The Mystery of the Downs

by John R. Watson and Arthur J. Rees

  CHAPTER XX

  DINNER was just over at Sir George Granville's house, and Crewe, onhearing that Detective Gillett and Sergeant Westaway had called to seehim, took them into the library at his host's suggestion.

  "I have seen Grange and his wife, and also Mrs. Penfield," said Gillett.

  "And what did you get from them?" asked Crewe.

  "A great deal of interesting information--and most of it bearing outyour theory, Mr. Crewe. I must say that this crime has more twists andturns than any I have ever had anything to do with."

  "I formed the impression some time ago that it was a complicated andinteresting case," said Crewe.

  "And I want to say, Mr. Crewe, that you have been a great help to us.If it wasn't for you we shouldn't have got on the right track so soon,should we, sergeant?"

  Sergeant Westaway, who was not very quick at arriving at conclusions,had discovered that Detective Gillett was generally ready to call himto official comradeship in the mistakes that had been made, but lessdisposed to give him an equal share in any success achieved. He noddedin silent acquiescence with the admission that they owed something toCrewe.

  "And whom did you see first?" asked Crewe.

  "I went to the garage first to learn about the motor-car Brett hired,"said Gillett. "I had a look at their books, and found that he had thecar on Friday afternoon. Gosford will not only swear by his books,but he remembers quite distinctly that it was on Friday that Bretthad the car. As he told you, the next thing he heard of it was thatit was lying in the ditch about six miles away. He says Brett, whentelephoning, said he was speaking from Lewes--but that is probablya lie. As Brett was making his escape he would not be likely to saywhere he was. But I can easily find out from the telephone exchangewhere the call came from. It was a trunk call, and the only trunk callGosford received that day, so there will be no difficulty in getting itfrom the records of the exchange. Then I went to Brett's lodgings inWhitethorn Gardens. This woman, Mrs. Penfield, tried to bluff me--shesaid she was certain that Brett had left on Thursday, and that Gosfordwas mistaken in thinking Brett had the car on Friday. But, when Ithreatened to arrest her for being an accessory, she broke down andadmitted that Brett left her place after lunch on Friday to drive toCliff Farm, and that she has not seen or heard of him since."

  "Not seen or heard of him?" echoed Crewe meditatively.

  "By this time I felt that I was getting on," continued DetectiveGillett.

  Sergeant Westaway nodded to himself in sour depression at thedeliberate exclusion of himself from the story of progress.

  "I next called at Grange's shop. Westaway showed me the place."

  "Ah!" exclaimed the sergeant, as if he were in pain.

  "I explained to Grange who I was, and he nearly fell through the floorwith fright. I saw there would not be much difficulty in dealing withhim. But the ugly little dwarf upstairs was a different proposition.She protested that she and her husband knew nothing about Cliff Farm,or what had happened there. Even when I produced the hat you gave meshe would not give in. But when I produced the comb--it is exactlysimilar to the one she was wearing--it made an impression, and thenwhen I followed that up with a threat to arrest them both----"

  "Ah!" interrupted Crewe with a smile, "that is where you Scotland Yardmen have the advantage. And I must say that you don't neglect to use iton every occasion. If I could only threaten people with arrest I shouldbe able to surmount many of the difficulties which confront me fromtime to time."

  "It is a good card," admitted Detective Gillett, with the pride of aman who holds a strong hand which he has dealt himself. "It enabled meto get their story out of them, and a most interesting story it is."

  "I thought it would be," said Crewe.

  "The body was brought to the farm by Brett. Grange and his wife were inthe house when he carried it upstairs."

  "But did Brett know they were there?" asked Crewe.

  "He did not; he never suspected there was anybody in the house. Theyhid on the top floor."

  "And they were there when Miss Maynard came after Brett had gone," saidCrewe, pursuing a train of thought. "They were there when Marsland andshe went up to the first floor and discovered the body. It was Grangewho knocked over the picture at the top of the staircase, and causedthe noise which alarmed Marsland and Miss Maynard."

  "Right," said Gillett. "You seem to know the whole story; it is notworth while for me to go over it."

  "Oh, yes it is. If you got the whole truth out of that little dwarfand her husband, you will be able to fill in for me some blanks in myreconstruction of the crime."

  Detective Gillett was mollified by the assurance that he had in hispossession some information which was new to Crewe, and he resumed hisstory with interest:

  "What do you think took the Granges over to the farm? It was to hold aseance there with the object of finding where old grandfather Lumsdenhad hidden his money. Young Lumsden had heard from Murchison somethingabout the dwarf's psychic powers, and in company with Brett he wentto see her. First of all they produced the cryptogram old Lumsden hadleft behind, and asked Grange if he knew anything about cryptograms orcould get them a book on how to solve them. Grange couldn't help themthere, and from that the conversation turned to spiritualism, and oneof them--probably Brett--suggested that Mrs. Grange should try to solvethe cryptogram by getting into communication with the spirit of oldLumsden and asking him where he had hidden the money. A splendid idea,don't you think, Mr. Crewe?"

  "Excellent!"

  "There is nothing in this spiritualistic business," said SergeantWestaway, with official certainty. "No good ever comes of those whodabble in it--I've seen cases of the kind at Ashlingsea. We had a sortof medium there once, but I managed to clear her out, after a lot oftrouble."

  "Once spiritualism gets into good working order there will be no workfor police or detectives, sergeant," said Crewe. "The mediums will saveall the trouble of collecting evidence."

  "I don't believe in it at all; it is nothing but fraud and deception,"returned Sergeant Westaway.

  "Here is the cryptogram," said Detective Gillett.

  He held out to Crewe a sheet of paper which he took from hispocket-book.

  --------

  Handwritten Text

  6 8 6 8 89 10 80 11 72 150 54 13 396 51 17 6 39 19 27 20 26 21 25 23

  Take heed and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the twotails of those smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin withSyria, and of the son of Remaliah.

  Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken civilcounsel against thee, saying,

  Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breachtherein for us, and set a King in the midst of it, even the son ofTabeal:

  Thus saith the Lord God. It shall not stand, neither shall it come topass.

  And all the Kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and allthe kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: andthe King of Sheshak shall drink after them.

  Therefore, thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, andthe God of wrath: "Drink ye and be drunken, and spue and fall, and riseno more, because of the sword which I will send among you."]

  ---------

  "A curious document!" said Crewe, examining it intently.

  "I got it from the dwarf woman," said Gillett. "She had it hidden awayin her sitting-room."

  "I suppose she didn't want to part with it?"

  "She did not. But when I threatened to arrest----"

  "Well, I can honestly congratulate you on getting it," said Crewe. "Ihave been very anxious to see it. This is the cryptogram that Marslandfound on the stairs, and subsequently disappeared from the house. Mrs.Grange secured it before she left the house, after the departure ofMarsland and Miss Maynard."

  "That is what I thought, but the dwarf says, 'No
.' She says that thisis the original cryptogram, and that she got it from young Lumsdenin order to study it before holding a seance. Lumsden would not partwith it until he had made a copy, in case anything happened to theoriginal. Mrs. Grange took the original with her over to Cliff Farm,but it has never been out of her possession since Lumsden gave it toher. She did not see the copy Lumsden made; she did not see it at thehouse, and does not know what became of it. However, the copy is of noconsequence."

  "Oh, isn't it?" said Crewe. "I would like to know where it went. Thecryptogram can be solved just as well from the copy as the original."

  "It probably got blown away and destroyed," said Detective Gillett."There was a high wind that night."

  "You might leave this with me for a day or two," said Crewe, looking atthe cryptogram earnestly. "I take an interest in cryptograms."

  "You must take great care of it," Detective Gillett replied. "I shallwant to produce it as evidence at the trial."

  "When you get Brett?"

  "Yes. And now let us get back to my story. It was arranged that aseance should be held at the farm on Friday, October 16th."

  "Who was to be there?" asked Crewe.

  "Grange and his wife, Lumsden, Brett and Miss Maynard. This young ladyhas been playing a deep game, as you suggested. I will settle with herto-morrow."

  "And this man, Tom Jauncey, who was shot in the arm, wasn't he one ofthe party?"

  "No."

  "I thought he might be there to represent the unpaid legatees," saidCrewe.

  "I have no doubt that he knew about the seance--that he had heard Brettand Miss Maynard talking about it. Brett was in the habit of visitingthe young lady at her home. No doubt Jauncey went out to the farm inorder to learn what happened, and see if the money was found."

  "That is much more likely than that he went there to dig in the garden."

  "Let me reconstruct the crime for you, Mr. Crewe. I have got all thethreads," said Detective Gillett eagerly. "The seance was to takeplace at 6 p. m. on Friday. The dwarf and her husband went over to theplace in the afternoon in the motor-boat belonging to old Pedro. Theyclimbed the cliff, and on reaching the farm found that there was no oneabout, but that the front door was not locked. Lumsden had gone for awalk along the Staveley road to meet Brett, who was to motor over, andhe had left the door unlocked, so that, if any of his guests arrivedduring his absence, they could enter the house and make themselves athome. He was not afraid of thieves going there, for very few peopletravel along that road on foot. That was the arrangement he had madewith the Granges.

  "They entered the house, and had a look round the old place. No doubtit occurred to them that if they were thoroughly acquainted with therooms, and all the nooks and crannies, they would be able to give amore impressive seance. And perhaps they had an idea that in searchinground they might find the money without the assistance of the formerowner's spirit, in which case, I have no doubt, they would have helpedthemselves. They had reached the house about 5 o'clock, and they hadnot been there half an hour before the storm began to burst, and it gotdark.

  "It was probably the noise of the rising wind which prevented themhearing Brett's motor-car, and the first intimation they had that anyone had arrived was hearing the front door open. They had closed itwhen they entered the house, their object being to examine the roomsundisturbed. Brett, thinking there was no one in the house, opened thedoor with Lumsden's key. The Granges who were on the top floor did notcall out to him, as they had no satisfactory explanation to offer forexploring the house. They saw Brett staggering up the stairs carryingsomething on his left shoulder. At first they could not make out whatit was, as it was dark inside the house. Half-way up the stairs Brettcame to a halt to shift his burden, and he turned on an electric torchin order to see where he was. By the light of the torch the Grangessaw that Brett was carrying the body of a man. They thought at firstthat Lumsden had been injured in an accident to the motor-car, but thefact that they heard no voices subsequently--that Brett did not speakaloud--convinces me that you were right, and that Lumsden was dead.

  "Brett entered the room on the left of the stairs on the first floor,and was there some minutes--probably getting Lumsden's pocket-book, anddisarranging the papers it contained in the way we saw. Then he wentdownstairs, and a few moments later the little dwarf, who was leaningover the staircase, saw him moving about below, with the torch in onehand and a bucket in the other. He began washing away the stains ofblood in the hall, and on the staircase. He came up the stairs one byone with his bucket and torch, searching for blood-stains, and swabbingthem with the cloth whenever he found them. After cleaning thestairs and landing in this way, he went downstairs with the bucket.A minute later he came back to the room which he had first entered,and immediately afterwards they heard a shot. This was the shot firedthrough the window. No doubt the bullet hit the cherry-tree, and thenstruck Jauncey in the arm. It seems a strange thing that Jauncey knewnothing about the motor-car at the gate. But of course it had nolights, and Jauncey, intent on spying, did not go up to the front gateto enter the garden. He must have got through the hedge lower down, andmade his way across the home field. I must see him about this and askhim.

  "After firing the shot Brett went downstairs again, and the Granges sawno more of him," continued Detective Gillett. "No doubt Brett foundLumsden's boots in the kitchen, as you said, and after putting them onforced the window downstairs and climbed out. He got into his car anddrove off without lights, being very thankful to get away without anyone seeing him--as he thought.

  "The Granges did not know he had gone, and while they were quakingupstairs, wondering what to do, the front door was opened again andthere was a light step in the hall. This was Miss Maynard. She hadfound the key in the lock which Brett had left there. By this time thestorm had reached the farm. There was a high wind with heavy drops ofrain. Miss Maynard, unconscious that there was a dead man upstairs,and Grange and his wife on the floor above, lighted the candle on thehallstand, and then took it into the sitting-room, where Brett had gotout of the house. She sat down to wait for the appearance of Brettand Lumsden. No doubt the fact that she had found the key in thedoor convinced her that they were in the outbuildings. According tothe Granges' story, Miss Maynard arrived less than ten minutes afterBrett's final trip downstairs, and about a quarter of an hour after herarrival there came a knock at the front door. This was Captain Marsland.

  "The rest of the story we know, from Captain Marsland's statement toWestaway, the only thing that is wrong with it being his omission ofall mention of Miss Maynard. Grange, bending over the stairs to watch,knocked down the picture that made such a crash. When Captain Marslandand Miss Maynard found the body, she knew immediately that Brett musthave had something to do with the tragedy, and therefore she askedCaptain Marsland to say nothing about her presence there. If he haddone so she would have had to give us an account of her movements,and the object of her visit there, and all this would have directedsuspicion to Brett.

  "Not till half an hour after Grange and his wife heard the door close,when Captain Marsland and Miss Maynard departed, did they venturedownstairs. They looked in at the room in which the body had beentaken, and by the light of matches they saw the dead man in the chair.They got away from the house as fast as they could. They found thepath down the cliff, and while Grange was helping his wife down ithis hat blew off. He thought nothing of this at the time. In the oldboat-house at the foot of the cliff they found Pedro, who had beensheltering there from the storm. They waited in the boat-house untilthe storm abated, and about nine o'clock they pushed off in the boatfor Staveley, which they were unable to reach until nearly midnight,owing to the rough sea running.

  "They decided to say nothing about what they knew, their intentionbeing to keep out of the whole affair. They were afraid that they wouldbe worried a great deal by the police if they said anything, and theywere still more afraid that the fact that they had been connected witha murder would ruin their business. In the morning old Pedro was sento
ver to the landing-place to find the hat Grange had lost."

  "A very interesting story," said Crewe.

  "It is," said Gillett with pride in his success as a narrator. "And itwon't lose much in dramatic interest when it is unfolded in evidence atthe trial. In fact, I think it will gain in interest. What a shock itwill be to Brett when he finds that he was seen carrying the body ofLumsden upstairs!"

  "You are convinced that Brett was the murderer?" asked Crewe.

  "Absolutely certain. Aren't you?"

  "No."

  Detective Gillett stared in surprise at the inscrutable face of theman whose powers of deduction he had learned to look on with admiringawe. Sergeant Westaway, whose legs had become cramped owing to hisuncomfortable attitude in a low chair, shifted his position uneasily,and also looked intently at Crewe.

  "Then whom do you suspect?" exclaimed Gillett in astonishment.

  "Suspect?" said Crewe with a slight note of protest in his voice. "Isuspect no one. Suspicions in regard to this, that and the other merelycloud the view. Let us look at the facts and see what they prove."

  "I don't think you want better proof of murder than that the man whowas seen carrying the body of the murdered man subsequently disappears,in order to escape being questioned by the police."

  "It looks what you call suspicious," said Crewe, "but it is not proof.You assume that Brett is the murderer, but you do not know any of thecircumstances under which the crime was committed."

  "Lumsden was walking along the road to meet Brett. They did meet, andin discussing this seance they quarrelled about the division of themoney."

  "But why quarrel about dividing the money before the money was found?They already had had some disappointments about finding the money."

  "They may have quarrelled about something else. But why did Brettdisappear, and why did he take the body to the farm and endeavour tomanufacture misleading clues?"

  "I admit that his conduct is suspicious--that it is difficult toaccount for. But if he is guilty--if he shot Lumsden on the road orwhen they were driving along the road--why did he take the body to thefarm where it was sure to be discovered, as he knew the Granges wereto get there by 6 p. m.? Wouldn't it have been better for him to hidethe body in a field or a ditch? That would have given him more time toescape."

  "He took the body to the farm for the purpose of making us believethat the murder was committed there," rejoined Gillett slowly andpositively.

  "And then disappeared in order to direct the police suspicions tohimself," said Crewe.

  "No doubt he was inconsistent," Gillett admitted. "But a murderermanufacturing false clues would scarcely be in the frame of mind tothink out everything beforehand. The object of leaving false clues wasto get sufficient time to escape. Surely, Mr. Crewe, you are not goingto say that you believe Brett had nothing to do with the murder--thathe is an innocent man?"

  "I believe that he knows more about the crime than you or I, and thathe disappeared in order to escape being placed in a position in whichhe would have to tell most of what he knows."

  "And another person who knows a great deal about the crime is MissMaynard," said Gillett.

  "Yes. I think you have some awkward questions to ask her."

  "I have," replied the Scotland Yard representative emphatically.

  "You might ask her where she got Marsland's eyeglasses that she droppeddown the well. The boots and revolver she got from Brett--or perhapsBrett dropped them there himself on the night of the murder. But theeyeglasses are a different thing."

  "She may have picked them up in the house, or along the garden path. Iunderstand that Captain Marsland lost a pair of glasses that night."

  "He did, but not the pair that were found in the well. The pair that helost that night he has not found, but the pair you found in the wellwere in his possession for nearly a week after the murder. He is quitesure on that point, but does not know where he lost them."

  "Of course, he knows that it was Miss Maynard who tried to direct oursuspicions to him?" asked Gillett.

  "I told him very little, and what I did tell him was for the purpose ofsatisfying him on a few minor points. That was implied in my promise toyou. But he asked about her before I had mentioned her name. He askedif you had seen her."

  "And I suppose he was very indignant with her?"

  "No. He took it all very calmly. His calmness, his indifference, struckme as remarkable in one who has suffered from nervous shock."

  "I would like to apologize to him if he is anywhere about--if it is nottoo much trouble to send for him."

  "Not at all," said Crewe. He touched the bell, and when the parlourmaid appeared, he sent her in search of Captain Marsland.

  The young man entered the room a few minutes later in evening dress,and nodded cheerfully to the two police officials. He listened witha forgiving smile to Detective Gillett's halting apology for havingbelieved that he had endeavoured to mislead the police in the statementmade to Sergeant Westaway on the night of the murder.

  "Miss Maynard will find that she has over-reached herself," saidGillett to the young man in conclusion. "I will look her up in themorning and frighten the truth out of her. She knows more about thecrime than any one--except Brett. As far as I can see she will belucky if she escapes arrest as an accomplice."

  "Have you ever considered, Gillett, the possibility of her having beenthe principal?" asked Crewe.

  "No," said the detective, who obviously was surprised at thesuggestion. "Do you think that she fired the shot; that she and Brettare both in it?"

  "She fits into the tragedy in a remarkable way--she fits into the storytold by the Granges."

  "Yes," said the detective doubtfully. "She does."

  "Let us attempt to reconstruct the crime with her as the person whofired the shot," continued Crewe. "Mrs. Grange was to hold a seance atthe farmhouse about 6 p. m. Lumsden, Brett and this girl were to bepresent. Lumsden walked along the road to Staveley in the expectationof meeting Brett, who was to drive over in a motor-car. Miss Maynard,who was a good walker, set out from Ashlingsea. She left early in theafternoon, in the expectation that Brett would be at the farmhouseearly. She found no one there and then set out along the Staveley roadto meet Brett. He was late in starting from Staveley, and she metLumsden, who, perhaps, was returning along the road. They decided tosit down for a little while and wait for Brett. Lumsden, who was inlove with her, was overcome by passion, and seized her in his arms.There was a struggle in which the revolver that Lumsden carried fellout of his belt. She picked it up and in desperation shot him. A fewminutes later Brett arrived in his car. He was horrified at what hadoccurred but his first thought was to save the girl he loved from theconsequences of her act. He lifted the body of Lumsden into the car,and with Miss Maynard beside him on the front seat, drove to thefarmhouse. She waited in the car while he carried the body into thehouse, and took steps for giving the impression that Lumsden was shotby some one who broke into the house. Then he went back to the car, andafter giving the girl his final directions bade her a tender farewell.She entered the house and waited in accordance with the plan Brett hadthought out. She expected the Granges to arrive at any moment; she didnot know they were hiding upstairs. Brett's plan was that she and theGranges should discover the body. That would clear her of suspicion ofcomplicity in the tragedy. Marsland came to the house, and for MissMaynard's purpose he suited her better than the Granges because he tookon himself the discovery of the body and, at her request, kept her nameout of it to the police. Brett disappeared that night, ostensibly onsecret service work. His object was to shield his fiancee by directingsuspicion to himself."

  "I don't think Brett is capable of such chivalry," said Marsland.

  "It is a very ingenious theory, very ingenious, indeed," said Gillett."I don't say that it is absolutely correct, Mr. Crewe, but thereconstruction is very clever. What do you say, Westaway?"

  "Very ingenious--very clever," said the Sergeant. "Only it is no goodasking me to believe that Miss Maynar
d did it; I could never bringmyself to believe that she was capable of it. I have known her sinceshe was a little girl. She is the daughter of a highly respected----"

  "We know all about that," said Gillett impatiently. "But lots ofhighly respectable people commit murder, Westaway. Even among thecriminal classes there are no professional murderers. I'll see thisyoung lady in the morning, Mr. Crewe, and let you know the result. Ithink I can promise that I'll shake the truth out of her."