VII
I GIVE EVIDENCE
"Your name," said the Coroner to me.
"Otis Landon."
"You live in this house?"
"Yes, I live in the apartment across the hall, on this same floor. It isa duplicate of this apartment."
"Please tell in your own words," said Mr. Ross, "exactly what you knowof this matter."
And so I told my story. "I am a lawyer, and a bachelor," I said. "Mywidowed sister, Mrs. Mulford, keeps house for me. As we sat at breakfastthis morning the door-bell rang. Knowing from the hour--just about eighto'clock--that it was probably the hall boy with the mail, I opened thedoor myself, and took the letters from him. As I stood a moment,carelessly running over the mail, the boy pressed the button at theopposite apartment--the one where we now are. The colored servant cameto the door, and though she unlatched it at once, it was held by achain."
Just here Inspector Crawford interrupted me.
"The night-chain was on, you say?"
"Yes," I answered; "I heard the colored woman's voice exclaiming thatshe always forgot to remove the night-chain before opening the door; soshe reclosed the door, unfastened the chain, and opened the door again.She then took the letters and went back to the apartment. I returned tomy own breakfast. Perhaps half an hour later I started for my office. AsI was waiting for the elevator to come up, my sister stood with me,chatting. When the elevator did arrive I saw a gentleman in it, who, Ihave since learned, is Doctor Masterson. As the car reached our floorMiss Pembroke rushed from her own apartment to meet the doctor,exclaiming that her uncle was ill. My sister and I were much concerned,and offered our assistance. A few moments later Doctor Masterson cameand asked us to come over here, as Mr. Pembroke was dead and MissPembroke had fainted. We came at once, and have endeavored to doanything we could to help."
For some reason, Doctor Masterson seemed disturbed at my remarks. Why, Icould not guess, for I had told the exact truth, and it seemed to me tohave little bearing on the circumstances of the old man's death. On theother hand, what I had said seemed to give satisfaction to the Coroner.He nodded his head affirmatively several times, and it was plain to beseen that my testimony corroborated, at least did not contradict somealready formed theory of his own.
After a slight pause, while he seemed to weigh in his mind the evidenceI had given, he resumed his questioning.
"I am told Mr. Landon, that you searched Mr. Pembroke's bedroom forpossible clues. Did you find any?"
"I am not sure," I replied; "in a room that one has never seen before,it is difficult to know what belongs there and what does not. However Ipicked up a few articles, which, though they may be informative, areequally likely to be of no importance to us in our search."
I offered first in evidence the memorandum of money and the rubber bandstill around it. The slight crumpling of the paper, seemed to show ahasty removal of the money,--if money had been enclosed.
"This seems to me to be of decided importance," commented Mr. Ross;"indeed, unless some member of the household can throw light on thematter, I shall conclude that a sum of money was stolen from Mr.Pembroke, and that the robbery constituted the motive for eitherprevious or subsequent murder."
This seemed to me both rational and logical, and I waited with interestthe next questions.
Mr. Ross first addressed Miss Pembroke.
"Do you know anything concerning this money?" he inquired, simply.
Janet Pembroke was sitting on a sofa, next to Laura. As, with theexception of the colored servant, they were the only women present,Laura assumed the attitude of chaperon and protector to the young girl.And it was doubtless due to my sister's sympathy and support, that MissPembroke was preserving a calm demeanor. But at the Coroner's question,she became greatly agitated. She trembled, and her fingers graspednervously at Laura's arm as she stammered a reply.
"I--I--I know that Uncle Robert had a large sum of money in hispossession yesterday."
"Where did he get it?"
"His lawyer, Mr. Leroy, brought it to him night before last."
"Was it as much as ten thousand dollars, as this memorandum seems toindicate?"
"I--I--I think it was."
What was the matter with the girl? If she had stolen the money herself,she could not have acted more guiltily embarrassed. To me, the idea oftheft in connection with Janet Pembroke was absurd, but I could readilysee from the countenances of the men about me, that the situationimpressed them quite otherwise.
"Was Mr. Pembroke in the habit of keeping such large sums of money inthe house?"
"No; it was most unusual."
"How, then, did it happen in this instance?"
"I am not quite sure;" and now Miss Pembroke looked anxious and puzzled,rather than frightened, as she had appeared before, "I think he expecteda man to come to see him, to whom he would pay the money."
"Do you know the name of this man?"
"It was,--no,--I do not."
I think no one present believed this statement. It was made with toomuch hesitation and uncertainty.
"Are you sure, Miss Pembroke that you do not know the name of the manfor whom your uncle intended the money?"
The girl's uncertainty appeared to vanish. "I do not!" she cried; "myuncle was not in the habit of confiding to me his business matters. Buthe often spoke in loud tones, and quite unintentionally I overheard afew words between him and Mr. Leroy, which gave me the impression thathe intended the money for some man who would soon call to receive it."
"Do you know anything concerning this money?" Mr. Ross then said,addressing his question to George Lawrence.
The young man had been sitting watching his cousin in silence. He seemedabsorbed in deep thought and roused himself suddenly as the Coronerspoke to him.
"No," he said, with an air of detachment from the whole affair; "I knownothing at all of these matters. I saw my uncle for a few momentsyesterday afternoon, but he said nothing to me about money, or hisfinancial affairs of any sort."
"Did you see your uncle in his own room?" I asked, of Mr. Lawrence.
"Yes," he replied giving me a glance, which, though coldly polite,seemed to resent my interference. But I was not to be baffled in myintent.
"Was his desk open when you were there?" I went on.
"I didn't notice definitely, but it is usually open. Indeed, I think Ihave never seen it closed."
"And did you see a large roll of bills in it?" I relentlessly pursued.
"I did not; nor should I have remarked it if I had. If my uncle chose tobe careless with his cash it was not my affair."
"It is possible the money may yet be found," observed the coroner; "Mr.Pembroke may have put it away more safely. Search must be made for it,but at present we will continue our verbal evidence. Mr. Landon, whatelse did you find in your search?"
"I found this time-table," I replied, feeling a little foolish as I gaveit to the Coroner.
"H'm, local trains on the Lackawanna," he murmured, as he glanced at it;"Miss Pembroke, is this likely to have belonged to your uncle?"
Again the girl became agitated. "I think not," she said; "no, itcouldn't have been his. Uncle Robert never went out anywhere. Why shouldhe have a time-table?"
"Is it your own?"
"No; I have not travelled on that road for a long time, and have had nothought of doing so."
Then the Coroner turned to Charlotte. "Do you know anything about this?"he asked; "have you ever seen it before?"
"Laws, no!" replied the colored woman, rolling her eyes distractedly. "Inebber trabbels myself, and Marse Pembroke, he nebber trabbled outsidede do'. And Miss Janet she ain't nebber been trabblin' since I'se beenhere--dat I knows on."
"Then it would seem," said Mr. Ross, "that this time-table must havebeen left in the room by some outsider. Do you know anything of it, Mr.Lawrence?"
"No; I rarely use time-tables. But it does not seem to me important.Leroy may have left it, he's always travelling about."
Immediately the time-tabl
e seemed to shrink into insignificance, and theCoroner tossed it aside and asked to see my next exhibit.
A little chagrined at the apparent unimportance of my clues, I producedthe handkerchief.
"This lay on the foot of the bed," I said; "I noticed it only because itbears initials which are not those of Mr. Pembroke."
"W. S. G.," read the Coroner as he examined the corner of thehandkerchief. "Do you recognize those initials, Miss Pembroke?"
"No;" and the girl's face this time expressed mere blank amazement; "Iknow of no one with those initials. It is a man's handkerchief?"
"Yes," replied the Coroner, holding up to view the large square oflinen; "And it is of fine texture and dainty finish."
"And beautifully hand-embroidered," said Miss Pembroke, as she rose fromher seat and took the handkerchief in her hand.
She seemed in a quite different mood now. Apparently the handkerchiefhad roused her curiosity. She turned to Charlotte with it, saying,"You've never seen this before, have you, Charlotte?"
"No, Miss Janet; I nebber seed dat hank'chif befo'. Dat's sure! Itain't Marse Pembroke's, nor it aint's Master George's, and dat's all demen dey is in dis fambly."
"It couldn't have been left by Mr. Leroy," went on Miss Pembroke,musingly; "I cannot explain it. It's a mystery to me."
She returned the handkerchief to the Coroner, and resumed her seatbeside Laura.
"It would seem," said Mr. Ross, "that whoever left this handkerchief inMr. Pembroke's room, was a man of refined tastes,--but we must deferdefinite assumption of that sort until after further inquiry. You havesomething else to show us, Mr. Landon?"
Without a word I handed him the two stubs of theatre tickets.
"National Theatre," he read. "Your uncle never went to the theatre, MissPembroke?" he inquired.
"Never," she answered, quietly.
"You sometimes go yourself?"
"Occasionally, yes. But I know nothing of those tickets. I have neverbeen to the National Theatre."
I was glad to hear this, for the National Theatre, though entirelyreputable, was of the Music Hall class, and it pleased me that JanetPembroke did not incline to that type of entertainment.
In response to inquiries, Charlotte asserted volubly, and GeorgeLawrence haughtily, that they knew nothing of these mysterious bits ofpasteboard. The only inference was, then, that they had been dropped inMr. Pembroke's room by some one who was calling on him recently.
And then, as a final offering to the mysterious accumulation ofevidence, I handed to the Coroner the torn telegram I had found in thewaste basket. It had been torn across but once, and was easily piecedtogether. The Coroner read it aloud:
"Expect me on Wednesday evening. Signed, J. S. Sent from East Lynnwood,New Jersey. H'm, that links it to the Lackawanna time-table, as EastLynnwood is on a branch of that road."
"Are you sure of that?" asked George Lawrence.
"No, I'm not sure," returned Mr. Ross; "but it's my impression that EastLynnwood is off that way, somewhere."
"I'm not sure, myself," said Lawrence, and no one present seemed to knowwhere East Lynnwood was, and the time-table was only for stations on themain line, not to branches. I determined to look it up for myself assoon as the inquest was over, for surely these hints I had picked upmust lead somewhere.
"Do you know who J. S. may be?" the Coroner asked of Miss Pembroke.
"No," she replied, briefly, but again I had a conviction that she wasnot speaking truthfully. The very vehemence with which she spoke seemedto me to betoken a desperate intention to hide the truth, but of this Icould not be sure.
"But if your Uncle received a telegram, bidding him expect a caller lastevening, would you not be likely to know about it?"
"Not necessarily," returned Miss Pembroke; "My Uncle never informed meof his business appointments or arrangements. But no one did call uponhim last evening, of that I'm certain."
"The telegram may have been a blind," said one of the jurors, wagginghis head sagaciously. He seemed to think he had said somethingexceedingly clever, but Coroner Ross paid no heed to him. Indeed theCoroner seemed to care little about material clues, and was anxious tocontinue his verbal inquiries.
After a few more questions, of no definite importance, I was excused,and my sister Laura was called to the stand.
Her evidence regarding the occurrences which led to our introduction onthe scene, was practically an echo of my own, and consequently not ofdirect importance. The Coroner endeavored to learn from her somethingconcerning the unpleasant relations between Mr. Pembroke and his niece,but though Laura had expressed herself often and frankly to me on thesubject, she would say nothing in public concerning it. She declaredthat she was totally unacquainted with the Pembrokes, and had neverspoken to Miss Janet until that morning, and had never been in theirapartment before.
Of course she was soon excused, and next Charlotte, the colored servant,was called.
She responded in a state of terrified excitement. She was nervouslyloquacious, and Mr. Ross was obliged to command her to answer hisquestions as shortly as possible, and not dilate on them or express anyopinions.
"At what hour did you rise?"
"'Bout seben, sah."
"Did you then prepare breakfast?"
"Yes, sah--bacon 'n' eggs, an' cereal, an'----"
"Never mind what the meal consisted of. Did you see any one before youserved breakfast?"
"Only the hall boy, when I went to take the lettahs, sah."
"He rang the bell?"
"Yes, sah. He allus does. An' I dun gib de do' a yank, but dat ol'chain held it. I 'clar to goodness, I can't nebber 'member dat chain."
"Have you been with this household long?"
"I's been here six weeks, sah. But I was gwine to leave, any way. Icouldn't stan' de way Mr. Pembroke called me names, sah. Miss Janetshe's mighty nice lady, but de ol' massa he was too much fo' anybody."