The Vanishing of Betty Varian

by Carolyn Wells

  CHAPTER V The Yellow Pillow

  "What's this pillow doing here?" the sheriff asked, as he picked up theyellow satin cushion. "This looks to me like a parlor ornament."

  "I thought it was strange, too," returned Landon. "But I can't see anyclue in it, can you?"

  "Anything unusual may prove a clue," said Potter, sententiously. "Younever saw this pillow before, Mr Landon."

  "No; but I'm not familiar with the house at all. Maybe it's a discardedone, handed down to the servants' use."

  "Doesn't look so; it's fresh and new, and very handsome."

  "Lay it aside and come on," growled Bill Dunn, who was alertly lookingabout the kitchen. "You can ask the family about that later. Let's godown cellar."

  To the cellar they went, Landon following. He had a notion that he mighthelp the family's interests by keeping at the heels of these detectives.

  But the most careful search revealed nothing of importance to theirquest.

  Until Potter said, suddenly, "What's this? A well?"

  "It sure is," and Bill Dunn peered over an old well curb and looked down.

  "A well in a cellar! How queer!" exclaimed Landon. "I never heard of sucha thing."

  "Uncommon, but I've known of 'em," said Bill "Looks promising, eh?"

  Potter considered. "It may mean something," he said, thoughtfully. "We'llhave to sound it, somehow."

  "Sound it, nothin'!" said the executive Bill; "I'll go down."

  "How?" Potter asked him. "There's no bucket. It's probably a dried upwell."

  "Prob'ly," and Bill nodded. He already had one foot over the broken oldwell curb.

  "Wait, for heaven's sake!" cried Landon. "Don't jump down! You must havea light."

  "Got one," and Bill drew a small flashlight from his pocket.

  With the agility of a monkey he clambered down the side of the old well.The stones were large and not smoothly fitted, so that he had littletrouble in gaining and keeping his foothold.

  The others watched him as he descended and at last reached the bottom.

  "Nothing at all," he called up. "I'm coming back."

  "Just an old dried up well," he reported, as he reached them again. "Must'a' dried up long ago. No water in it for years, most likely. But there'snothin' else down there, neither. No body, nor no clues of any sort.Whatever became of that girl, she ain't down that well."

  All parts of the cellar were subjected to the same thorough search.

  Landon was amazed at the quickness and efficiency shown by these men whomhe had thought rather stupid at first.

  Cupboards were poked into to their furthest corners; bins were raked;boxes opened, and Bill even climbed up to scan a swinging shelf that hungabove his head.

  "How about secret passages?" Potter asked, when they had exhausted allobvious hiding places.

  "I been thinkin' about that," Bill returned, musingly; "but, so far, Ican't see where there could be any. This isn't the sort of house that has'em, either. It's straightforward architecture,--that's what itis,--straightforward."

  "What do you mean by that?" asked Landon, interested in this strange manwho looked so ignorant, yet was in some ways so well informed.

  "Well, you see, there's no unexpected juts or jambs. Everything'sfour-square, mostly. You can see where the rooms above are,--you can seewhere the closets and stairs fit in and all that. There's no concealedterritory like,--no real chance for a secret passage,--at least not sofar's I see."

  "That's right," agreed Potter. "Bill's the man when it comes toarchitecture and building plans. Well,--let's get along upstairs, then."

  Going through the kitchen again, Potter picked up the yellow pillow andtook it along with him. Quite evidently it belonged to a sofa in thelarge, square front hall. The upholstery fabric was the same, and therewas a corresponding pillow already at one end of the sofa.

  "Queer thing," Potter said; "how'd that fine cushion get on the kitchenfloor?"

  "It is queer," Landon assented, "but I can't see any meaning in it, canyou?"

  "Not yet," returned Potter. "Now, Doctor Varian," and he turned to thephysician who sat with bowed head beside his brother's body, "I dessaythe undertakers'll be coming along soon. You see them and make plans forthe funeral; while Bill and I go on over this house. Then, we'll have tosee the rest of the people who were around at the time of the--thetragedy."

  "Not Mrs Frederick Varian," said Herbert, "you can't see her. I forbidthat, as her physician."

  "Well, we'll see your wife first, and then, we'll have to see the folksthat went back to the village. And there's the servants to bequestioned."

  But the careful and exhaustive search of the two inquiry agents failed todisclose any sign of the missing Betty Varian or any clue to herwhereabouts. They went over the whole house, even into the bedroom of thenewly-made widow,--whose deep artificial sleep made this possible.

  This was the last room they visited, and as they tiptoed out, Bill said,

  "Never saw such a case! No clue anywhere; not even mysteriouscircumstances. Everything just as natural and commonplace as it can be."

  "There's the yellow pillow,----" suggested Potter.

  "I know,--but that may have some simple explanation,--housemaid took itout to clean it,--or something."

  "Then, Bill, there's got to be a secret passage; there's just got to."

  "Well, there ain't. Tomorrow, I'll sound the walls and all that sort ofthing, but I've measured and estimated, and I vow there ain't no spaceunaccounted for in this whole house. But there's a lot of questionin' yetto be done. I'll say there is!"

  By this time some of the servants had heard of the affair and hadreturned.

  Potter and Bill Dunn went to the kitchen to see them, and found Kelly thebutler and Hannah the cook in a scared, nervous state.

  "Do tell us, sir, all about it," Kelly begged, his hard face drawn withsympathy. "The master----"

  "It's true, Kelly, your master is dead. He was killed, and we areinvestigating. What can you tell us? Do you know of anybody who had it infor Mr Varian?"

  "Oh, no, sir! I'm sure he hadn't an enemy in the world."

  "Oh, no, you can't be sure of that, my man. But tell me of thecircumstances. When you all went away, this afternoon, there was no signof disturbance,--of anything unusual?"

  "Oh, no, sir. Everything was pleasant and proper. I had packed theluncheon for the picnic, Hannah here made the sandwiches, and I filledthe coffee Thermos, and all such things. The baskets were all ready, andthe family expected to start on the picnic almost as soon as we went off.I offered to stay behind and help Mrs Varian, but she was so kind as tosay I needn't do that. So we all went."

  "All at once?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "You went down the path that leads from the front door?"

  "There's no other way. It branches around to the kitchen entrance, uphere, but there's no other way off the premises."

  "Not even for a burglar or robber?"

  "No, sir. I don't believe even a monkey could scramble up the cliff, andI know a man couldn't. You see it overhangs, and it's impossible."

  "But coming from the other direction,--the village?"

  "From that way, everybody has to pass through the lodge gate. The lodge,you know,--that's the garage, as well. There's a gate here----"

  "Yes, I know."

  "Well, through that gate is the only way to get to this house."

  "But all the picnic party were waiting, in full view of that gate, and infull view of the house. Yet somebody----"

  "You needn't say somebody got in,--for nobody could do that."

  "I don't say it. But I'm looking out for some such person. If not, wemust conclude----"

  "What, sir?"

  "That Miss Varian shot her father, and then,--in some yet undiscoveredplace, killed herself, or still alive,--is in hiding."

  "Miss Betty kill her father!" exclaimed Hannah, the cook, speaking to thesheriff for the first time. "No, she nev
er did that!"

  "Yet there was ill feeling between them," Potter returned, quickly.

  "That there was not! A more loving father and child I never met up with!Bless her pretty face! To dare accuse darlin' Miss Betty of such a thing!I say, now, Mister Man, you better be careful how you say such liesaround here! You know you've nothin' to go on, but your own blackthoughts! You know you don't know who killed the master, and you're toodumb to find out, and so you pick on that poor dear angel child, whoain't here to speak up for herself!"

  "Where is she, then? Where's Miss Betty?"

  "Where is she? Belike in some hidin' place, scared into fits because ofseein' her father shot! Or maybe, stunned and unconscious herself,--thedeed bein' done by the same villyun what did for the master! Oh, sakes!it's bad enough without your makin' it worse callin' my darlin' girl amurderer! Where's Mrs Varian? What does she say?"

  "She's asleep. The doctor had to quiet her, she was in raving hysterics."

  "Ay, she would be. Poor lady. She'll be no help in this awful thing. And,sir, another thing: The waitress and the chambermaid, they're sisters,Agnes and Lena, they say they're not coming back here. Nothing wouldinduce them to step foot in this house again, they say. They bid me send'em their things and----"

  "Nonsense, they'll have to come back." This from Bill. "Tell me wherethey are. I'll bring them back."

  "No, they won't come. They're going down to Boston tonight."

  "They mustn't be allowed to do that!"

  "They've gone by now," and Hannah looked unconcerned. "But never youmind, they know nothin' of this matter. They're two young scared girls,and they'd be no good to you nor anyone else. They know nothin' to tell,and they'd have worse hysterics than Mrs Varian if you tried to bring 'emback to this house."

  "You won't desert Mrs Varian, will you, Hannah?" asked Potter.

  "Well, I'll be leavin' in the mornin'," and the cook shrugged hershoulders. "I couldn't be expected to stay in such a moil."

  "No; of course you couldn't!" exclaimed Potter, angrily. "You don't carethat poor Mrs Varian is in deep trouble and sorrow! You don't care thatthere'll be nobody to cook for her and her brother's family! You've nosense of common humanity,--no sympathy for grief, no heart in your stupidold body!"

  "I might stay on for a time, sir,--if--if they made it worth my while."

  "Oh, greed might keep you here! Kelly, what about you? Are you going todesert this stricken household?"

  "I'll--I'll stay for a time, sir," the butler said, quite evidently illat ease. "Now, you mustn't blame us, Mr Potter for----"

  "I do blame you! I know how you feel about a house where there's amystery, but also, you ought to be glad to do whatever you can to help.And nothing could help poor Mrs Varian so much as to have some of herservants faithful to her. Also, I'm pretty sure I may promise you extrapay,--as I know that will hold you, when nothing else will."

  "And now," Bill Dunn put in, "you'd better fix up a meal for those whowant it. They had no picnic supper, you see, and there are the guests tobe considered as well as your Mrs Varian."

  "Speakin' one word for them and two for yourself, I'm thinkin'," Hannahsniffed, as she began to tie on her apron. "Well, Mr Potter, you'll bewelcome to a good meal, I'm sure."

  "One moment, Hannah," said Bill, "when you left here today, was there asofa pillow out here in the kitchen?"

  "A sofy pillow? There was not. Why should such a thing be?"

  "A yellow satin one,--embroidered."

  "Off the hall sofy? No, sir, it never was in my kitchen at all."

  "What do you know about it?" Dunn turned to the butler. "When did youlast see the sofa pillows on the hall sofa?"

  Kelly stared.

  "I saw them this morning, sir,--yes, and I saw them this afternoon,--whenI set the picnic baskets out. I didn't----"

  "How did you happen to notice the pillows, Kelly?" Bill watched himclosely.

  "Why, I didn't exactly notice them,--but,--well, if they hadn't been inplace I should have noticed it."

  "That's right," Dunn gave a satisfied nod. The pillow episode seemedimportant to him, though he could get no meaning to it as yet. "NowKelly, tell me the truth. When you've been around, in the dining room, orthe living rooms, haven't you heard conversations between Miss Varian andher father that showed some friction between the two?"

  "Oh, now, sir, Miss Betty's a saucy piece----"

  "I don't mean gay chaff,--I mean real, downright quarreling. Did you everhear any of that? Tell me the truth, Kelly, you'll serve no good purposeby trying to shield either of them."

  "Well, then, yes, sir, I did,--and often. But not to say exactlyquarreling,--more like argufying----"

  "Why do you say that, Kelly? They do quarrel,--all the time theyquarrel,--and you know it."

  This astonishing speech was from the lips of Minna Varian, who suddenlyappeared in the kitchen doorway.

  She was smiling a little, she looked tired and wan, but she was in no wayexcited or hysterical. She wore a trailing blue wrapper, and her hair wasfalling from its combs and hairpins.

  "Mrs Varian!" exclaimed Potter, springing to her side. "Why are youhere?"

  "I heard voices and I wondered who was down here. Where are my people?Who are you two strange men?"

  "There, there," said Hannah, advancing and putting an arm round hermistress, "let me take you back to your room. Come now."

  "Just a minute," and Potter looked keenly at the lady. "Say that again,Mrs Varian. Your daughter quarrels with her father often?"

  "All the time," Minna Varian laughed. "I have to make peace between themmorning, noon and night. Oh, why do they do it? Fred is so dear and sweetto me,--then he will scold Betty for the least trifle! And Betty neverdiffers from me in her opinions, but she is antagonistic to her father,always. Can you explain it?"

  Mrs Varian's large gray eyes stared at Potter, and then turned to BillDunn. It was clear to be seen that she was still partly under theinfluence of the opiate effects, and that her memory of the recenttragedy was utterly obliterated.

  "Take her to her room," Potter said quickly, to Hannah. "If she comes todown here there'll be a fearful scene. How did she get away?"

  "There was nobody in my room," Minna said, overhearing. "Who should bethere? I'm not ill. I woke up from a nap, and I heard talking,--my roomis right above this, so I came down. Where's Miss Betty, Hannah? Kelly,what are you doing?"

  "I'm about to get supper, madam," Kelly's glance rested kindly on thepathetic figure.

  Minna Varian looked small and frail, and her white face and vacant,staring eyes seemed to add to the mystery of the whole affair.

  "Come, now, Mrs Varian, come along of Hannah."

  "Minna, where are you?" Janet's frightened voice broke in upon them."Merciful powers, however did she get down here? Help me get her back,Hannah. No, wait, I'll call Doctor Varian."

  But Herbert Varian was already entering the kitchen, and between them,Minna was safely convoyed back to her room.

  "Well, we're getting at the truth," said Potter, with an air ofsatisfaction as he glanced at Dunn. "Lord knows I'm sorry for that poorwoman, but they say children and fools speak the truth, and so, thoughshe isn't herself, mentally, she told the truth about Miss Varian and herfather being enemies."

  "Oh, she didn't," Hannah moaned, wiping her eyes on her apron. "I tellyou it wasn't as bad as Mrs Varian makes out."

  "Yes, it was," said Kelly, slowly. "You've no way of knowing, Hannah,you're always in the kitchen. But I'm about the house all the time, and Ihear lots of talk. And it's just as Mrs Varian said: Miss Betty and herfather never agree. They scrap at the least hint of a chance; and thoughsometimes they're terribly affectionate and loving, yet at other times,they quarrel like everything."

  "That's enough, Kelly; now keep quiet about this. Even if Miss Varian andher father were not always friendly, it may not mean anything serious andit may make trouble for the young lady if such reports get out."

  "You expect to find Miss Betty, then?"

/>   "Find her? Of course. You say yourself there's only one way out of thesepremises. We know she didn't go out that way, so, she must be here. Theremust be places we haven't yet discovered, where she is hiding,--or--orhas been concealed."

  "It's a fearful situation!" broke out Dunn. "That girl may be gagged andbound--in some secret closet----"

  "You say there are none, Bill."

  "I do say I don't see how there can be any, but, good lord, Potter, thegirl must be somewhere,--dead or alive!"

  An attractive supper, largely consisting of the delicacies intended forthe picnic, and supplemented by some hot viands, was soon in readiness.

  Hannah was deputed to sit beside Mrs Varian, now sleeping again, and theothers, including the detectives, gathered round the table.

  "I'd like the sum of your findings, so far," Doctor Varian said, raisingweary eyes to Potter's face.

  "Pretty slim, Doctor," the sheriff responded. "But, I want to say, rightnow, that I've got to do my duty as I see it. Much as I'd like to sparethe feelings of you people and all that, I've got to forge ahead anddiscover anything I may."

  "Of course you have, Mr Potter. Don't think I'd put a straw in the way oftruth or justice. But, granting that you may speak with all plainness,where do you come out?"

  "Only to the inevitable conclusion that Miss Varian killed her father andthen killed herself, and her body will yet be found."

  "Now, Potter," Dunn said, slowly, "don't go too fast. That is one theory,to be sure, but it's only a theory. You've nothing to back itup,--there's no evidence----"

  "There's negative evidence, Bill. Nobody else could get up here to dothat shooting, or, if he did, he couldn't get away again. Say, for aminute, that some intruder might have been concealed in the house, say heshot Mr Varian, how'd he get out of here without being seen, and how didhe do for the girl?"

  "That's all so," Bill said, doggedly, "but it ain't enough to prove,--or,even to indicate that Miss Varian did the shooting. Where'd she get apistol?"

  "Pshaw, that's a foolish question! If she had nerve and ingenuity enoughto shoot, she had enough to provide the gun."

  "Betty never did such things," said Janet Varian with spirit. "That girldid sometimes have words with her father,--that's a mere nothing,--my owndaughter does that,--but Betty Varian is a loving, affectionate daughter,and she no more killed her father than I did!"

  "Small use in asserting things you can't prove," said Potter, devotinghimself to his supper. "Next thing for me to do's to see those otherpeople,--the ones that were here this afternoon."

  "All right," said Doctor Varian, "but what do you hope to learn fromthem? They don't know as much as we do. I was first on the spot, youngLandon, who's gone home, was here with me, and those others stayed downon the path waiting for us. See them, by all means, but I doubt theirhelpfulness. Now, aside from that, and granting you get no new evidence,what's to be done?"

  "I think," Potter said thoughtfully, "you'd better offer a reward for anynews of Miss Varian. It's not likely to bring results,--but it ought tobe done, I think."