XIV
MRS. ALTONSTALL
The Sterling Safe Deposit Company! Well, at last I had some definiteinformation! At last I had something to work upon! I went at once to thedeposit company, and asked for an interview with the manager. I haddifficulty in persuading him to grant my request, but after realizingthe gravity of the situation and the significance of the clue, he toldme that that key belonged to a safe deposit box rented by a Mrs.Altonstall, who lived on West Fifty-eighth Street.
I looked at my watch. It was almost five o'clock, but I concluded to goat once to call on the lady.
As I went up there in a taxicab, my brain was in a whirl. The key of asafe deposit box, not Mr. Pembroke's own, but belonging to a woman!found in his room, after a crime which it was assumed was committed by awoman!
Who was Mrs. Altonstall? And why should she murder Robert Pembroke? Thisquestion opened such a wide field for speculation that it wasunanswerable. Had the deed really been done by a woman? And was I, evennow, about to verify this?
I felt an uncertainty about proceeding. Ought I not to place the wholematter in the hands of the Coroner? Was I not taking too much uponmyself to investigate alone this new evidence?
But, I reasoned, delay might be dangerous. If the Coroner were topostpone until next day an interview with this woman, might she not havealready effected her escape? Was it not wiser that I should go there atonce, and lose no time in securing any possible information?
At any rate, I went, resolved to take the consequences of my deed,whatever they might be.
The address given me proved to be a large and handsome apartment house.At the office I inquired for Mrs. Altonstall and being informed that shewas at home, I sent up my card, for I judged that the most open andstraightforward measures were the best.
A moment later I was informed that Mrs. Altonstall would see me, andentering the elevator I went at once to her apartment.
The general effects of grandeur throughout the house and the elegance ofMrs. Altonstall's own room, made me wonder afresh if I could by anypossibility be on the track of a criminal. Surely, the criminal classesdid not live in a style implying such respectability and aristocracy asthese surroundings seemed to indicate. But of course I realized that awoman who could commit murder was not necessarily found among thecriminal classes, and indeed, being an exceptional individual, might belooked for in any setting.
But when my hostess entered, and I saw a sweet-faced, middle-aged lady,of gentle manner and gracious mien, walk toward me, I felt the bloodrush to my face, and I stood consumed with dismay and confusion.
"Mrs. Altonstall?" I said, conquering my embarrassment.
"Yes," she said, in one of the sweetest voices I ever heard. "This isMr. Landon? you wanted to see me?"
Surely with such a queen of women as this, frankness and truth were theonly lines to follow.
"Yes, Mrs. Altonstall," I said; "I am a lawyer, and I am at presentinvestigating a serious case. In connection with it, there has beenfound a key, which I have been informed belongs to you. Will you kindlysay if this is so?"
As I spoke, I handed her the key. I need not say that at the firstglimpse of that serene, gracious face, all thought of her implication inour affair instantly vanished. Presumably, too, the key was not hers,there had been a mistake, somehow.
As she took the key, she looked at me with a bewildered surprise. "Why,yes, Mr. Landon," she said, "this is my key. May I ask where youobtained it?"
I hesitated, for it seemed a terrible thing to tell this queenly ladywhere her key had been found. And yet the situation was so inexplicable,that I must solve it if possible.
"I will tell you in a moment, Mrs. Altonstall," I said, slowly, "butfirst I must ask you if you know Mr. Robert Pembroke?"
"Robert Pembroke?" she repeated; "no, I never heard the name. Who ishe?"
The unruffled calm and the straightforward gaze that met my own eyes, sofrankly, was so convincing of her absolute veracity, that just for aninstant the thought flashed through my mind that it might be merely theperfection of acting.
But the next instant I knew better, for no human being could so simulateutter ignorance of a subject, if she had guilty knowledge of it.Moreover, since she knew nothing of Robert Pembroke, I instantlyconcluded not to tell her of the tragedy, but to inquire furtherconcerning the key.
"Since you do not know him, Mrs. Altonstall, let us not discuss him.Will you tell me how you lost possession of this key, since it isyours?"
"I gave it to my lawyer, Mr. Leroy," she replied. "It was necessary thathe should get some of my papers from the Safe Deposit Company, and ithas been arranged that he shall have access to my box on presentation ofmy key. I am a widow, Mr. Landon, and as I have various financialinterests, it is necessary for me frequently to employ the services of alawyer. Mr. Leroy attends to all such affairs for me."
"Do you mean Mr. Graham Leroy?" I asked, very gravely, for theintroduction of his name stirred up all sorts of conjectures.
"Yes," she replied, "he is an able lawyer, as well as a kind friend."
"I'm acquainted with Mr. Leroy," I responded, "and I quite agree withyour estimate of him. When did you give him the key, Mrs. Altonstall?"
"About four or five days ago; last Saturday, to be exact. There was noimmediate haste about my papers, he was to attend to the matter at hisconvenience. May I ask where the key was found?"
I disliked extremely to rehearse the details of the case, and I knew itwas in no way necessary. Of course the key belonged to this lady; asidefrom her own word, the bank had told me so. But her question must beanswered.
"It was found in the apartment of Mr. Robert Pembroke," I said; butimmediately added, as she looked slightly startled, "I think, however,it is a matter of easy explanation. Graham Leroy is also Mr. Pembroke'slawyer, and he must have dropped the key there while calling on Mr.Pembroke."
"Unpardonable carelessness," she said, and I saw that the sweet placidface could assume an expression of indignation upon occasion.
"That, madam, you must say to Mr. Leroy. I am sorry to have troubled youin the matter, and I thank you for your courtesy to me."
"But you will leave my key with me?" she said, as I was about to takeleave.
"I think I cannot do that, Mrs. Altonstall," I said, "as it wasentrusted to me by official authority. But I promise to return it to Mr.Leroy, which, I trust will be satisfactory to you."
The lady agreed to this, though a little unwillingly, and I went away,newly perplexed at this most recent development.
So then, Graham Leroy had been in possession of this key. So then, hemust have left it in Robert Pembroke's bedroom. He would not have donethis purposely, of course, therefore he must have dropped it therewithout knowing it. It was found on Robert Pembroke's bed. Not under thepillow,--the suggestion that it had been under the pillow was meresupposition. It might have been dropped on the bed from the pocket ofone leaning over the sleeping man.
But Graham Leroy! the thought was preposterous!
And then again, the old, ever insoluble question,--how could he get in?
But really it was scarcely more impossible to conclude how he got in,than to imagine Graham Leroy getting in at all, except in correct andordinary fashion.
My brain worked quickly. To be sure, he might have dropped the key inthat room when calling there, as he did, on Tuesday night.
But I had asked Charlotte when Mr. Pembroke's bedroom had last beenswept, and she had told me that she had swept it Wednesday morning, andhad then emptied the waste basket. This had seemed to me to prove thatall the clues I had found, had been brought into the room after thatsweeping. But again, the key being found in the bed it had nothing todo with the sweeping of the room. However, Charlotte could not have madeup the bed without seeing the key, so the only possible deduction wasthat Mrs. Altonstall's key had been left in Robert Pembroke's room afternoon of Wednesday, the day he was murdered!
It was all too much for me! I had undertaken to trace the clues that Ihad
myself found, but if they were to lead me to such extraordinarydiscoveries as this, I felt I must appeal to more practical detectivetalent.
But Leroy or not, at any rate it turned the tide of suspicion away fromJanet. This was joy enough, of itself, to compensate for any horriblerevelation that might come in the future concerning Leroy or anyoneelse.
Somewhere in the back of my brain two dreadful words that the Coronerhad used were hammering for admittance. These were _connivance_ and_complicity_; if Leroy entered the apartment on Wednesday night at anyhour he was let in by either Janet or Charlotte.
At that moment I realized the truth of the line, "that way madnesslies."
I pushed the thought from my mind with all my will power, and hasteningmy steps, for I had walked from Fifty-eighth Street, I went rapidlyhomeward.
I reached home about six o'clock, and found that George Lawrence wasthere, and that Laura had invited him to stay to dinner. I was pleasedat this, for I hoped that by the casual conversation at table I couldlearn something of Mr. Pembroke's past life and acquaintances.
I concluded to say nothing about my discoveries of the afternoon, but toadvise them of my decision to continue my search for a real criminal; ahousebreaker or burglar, who could have committed the crime for themoney, which he stole, and who must have contrived some way to get inthrough a window.
During dinner, although Laura endeavored to keep away from theall-engrossing subject, which she disapproved of as table conversation,I gave a slight outline of the effort I intended to make.
George Lawrence seemed greatly pleased with my ideas. He agreed thatthere must be some one, somewhere, besides himself and Janet who couldbe shown to have a motive, and he offered to assist me in looking overhis uncle's private papers for some letter or other evidence which mightindicate this.
"Simply to make a statement of the case, but for no other reason," saidGeorge, "I will agree with you that the facts, as known, seem toimplicate Janet. But as she is utterly incapable of such a thing, and asthe idea of Charlotte being involved in the matter is absurd, thecriminal must be somebody else, and we must find him or her. I say 'himor her' because the inspector declares that the hat-pin indicates awoman's deed, and, as we are utterly at sea regarding the individualityof the criminal, we are, I think, justified in assuming either sex. Itis, of course, not beyond the bounds of possibility that Uncle Roberthad a feminine enemy."
"Once we can establish a motive," I said, "we shall have something towork upon in our hunt for evidence."
"And yet motive isn't everything," said Lawrence, with a grim smile;"for if Janet had a motive, as you say, an equal one must be attributedto me, as I am an equal inheritor of Uncle Robert's fortune."
I looked wonderingly at the young man. "The motive attributed to MissPembroke," I said "would probably not be her desire for inheritance, somuch as the desperate difficulties attending her life with her uncle."
This seemed to surprise Lawrence, but he only said carelessly: "Itdoesn't matter what motive they assign to Janet, for she didn't have anymotive, and she didn't do the deed. But, for the moment, I'm speakingnot of facts or even possibilities, but of contingencies which mightarise. It might be claimed that I had a motive, from the mere fact thatI am one of my uncle's heirs."
"But you couldn't get in, George," said Janet quickly. "Your latch-keywas of no use when the chain was on."
"That's true enough, Janet, and we all know it; but, as I say, we'respeaking of a hypothetical case. And you know, if we're going to huntfor some other person with a motive, we're bound to admit that he gotinto the apartment somehow. Therefore, to eliminate the possibility ofbeing myself a suspect, I'll merely state, as a matter of fact, that myalibi is perfect. I can prove, should it be necessary, that I was faraway from Sixty-second Street at the time of Uncle Robert's death, andcan account for my time all through the night."
I liked Lawrence's way of putting these things, and began to think hisclear-headed views on the matter would be of assistance to me, eventhough he had no taste or talent for detective work.
"Just what is an alibi?" asked Janet, with a perplexed air.
"It means," I answered, "proof by witnesses of a person's whereabouts ata given time."
"Oh!" said Janet. "And where were you last night, George?"
Lawrence smiled as he answered: "I'm not in the witness box now, Janet,but I don't mind telling you that I dined and spent the evening at theWarings'."
"Oh, did you?" cried Janet. "And you took Milly to a matinee in theafternoon. I know, because she told me about it before. You're gettingawfully fond of her, aren't you, George?"
"Yes, I like Miss Waring extremely," said Lawrence, and though he spokeas if he meant it, a certain sadness came into his eyes, and I suspectedthat Miss Waring did not reciprocate his regard.
But though the young man seemed suddenly _distrait_, and did not attemptto continue our previous conversation, Janet, on the contrary hadbrightened up wonderfully. Being in a mood for making inferences, Ideduced that George Lawrence was more interested in Miss Waring thanJanet desired him to be, and that she was pleased rather than otherwiseat George's lack of enthusiasm about the lady. Thereupon the sudden fearthat Janet was in love with her cousin assailed me. This aroused whatwas of course an unreasonable jealousy on my part, for I had not theslightest actual foundation on which to rest the hopes I was rapidlybuilding. I eagerly watched the two cousins after that, to discover ifthere was anything more than cousinly affection on either side.