember that I drew attention to the fact whenwe were looking at the body. Your theory is that the shot was fired asLumsden was standing at the window, with his back towards his murderer,that the bullet went through him, through the window, and lodged inthe arm of this man Jauncey who stated he was outside in the garden.But the course of the bullet through Lumsden's body was slightlyupward. How in that case could it strike downward and wound a man onthe ground ten or twelve feet below the windows on the first story?"
"The bullet might have been deflected by the glass of the window," saidGillett.
"It might have been, but it is highly improbable that ordinarywindow-glass would deflect a bullet--even a spent one. In any case thisbullet hit the cherry-tree outside the window before hitting Jauncey.You will find that it cut the bark of the cherry-tree--the mark is 4ft. 41/2 inches from the ground."
"Then it was the cherry-tree that deflected it?" said Sergeant Westaway.
"Yes and no," said Crewe. "Certainly its course was deflected downwardsafter hitting the cherry-tree--I assume that Jauncey was close to thetree. But if it had not been travelling downwards, it would have hitthe tree much higher up--somewhere near the level of the window. Thebullet that hit Jauncey was fired in the room in which we saw the body,but it was fired by the man who took the body to the farm, with theintention of giving the impression that the crime took place there.Knowing that the bullet which killed Lumsden had gone through his body,he placed the body in a chair near the window and then fired a shotthrough the window. He made the mistake of going close up to the windowto fire, and as a result he fired downwards instead of on a level atthe height of the wound in Lumsden's body."
"If that is all you have to support your theory----" began DetectiveGillett.
"It isn't all," said Crewe, with a slight indication of impatience. "Itis only my first point. You will recall that on the stairs there wereindications that a wet rag had been used for wiping away some tracesor stains. Inspector Payne suggested that the rag had been used towipe away muddy boot-marks on the stairs--the traces of these boots.These boots were not worn by the man as he went upstairs; he put themon afterwards. Presently I will tell you why he did. But the markson the stairs were not the marks of muddy boots. They were stains ofblood which dropped from the dead man's wound, as his body was carriedupstairs. These marks are in the hall leading to the stairs and on thelanding leading to the room in which the body was placed. In the roomitself no attempt to remove the blood-stains was made, because theywere an indication that the shooting took place there. If he had beenaware that there was a stain of blood on the latch-key which he tookfrom the dead man's pocket, he would have washed it away."
"If he had possession of the key in order to get the body into thehouse in the way you state, Mr. Crewe, why did he break into the house?Remember one of the downstairs windows was forced."
"It was forced by the man who took the body there. But he forced itin breaking out of the house--not in breaking into it. He wanted togive the impression that some one had broken into the house, but hewas pressed for time--he was anxious to get away. In searching for arag in the kitchen with which to wipe out the blood-stains, he sawthese boots. They belonged to Lumsden, as you have said, but it wasmore likely that Lumsden kept them in the kitchen than in the barn orcowshed. This man--let us call him the murderer--saw in the boots ameans of averting suspicion from himself. He decided to leave cluesthat would suggest that the murderer broke into the house. But, insteadof going out of the front door and breaking into the house, he forcedthe window from inside the room. Then, with these boots on, he climbedout of the window backwards, and when he reached the ground he walkedbackwards across the garden bed to the path in order to give theimpression that some one had walked forwards across the bed to thewindow.
"You saw from the sash of the window that the catch had been forcedback by a knife, but apparently you overlooked the fact that the marksof the knife are much broader at the top, where the catch is, than atthe bottom, where the knife would enter if the catch had been forcedby some one outside. It was at the top, near the catch, and not atthe bottom below it, that the knife was inserted; that is to say, theknife was used by some one inside the room. The footprints outside thewindow showed that they were made by a person walking backwards; theimpression from the toe to the ball of the foot being very distinct andthe rest of the foot indistinct. A person in walking backwards putsdown his toes first, and gradually brings the rest of his foot down;a person walking forwards puts his heel down first and then puts downthe rest of his foot as he brings his weight forward. Our man, havingmade his way to the garden path from the window, walked along the pathto the motor-car at the gate, probably carrying his own boots in hishand. As soon as he entered his car he drove off along the road in thedirection of Staveley with the lights out. He took a risk in travellingin the dark, and in spite of the fact that he knew the road well hecame to grief before he reached Staveley."
"How do you know all this?" asked Gillett. "How do you know he had acar?" He had not given up his own theory in favour of Crewe's, but herealized that Crewe's theory was the more striking one.
"In Marsland's statement he said that his horse swerved from somethingin the dark as he was coming down the Cliff road, and fell lame," saidCrewe. "The horse shied at the motor-car as it passed. Marsland neithersaw nor heard the car because of the darkness, intensified by thestorm, and because of the roar of the wind and waves."
"You don't really expect us to regard the swerving of the horse asproof there was a motor-car there?" demanded Gillett, with a superiorsmile.
"Contributory proof," said Crewe. "If you went along the cliff road,as I did on leaving the farm after meeting you there, you wouldhave noticed that the danger post nearest the farm was out of theperpendicular. That was not the case previous to the night of thestorm. This motor-car without lights bumped into it. The mark ofthe wheels where the car had left the road was quite plain when Ilooked--it had not been obliterated by the rain. Four miles away thecar was run into the ditch and overturned. I saw it as Sir GeorgeGranville and I drove along to Cliff Farm on Saturday morning. Ifyou want information concerning it and the person who drove it youcan obtain it at Gosford's garage at Staveley. The car was hired fromGosford."
"By whom?" asked Gillett.
"By a man named Arnold Brett, who was a very close friend of the deadman."
"I know all about Brett from Inspector Murchison," said Gillett. "Herang me up about him and promised to let me know when he came backto his lodgings at Staveley. He said that Brett was a close friendof Lumsden's, and would probably be able to give us some usefulinformation when he returns."
"When will he return?" asked Crewe.
"You think he has cleared out?" suggested Gillett.
"I'm sure of it," was the reply.
"Murchison gave the impression that he was sure to come back--thathe had left Staveley the day before the mu
rder. I understood fromMurchison that Brett is doing some secret service work for theGovernment, and that it was quite a regular thing for him to disappearsuddenly."
"No doubt it was," said Crewe. "But this time he is not coming back."
"I'll ring up Murchison," said Gillett.
"Don't waste your time," was Crewe's reply. "Murchison is an excellentfellow--an ideal police official for a quiet seaside place wherenothing happens, but too genial and unsuspecting for an emergency ofthis kind. Go and see Brett's apartments at Staveley--No. 41 WhitethornGardens--and the landlady, Mrs. Penfield, will tell you as she toldMurchison, and as she told me also, that Brett left Staveley on secretservice work on Thursday morning, 15th October, and that she expectshim back at any moment. But go to Gosford and he will show you the carthat Brett hired on Friday.
"He will tell you that on Saturday about midday Brett rang him up--fromLewes, Gosford says, but it was more probably from Marlingsea, on hisway to London--and told him that he had met with an accident with thecar, and that it was lying in the ditch on the side of the road aboutsix miles out from Staveley on the road to this place. It was therethat Gosford's foreman found the car when he went for it. If Bretthired a car at Staveley on Friday he couldn't have left Staveley onThursday, as his landlady says. She doesn't know what to think inregard to this murder, but she is ready to shield Brett all she canbecause she is in love with him."
The Mystery of the Downs Page 18