The Case of the Vanishing Corpse
Page 19
“Yes, I did,” said Somerville. “He was a thoroughly unsavory and dangerous fellow. He’d been brought up several times for poaching and disturbing the peace and was finally sent away, as Mrs. Severn said, for robbery and assault.”
“How did Polk know him? What was his connection with him?”
“His only connection with him was when Tom showed up here,” said Mrs. Severn. “I don’t know why he came back from Australia. Maybe he got in more trouble there. When he got back, he must have gone down to Ansley Cross looking for me, heard I was here in London. Anyway, the first I knew about it was when the bell rang one morning and I opened the door and there he was.”
“When was this?”
“A little over a week ago.”
“What did he want?”
“What he always wanted, money. That’s not what he started with, of course. He began by saying he’d missed me, wanted to get together with me again. When I told him I wanted nothing to do with him, he said that, in that case, I should pay him to go away. He turned nasty when I said I wouldn’t do that either, but then Polk came to the door. He’d heard enough to guess what was going on, and he told Tom if he didn’t go, he’d call the police.”
“And did he go?”
“Yes, he did. He said he’d be back, but Polk told him he’d better not if he knew what was good for him.”
“Could it have been he who was here last night?”
“I don’t know. I told you I didn’t see either the man who pulled me out of the brougham or the one who attacked Polk. But I suppose it’s possible.”
“Do you have any idea where I can find him?”
“No, I don’t. I never asked him where he was staying, and he never said.”
“Right.” Wyatt stood up. “You’ve both been very helpful, told us some interesting things. Are you still planning to go to Paris?” he asked Somerville.
“No. Not after what’s happened. I shall remain here for at least the next few weeks.”
“Good. Then I’ll be able to reach you if there’s anything more I need to know.”
“I’ll be here or at my club. And I assume you’ll let me know if there are any developments; if you find out who killed Polk and made off with the brougham.”
“Of course.” Wyatt bowed to Mrs. Severn and left the room followed by Sergeant Tucker. Somerville accompanied them to the door and let them out.
The constable was still on duty, even though there were fewer people standing about and watching the house than there had been before. Among them, not gaping or staring but waiting patiently, were Sara and Andrew. Catching Wyatt’s eye, they came forward.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“We heard what happened, and we wanted to tell you how sorry we were,” said Andrew. “I know you liked Polk.”
“Yes, I did,” said Wyatt quietly. “What else?”
“Nothing else,” said Sara. “Except that we wondered what you were going to do about lunch.”
“I hadn’t really thought about it. I suppose we’ll go to a pub. The one I met Polk at is just around the corner, isn’t it?” he asked Tucker.
“The Red Lion,” said Tucker.
“Well, of course you can if you want to,” said Andrew. “But we heard a sergeant was with you, and we had a feeling you’d probably want to talk to him. And we thought, if you did, you might want to come back to Rysdale Road for lunch.”
“And where would you be while we were talking?” asked Wyatt.
“Why, no place,” said Sara. “I mean, if you didn’t want us around, we’d make ourselves scarce.”
“I’m sure,” said Wyatt ironically. “These are two young friends of mine,” he said to Tucker. “Sara Wiggins and Andrew Tillett. Sergeant Tucker.”
“How do.” said Tucker, shaking hands with them. “Seems to me I’ve heard of them. Very helpful in the Denham diamond case, weren’t they?”
“Don’t think I’d have been able to solve it without them. What do you think of their offer?”
“Well, they’d give us some sort of place at The Red Lion where we could be private. But we could never be sure someone wasn’t eavesdropping. Besides, the food’s been a little off there lately.”
“In other words, you vote for Rysdale Road. All right.”
He waved to a four-wheeler that was coming up the street, gave the driver the address, and they all got in. Wyatt said nothing during the drive to the house and, after an exchange of glances, Sara and Andrew remained silent, too. Matson, the butler, let them in and showed them to the dining room. He and Mrs. Wiggins had been told that there might be company for lunch, and after Mrs. Wiggins had greeted Wyatt and been introduced to Sergeant Tucker, lunch was served, and the four were left alone.
“Well, Sergeant,” said Wyatt, helping himself to some mustard for the cold beef, “what do you think?”
“This beef looks prime, sir. Much better than we could get at The Red Lion.”
“I’m sure it is. But that’s not what I meant.”
“No, sir.” Tucker looked at Sara and Andrew who were sitting there quietly, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. “Well, there are several things that struck me as rather odd.”
“For instance?”
“Thinking it would be safer to take something valuable to Dover by carriage than by train.”
“Somerville admitted that might have been a mistake.”
“Yes, I know. But if he was worried, why did he travel at night?”
“He explained that, claimed he wasn’t worried about anything happening at this end, but didn’t want to arrive at Dover after dark.”
“I know. But I still think it was very strange.”
“You think he was lying?”
Tucker was silent for a moment. “I wouldn’t say that, sir. I think he was very upset at what happened—about both Polk’s death and the chest that was stolen—perhaps even more upset than he let on. But, at the same time, I don’t believe he told us everything he knows.”
“I agree with you. What about Mrs. Severn?”
“There again I had a strange feeling. I wonder if she would have told you about that no-good husband of hers coming to see her if you hadn’t known about him, asked her about him.”
“Well, it’s not easy for a woman to admit she was foolish enough to marry a man who turned out to be a criminal. However, I agree with you again. Do you think she was lying when she said she didn’t know where we could find him?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t think she was trying to protect him, if that’s what you mean. Because one of the things I’m sure about is that she hates him.”
“I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. And though she said she didn’t know who attacked her and Polk, I’d like to have a few words with Tom Severn, find out where he was last night.”
“Do you have any idea of where you might find him, sir?”
“No. But I know someone who might know.”
“Your friend Beasley?”
“Yes. If you’ll go back to the Yard when you’ve finished your lunch and check central records for anything they have on Severn, I’ll go to Portobello Road and see what Beasley has to say.”
Sara hadn’t said a word during the discussion between Wyatt and the sergeant, but this was too much for her.
“Can we go with you?” she asked.
Wyatt looked at her with pretended surprise.
“Are you still here?”
“Yes. I asked if we could go with you.”
“Why?”
“Because we like the Baron. He’s almost as much of a friend as you are, and we haven’t seen him for a long time.”
“And that’s the only reason?”
“No. We could understand a little of what happened from things you and the sergeant said. But if we go to Portobello Road with you, you’ll have a chance to tell us more.”
“And of course it’s very important that you know everything that the sergeant and I know.”
&nb
sp; “Why, yes,” said Sara with wide-eyed innocence. “Because, if we don’t, how are we going to help you?”
Wyatt looked at her intently, then turned to Tucker.
“You see what I’m up against? What I’ve been up against?”
“Yes, sir,” said Tucker smiling. “But it didn’t do any harm in the Denham diamond case. Maybe it won’t in this one either.”
“We’ll see.”
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About the Author
Born in New York City, Robert Newman (1909–1988) was among the pioneers of early radio and was chief writer for the Inner Sanctum Mysteries and Murder at Midnight—forerunners of The Twilight Zone that remain cult favorites to this day. In 1944 Newman was put in charge of the radio campaign to reelect Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was also one of the founding members of the Radio Writers Guild, which became the Writers Guild of America.
In 1973 Newman began writing books for children, most notably the Andrew Tillet, Sara Wiggins & Inspector Wyatt mysteries. The series takes place in Victorian London and follows the adventures of two teenage amateur detectives who begin as Baker Street Irregulars. Newman has also written books of fantasy, among them Merlin’s Mistake and The Testing of Tertius. His books based on myths and folklore include Grettir the Strong, and he has published two adult novels.
Newman was married to the writer Dorothy Crayder. Their daughter, Hila Feil, has also published novels for children and young adults. Newman lived his last days in Stonington, Connecticut.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author᾿s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1980 by Robert Newman
Cover design by Jason Gabbert
ISBN: 978-1-4976-8597-0
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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