CHAPTER VII
THE LAWYER
At the coroner's words the man beside me arose and walked to the frontof the room. He was about Philip Darwin's build and height, but his facewas fleshier, and he wore a full, square beard of a peculiar mottledred, the same shade as his hair, as though both had been liberallysprinkled with gray. He was very fastidiously dressed, I might sayalmost foppishly so, even to the point of wearing spats and an eyeglass,which he was continually screwing into his eye as he spoke.
"You are Mr. Darwin's lawyer?" asked the coroner.
"Yes. You will pardon me if I reply rather briefly. I have a bad throatto-day and find it trying to speak at length," he apologized in a huskyvoice.
"Certainly, certainly. This is a mere formality," responded the coroneraffably, whereat the lawyer smiled, rather sardonically, I thought.
"Mr. Cunningham, do you know whether the will that was destroyed was inMrs. Darwin's favor?"
"It was."
"Are you absolutely certain?"
"Yes. I made it out when Mr. Darwin was married."
"Do you know whether Mr. Darwin keeps any of his valuable papers in thatsafe?"
"I am sure he keeps nothing of value in it. His papers are in his vaultat the bank."
"Have you none, then?"
The lawyer shook his head and replaced his eyeglass with greatdeliberation. "Two nights ago Mr. Darwin removed the last of hissecurities from my office," he said with evident difficulty.
"The last of his securities? Do you mean that he had been graduallyremoving them from your care?"
This time the lawyer nodded.
"For what purpose?" asked the coroner.
"I do not know," was the candid answer. "He was rather secretive. Isurmised he needed them in his dealings in Wall Street."
"He did not actually say so?"
"No. He told me nothing."
"Since he was so secretive, might he not have put some of his securitiesin that safe?"
"No, I don't think so. However, you might have it opened--to satisfyyourself," with a slight, rather mocking accent on the last word.
"I think it just as well," responded the coroner, briskly. "Mr.Cunningham, you don't by any chance happen to know the combination?"
"No, I do not."
"Jones, can you open that safe?" inquired the coroner.
"I think so." The detective rose and advanced down the long room to thesafe, where he knelt down, the better to hear the fall of the tumblers.While he twirled the knob of the dial now this way and now that, Mr.Cunningham, as if in no way interested, moved to the window, where hestood looking out with his back to the room. Now it happened that I wassitting so that I could see his reflection in the window-pane, and I wassurprised to note the look of diabolical joy that overspread hiscountenance as he rubbed his hands together in unholy glee, for itseemed to me that such levity was decidedly out of place at thisparticular time.
But now my attention was diverted, for the detective straightened to hisfull height and opened the safe door, which swung back on noiselesshinges. As the detective darted within the cavernous depths, the lawyerturned toward the room once more with a remnant of his smile on his lipsas he stroked his beard with a well-kept white hand. And then it flashedacross me where I had seen him before. It was on the Knickerbocker Roof,late one evening in September, where I was supping with my partner afterthe show. Cunningham had come in with a couple of chorus girls and mypartner had mentioned that he was a gay old boy, to which I had agreedafter watching him as he stroked his beard and made love to the girls. Ihad not seen him since that night, roof gardens not being much in myline, and so, of course, I had failed to remember him until that gesturewhich seemed habitual with him recalled him to my mind.
"Nothing, your honor," reported the detective, emerging with acrestfallen face. "Nothing but a few receipted tailor's bills, an emptycash box and a stoneless ring."
"A what?" The coroner screwed himself around in his chair and the jurystrained backward as Jones spoke.
Mr. Cunningham involuntarily put out his hand for the bauble as thedetective passed him, but Jones shook his head with a smile, as hereturned to the front of the room and placed the objects on the tablebefore the coroner.
Coroner Graves examined with meticulous care the sheaf of bills, theempty box. Then he put them aside and turned his attention to thestoneless ring.
"Odd, very odd," he said. "Why should a man like Mr. Darwin preserve astoneless ring?"
"I think I can explain that," said the lawyer, coming forward veryleisurely. "May I look at it?" He held out his hand and the coronerplaced the ring within it. "Ah, yes, it is the same." He handed it backwith a courteous air, but I could not help feeling that somehow he wasmerely amused by the attempts of the coroner to solve the problem. Butit must have been my own overwrought fancy, for his voice was sinisterenough through its throatiness, as he said:
"My client, as perhaps you know, was very fond of the ladies. Before hismarriage he met a very beautiful young lady--her name does not matter,it was not her own, for she was an actress, I believe--of whom he becamevery fond. In fact, he told me he was going to engage himself to her,and showed me that ring which he had bought her. It held within that nowbroken setting a magnificent blue-white diamond. If you will look withinyou will see the inscription which Mr. Darwin had engraved upon it."
He paused, as much to rest his voice as to give the coroner theopportunity of reading aloud for the benefit of the jury the sentimentwhich graced the ring: "To my one love--D."
"I remonstrated with him, told him she would take the ring and leave himhigh and dry, but he would not listen and bestowed it upon her," resumedthe lawyer. "A week later he received a letter from her enclosing that."He waved his hand toward the golden circlet contemptuously. "She hadkept the diamond and returned him his ring. She left the country and henever heard from her again. Why he kept that empty shell I don't know.Perhaps he put it in the safe and forgot it was there."
"Where did you find it, Jones?" asked the coroner.
"In one corner of the top shelf. I only discovered it because as Ipassed my hand over the shelf the broken prong scratched me," repliedJones.
The coroner nodded. "A thin bit of gold not worth considering," he said,adding as the lawyer was about to return to his seat: "Mr. Cunningham,do you know Mr. Darwin's nephew?"
"Yes, I have met him several times," responded the lawyer.
"Was there not a will in his favor before the wedding?"
"Yes, but it was destroyed when the new will was made."
"Did Mr. Darwin mention to you recently that he intended changing hiswill?"
"No."
"Have you ever heard of Cora Manning?"
"No."
"Yet Mr. Darwin had written her name on the will he was making at thetime he was shot, Mr. Cunningham."
"Indeed? This is all news to me, sir. My client, as perhaps you haveheard, was exceedingly peculiar. He did not confide all his affairs tome. In fact, he often employed more than one lawyer."
The coroner raised his brows. "Well, he certainly was peculiar if he didthat. One lawyer ought to be enough for any sane man."
"Quite right," responded Mr. Cunningham with an odd smile. "But perhapsmy client wasn't quite sane."
The Mystery of the Hidden Room Page 7