There was a pause. Then Superintendent Harper, his unemotional voice robbing the question of any offense, asked, "May I ask what your son-in-law and daughter-in-law said to that?"
Jefferson's answer came back quickly. "What could they say? They didn't, perhaps, like it very much. It's the sort of thing that arouses prejudice. But they behaved very well yes, very well. It's not as though, you see, they were dependent on me. When my son Frank married, I turned over half my worldly goods to him then and there. I believe in that. Don't let your children wait until you're dead. They want the money when they're young, not when they're middle-aged. In the same way, when my daughter Rosamund insisted on marrying a poor man, I settled a big sum of money on her. That sum passed to him at her death. So, you see, that simplified the matter from the financial angle."
"I see, Mr. Jefferson," said Superintendent Harper.
But there was a certain reserve in his tone. Conway Jefferson pounced upon it. "But you don't agree, eh?"
"It's not for me to say, sir, but families, in my experience, don't always act reasonable." "I dare say you're right, superintendent, but you must remember that Mr. Gaskell and Mrs. Jefferson aren't, strictly speaking, my family. They're not blood relations."
"That, of course, makes a difference," admitted the superintendent.
For a moment Conway Jefferson's eyes twinkled. He said, "That's not to say that they didn't think me an old fool. That would be the average person's reaction. But I wasn't being a fool! I know character. With education and polishing Ruby Keene could have taken her place anywhere."
Melchett said, "I'm afraid we're being rather impertinent and inquisitive, but it's important that we should get at all the facts. You proposed to make full provision for the girl that is, settle money upon her but you hadn't already done so?"
Jefferson said, "I understand what you're driving at -- the possibility of someone's benefiting by the girl's death. But nobody could. The necessary formalities for legal adoption were under way, but they hadn't yet been completed."
Melchett said slowly, "Then, if anything happened to you?" He left the sentence unfinished, as a query.
Conway Jefferson was quick to respond. "Nothing's likely to happen to me! I'm a cripple, but I'm not an invalid. Although doctors do like to pull long faces and give advice about not overdoing things. Not overdoing things! I'm as strong as a horse! Still, I'm quite aware of the fatalities of life. I've good reason to be! Sudden death comes to the strongest man especially in these days of road casualties. But I'd provided for that. I made a new will about ten days ago."
"Yes?" Superintendent Harper leaned forward.
"I left the sum of fifty thousand pounds to be held in trust for Ruby Keene until she was twenty-five, when she would come into the principal."
Superintendent Harper's eyes opened. So did Colonel Melchett's. Harper said in an almost awed voice, "That's a very large sum of money, Mr. Jefferson."
"In these days, yes, it is."
"And you were leaving it to a girl you had only known a few weeks?"
Anger flashed into the vivid blue eyes. "Must I go on repeating the same thing over and over again? I've no flesh and blood of my own no nieces or nephews or distant cousins, even! I might have left it to charity. I prefer to leave it to an individual." He laughed. "Cinderella turned into a princess overnight! A fairy godfather instead of a fairy godmother. Why not? It's my money. I made it."
Colonel Melchett asked, "Any other bequests?"
"A small legacy to Edwards, my valet, and the remainder to Mark and Addie in equal shares."
"Would -- excuse me -- the residue amount to a large sum?"
"Probably not. It's difficult to say exactly; investments fluctuate all the time. The sum involved, after death duties and expenses had been paid, would probably have come to something between five and ten thousand pounds net."
"I see."
"And you needn't think I was treating them shabbily. As I said, I divided up my estate at the time my children married. I left myself, actually, a very small sum. But after, after the tragedy, I wanted something to occupy my mind. I flung myself into business. At my house in London I had a private line put in, connecting my bedroom with my office. I worked hard; it helped me not to think, and it made me feel that my -- my mutilation had not vanquished me. I threw myself into work" his voice took on a deeper note; he spoke more to himself than to his audience "and by some subtle irony, everything I did prospered! My wildest speculations succeeded. If I gambled, I won. Everything I touched turned to gold. Fate's ironic way of righting the balance, I suppose."
The lines of suffering stood out on his face again. Recollecting himself, he smiled wryly at them.
"So, you see, the sum of money I left Ruby was indisputably mine, to do with as my fancy dictated."
Melchett said quickly, "Undoubtedly, my dear fellow. We are not questioning that for a moment."
Conway Jefferson said, "Good. Now I want to ask my questions in my turn, if I may. I want to hear all about this terrible business. All I know is that she -- that little Ruby was found strangled in a house some twenty miles from here."
"That is correct. At Gossington Hall."
Jefferson frowned. "Gossington? But that's-"
"Colonel Bantry's house."
"Bantry! Arthur Bantry? But I know him. Know him and his wife! Met them abroad some years ago. I didn't realize they lived in this part of the world. Why, it's-" He broke off.
Superintendent Harper slipped in smoothly, "Colonel Bantry was dining in the hotel here Tuesday of last week. You didn't see him?"
"Tuesday? Tuesday? No, we were back late. Went over to Harden Head and had dinner on the way back."
Melchett said, "Ruby Keene never mentioned the Bantrys to you?"
Jefferson shook his head. "Never. Don't believe she knew them. Sure she didn't. She didn't know anybody but theatrical folk and that sort of thing." He paused, and then asked abruptly, "What's Bantry got to say about it?"
"He can't account for it in the least. He was out at a Conservative meeting last night. The body was discovered this morning. He says he's never seen the girl in his life."
Jefferson nodded. He said, "It certainly seems fantastic."
Superintendent Harper cleared his throat. He said, "Have you any idea at all, sir, who can have done this?"
"Good God, I wish I had!" The veins stood out on his forehead. "It's incredible, unimaginable! I'd say it couldn't have happened, if it hadn't happened!"
"There's no friend of hers from her past life, no man hanging about or threatening her?"
"I'm sure there isn't. She'd have told me if so. She's never had a regular boy friend. She told me so herself." Superintendent Harper thought. Yes, I dare say that's what she told you. But that's as may be. Conway Jefferson went on, "Josie would know better than anyone if there had been some man hanging about Ruby or pestering her. Can't she help?"
"She says not."
Jefferson said, frowning, "I can't help feeling it must be the work of some maniac -- the brutality of the method, breaking into a country house, the whole thing so unconnected and senseless. There are men of that type, men outwardly sane, but who decoy girls, sometimes children away and kill them."
Harper said, "Oh, yes, there are such cases, but we've no knowledge of anyone of that kind operating in this neighbourhood."
Jefferson went on, "I've thought over all the various men I've seen with Ruby. Guests here and outsiders -- men she'd danced with. They all seem harmless enough, the usual type. She had no special friend of any kind."
Superintendent Harper's face remained quite impassive, but unseen by Conway Jefferson, there was still a speculative glint in his eye. It was quite possible, he thought, that Ruby Keene might have had a special friend, even though Conway Jefferson did not know about it. He said nothing, however.
The chief constable gave him a glance of inquiry and then rose to his feet. He said, "Thank you, Mr. Jefferson. That's all we need for the present."
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br /> Jefferson said, "You'll keep me informed of your progress?"
"Yes, yes, we'll keep in touch with you."
The two men went out. Conway Jefferson leaned back in his chair. His eyelids came down and veiled the fierce blue of his eyes. He looked, suddenly, a very tired man. Then, after a minute or two, the lids flickered. He called, "Edwards?"
From the next room the valet appeared promptly. Edwards knew his master as no one else did. Others, even his nearest, knew only his strength; Edwards knew his weakness. He had seen Conway Jefferson tired, discouraged, weary of life, momentarily defeated by infirmity and loneliness. "Yes, sir?"
Jefferson said, "Get on to Sir Henry Clithering. He's at Melborne Abbas. Ask him, from me, to get here today if he can, instead of tomorrow. Tell him it's very urgent."
When they were outside Jefferson's door. Superintendent Harper said, "Well, for what it's worth, we've got a motive, sir."
"Hm," said Melchett. "Fifty thousand pounds, eh?"
"Yes, sir. Murder's been done for a good deal less than that."
"Yes, but-"
Colonel Melchett left the sentence unfinished. Harper, however, understood him. "You don't think it's likely in this case? Well, I don't either, as far as that goes. But it's got to be gone into, all the same."
"Oh, of course."
Harper went on, "If, as Mr. Jefferson says, Mr. Gaskell and Mrs. Jefferson are already well provided for and in receipt of a comfortable income, well, it's not likely they'd set out to do a brutal murder."
"Quite so. Their financial standing will have to be investigated, of course. Can't say I like the appearance of Gaskell much, looks a sharp, unscrupulous sort of fellow, but that's a long way from making him out a murderer."
"Oh, yes, sir, as I say, I don't think it's likely to be either of them, and from what Josie said I don't see how it would have been humanly possible. They were both playing bridge from twenty minutes to eleven until midnight. No, to my mind, there's another possibility much more likely."
Melchett said, "Boy friend of Ruby Keene's?"
"That's it, sir. Some disgruntled young fellow; not too strong in the head perhaps. Someone, I'd say, she knew before she came here. This adoption scheme, if he got wise to it, may just have put the lid on things. He saw himself losing her, saw her being removed to a different sphere of life altogether, and he went mad and blind with rage. He got her to come out and meet him last night, had a row with her over it, lost his head completely and did her in."
"And how did she come to be in Bantry's library?"
"I think that's feasible. They were out, say, in his car at the time. He came to himself, realized what he'd done, and his first thought was how to get rid of the body. Say they were near the gates of a big house at the time. The idea comes to him that if she's found there the hue and cry will center round the house and its occupants and will leave him comfortably out of it. She's a little bit of a thing. He could easily carry her. He's got a chisel in the car. He forces a window and plops her down on the hearth rug Being a strangling case, there's no blood or mess to give him away in the car. See what I mean, sir?"
"Oh, yes. Harper, it's all perfectly possible. But there's still one thing to be done. Cherchez la Femme."
"What? Oh, very good, sir." Superintendent Harper tactfully applauded Melchett's joke, although, owing to the excellence of the colonel's French accent, he almost missed the sense of the words.
"Oh er I say er c-c-could I speak to you a minute?" It was George Bartlett who thus waylaid the two men.
Colonel Melchett, who was not attracted to Mr. Bartlett, and who was eager to see how Slack had got on with the investigation of the girl's room and the questioning of the chambermaids, barked sharply, "Well, what is it, what is it?"
Young Mr. Bartlett retreated a step or two, opening and shutting his mouth and giving an unconscious imitation of a fish in a tank. "Well er . . . probably isn't important, don't you know. Thought I ought to tell you. Matter of fact, can't find my car."
"What do you mean, can't find your car?" Stammeringa good deal, Mr. Bartlett explained that what he meant was that he couldn't find his car.
Superintendent Harper said, "Do you mean it's been stolen?" George Bartlett turned gratefully to the more placid voice. "Well, that's just it, you know. I mean, one can't tell, can one? I mean someone may just have buzzed off in it, not meaning any harm, if you know what I mean."
"When did you last see it, Mr. Bartlett?"
"Well, I was tryin' to remember. Funny how difficult it is to remember anything, isn't it?"
Colonel Melchett said coldly, "Not, I should think, to a normal intelligence. I understood you to say that it was in the courtyard of the hotel last night."
Mr. Bartlett was bold enough to interrupt. He said, "That's just it -- was it?"
"What do you mean by 'was it'? You said it was."
"Well, I mean, I thought it was. I mean, well, I didn't go out and look, don't you see?"
Colonel Melchett sighed. He summoned all his patience. He said, "Let's get this quite clear. When was the last time you saw -- actually saw your car? What make is it, by the way?"
"Minoan Fourteen."
"And you last saw it when?"
George Bartlett's Adam's apple jerked convulsively up and down. "Been trying to think. Had it before lunch yesterday. Was going for a spin in the afternoon. But somehow -- you know how it is -- went to sleep instead. Then, after tea, had a game of squash and all that, and a bath afterward."
"And the car was then in the courtyard of the hotel?"
"Suppose so. I mean, that's where I'd put it. Thought, you see, I'd take someone for a spin. After dinner, I mean. But it wasn't my lucky evening. Nothing doing. Never took the old bus out after all."
Harper said, "But as far as you knew, the car was still in the courtyard?"
"Well, naturally. I mean, I'd put it there, what?"
"Would you have noticed if it had not been there?"
Mr. Bartlett shook his head. "Don't think so, you know. Lot of cars going and coming and all that. Plenty of Minoans."
Superintendent Harper nodded. He had just cast a casual glance out of the window. There were at that moment no fewer than eight Minoan 14's in the courtyard. It was the popular cheap car of the year.
"Aren't you in the habit of putting your car away at night?" asked Colonel Melchett.
"Don't usually bother," said Mr. Bartlett. "Fine weather and all that, you know. Such a fag putting a car away in a garage."
Glancing at Colonel Melchett, Superintendent Harper said, "I'll join you upstairs, sir. I'll just get hold of Sergeant Higgins and he can take down particulars from Mr. Bartlett."
"Right, Harper."
Mr. Bartlett murmured wistfully, "Thought I ought to let you know, you know. Might be important, what?"
Mr. Prestcott had supplied his additional dancer with board and lodging. Whatever the board, the lodging was the poorest the hotel possessed. Josephine Turner and Ruby Keene had occupied rooms at the extreme end of a mean and dingy little corridor. The rooms were small, faced north onto a portion of the cliff that backed the hotel, and were furnished with the odds and ends of suites that had once represented luxury and magnificence in the best suites. Now, when the hotel had been modernized and the bedrooms supplied with built-in receptacles for clothes, these large Victorian oak and mahogany wardrobes were relegated to those rooms occupied by the hotel's resident staff, or given to guests in the height of the season when all the rest of the hotel was full.
As Melchett and Harper saw at once, the position of Ruby Keene's room was ideal for the purpose of leaving the hotel without being observed, and was particularly unfortunate from the point of view of throwing light on the circumstances of that departure. At the end of the corridor was a small staircase which led down to an equally obscure corridor on the ground floor. Here there was a glass door which led out on the side terrace of the hotel, an unfrequented terrace with no view. You could go from it to the main terr
ace in front, or you could go down a winding path and come out in a lane that eventually rejoined the cliff road. Its surface being bad, it was seldom used.
Inspector Slack had been busy harrying chambermaids and examining Ruby's room for clues. They had been lucky enough to find the room exactly as it had been left the night before. Ruby Keene had not been in the habit of rising early. Her usual procedure, Slack discovered, was to sleep until about ten or half past and then ring for breakfast. Consequently, since Conway Jefferson had begun his representations to the manager very early, the police had taken charge of things before the chambermaids had touched the room. They had actually not been down that corridor at all. The other rooms there, at this season of the year, were opened and dusted only once a week. "That's all to the good, as far as it goes," Slack explained. "It means that if there were anything to find, we'd find it, but there isn't anything."
The Body In The Library - Miss Marple 02 Page 6