Read Crooked House Page 9

the funds of Associated Catering

  and if the old man had found it out, it

  might have been vital to silence old Leonides

  and to leave England before the truth came

  out. Possibly Roger had rendered himself

  liable to criminal prosecution.

  It was agreed that inquiries should be

  made without delay into the affairs of

  Associated Catering.

  "It will be an almighty crash, if that

  goes," my father remarked. "It's a huge

  concern. There are millions involved."

  "If it's really in Queer Street, it gives us

  what we want," said Taverner. "Father

  summons Roger. Roger breaks down and

  confesses. Brenda Leonides was out at a

  cinema. Roger has only got to leave his

  father's room, walk into the bathroom? empty out an insulin phial and replace it

  with the strong solution of eserine and there

  you are. Or his wife may have done it. She

  went over to the other wing after she came

  home that day -- says she went over to

  fetch a pipe Roger had left there. But she

  could have gone over to switch the stuff

  before Brenda came home and gave him his

  injection. She'd be quite cool and capable

  about it."

  I nodded. "Yes, I fancy her as the actual

  doer of the deed. She's cool enough for

  anything! And I don't think that Roger

  Leonides would think of poison as a means

  -- that trick with the insulin has something

  feminine about it."

  "Plenty of men poisoners," said my

  father drily.

  "Oh, I know, sir," said Taverner. "Don't

  I know!" he added with feeling.

  "All the same I shouldn't have said Roger

  was the type."

  "Pritchard," the Old Man reminded him, "was a good mixer."

  "Let's say they were in it together."

  "With the accent on Lady Macbeth,"

  said my father, as Taverner departed. "Is

  that how she strikes you, Charles?"'

  I visualised the slight graceful figure

  standing by the window in that austere

  room.

  "Not quite," I said. "Lady Macbeth was

  essentially a greedy woman. I don't think

  Clemency Leonides is. I don't think she

  wants or cares for possessions."

  "But she might care, desperately, about

  her husband's safety?"

  "That, yes. And she could certainly be

  -- well, ruthless."

  "Different kinds of ruthlessness. . . ."

  That was what Sophia had said.

  I looked up to see the Old Man watching

  me.

  "What's on your mind, Charles?"

  But I didn't tell him then.

  I was summoned on the following day and

  found Taverner and my father together.

  Taverner was looking pleased with himself

  and slightly excited.

  "Associated Catering is on the rocks,"

  said my father.

  "Due to crash at any minute," said

  Taverner.

  "I saw there had been a sharp fall in the

  shares last night," I said. "But they seem

  to have recovered this morning."

  "We've had to go about it very cautiously,"

  said Taverner. "No direct inquiries.

  Nothing to cause a panic -- or to put

  the wind up our absconding gentleman. But

  we've got certain private sources of information

  and the information there is fairly

  definite. Associated Catering is on the verge

  of a crash. It can't possibly meet its commitments.

  The truth seems to be that it's

  been grossly mismanaged for years."

  "By Roger Leonides?"

  "Yes. He's had supreme power, you

  know."

  "And he's helped himself to money --"

  "No," said Taverner. "We don't think

  he has. To put it bluntly, he may be a murderer, but we don't think he's a swindler.

  Quite frankly he's just been -- a fool. He

  doesn't seem to have had any kind of

  judgement. He's launched out where he

  should have held in -- he's hesitated and

  retreated where he ought to have launched

  out. He's delegated power to the last sort

  of people he ought to have delegated it to.

  He's a trustful sort of chap, and he's trusted

  the wrong people. At every time, and on

  every occasion, he's done the wrong thing."

  "There are people like that," said my

  father. "And they're not really stupid either.

  They're bad judges of men, that's all. And

  they're enthusiastic at the wrong time."

  "A man like that oughtn't to be in

  business at all," said Taverner.

  "He probably wouldn't be," said my

  father, "except for the accident of being

  Aristide Leonides's son."

  "That show was absolutely booming when

  the old man handed it over to him. It ought

  to have been a gold mine! You'd think he

  could have just sat back and let the show

  run itself."

  "No," my father shook his head. "No

  show runs itself. There are always decisions

  to be made -- a man sacked here -- a man

  appointed there -- small questions of policy.

  And with Roger Leonides the answer seems

  to have been always wrong."

  "That's right," said Taverner. "He's a

  loyal sort of chap, for one thing. He kept

  on the most frightful duds -- just because

  he had an affection for them -- or because

  they'd been there a long time. And then he

  sometimes had wild impractical ideas and

  insisted on trying them out in spite of the

  enormous outlay involved."

  "But nothing criminal?" my father insisted.

  "No, nothing criminal."

  "Then why murder?" I asked.

  "He may have been a fool and not a

  knave," said Taverner. "But the result was

  the same -- or nearly the same. The only

  thing that could save Associated Catering

  from the smash was a really colossal sum

  of money by next" (he consulted a notebook)

  "by next Wednesday at the latest."

  "Such a sum as he would inherit, or

  thought he would have inherited, under his

  father's will?"

  "Exactly."

  "But he wouldn't be able to have got

  that sum in cash."

  "No. But he'd have got credit. It's the

  same thing."

  The Old Man nodded.

  "Wouldn't it have been simpler to go to

  old Leonides and ask for help?" he suggested

  "I think he did," said Taverner. "I think

  that's what the kid overheard. The old boy

  refused point blank, I should imagine, to

  throw good money after bad. He would, you know."

  I thought that Taverner was right there.

  Aristide Leonides had refused the backing

  for Magda's play -- he had said that it

  would not be a Box Office success. Events

  had proved him correct. He was a generous nian to his family, but he was not a man to

  Waste money in unprofitable enterprises.

  And Associated Catering ran to thousands,

  or probably hundreds of thousands. He had


  refused point blank, and the only way for

  Roger to avoid financial ruin was for his

  father to die.

  Yes, there was certainly a motive there

  all right.

  My father looked at his watch.

  "I've asked him to come here," he said.

  "He'll be here any minute now."

  "Roger?"

  "Yes."

  "Will you walk into my parlour said the

  spider to the fly?" I murmured.

  Taverner looked at me in a shocked way.

  "We shall give him all the proper cautions,"

  he said severely.

  The stage was set, the shorthand writer

  established. Presently the buzzer sounded, and a few minutes later Roger Leonides

  entered the room.

  He came in eagerly -- and rather clumsily

  -- he stumbled over a chair. I was reminded

  as before of a large friendly dog. At the

  same time I decided quite definitely that it

  was not he who had carried out the actual

  process of transferring eserine to an insulin

  bottle. He would have broken it, spilled it, or muffed the operation in some way or

  rM4^r No. Clemency's, I decided, had been

  the actual hand, though Roger had been

  privy to the deed.

  Words rushed from him:

  "You wanted to see me? You've found

  out something? Hullo, Charles, I didn't see

  you. Nice of you to come along. But please

  tell me. Sir Arthur --"

  Such a nice fellow -- really such a nice

  fellow. But lots of murderers had been nice

  fellows -- so their astonished friends had

  said afterwards. Feeling rather like Judas, I smiled a greeting.

  My father was deliberate, coldly official.

  The glib phrases were uttered. Statement

  . . . taken down ... no compulsion . . .

  solicitor ...

  Roger Leonides brushed them all aside

  with the same characteristic eager impatience.

  I saw the faint sardonic smile on Chief

  Inspector Taverner's face, and read from it

  the thought in his mind.

  "Always sure of themselves, these chaps.

  They can't make a mistake. They're far too

  clever!"

  I sat down unobtrusively in a corner and

  listened. ^

  "I have asked you to come here, Mr.

  Leonides," my father said, "not to give you

  fresh information, but to ask for some

  information from you -- information that

  you have previously withheld."

  Roger Leonides looked bewildered.

  "Withheld? But I've told you everything

  -- absolutely everything!"

  "I think not. You had a conversation

  with the deceased on the afternoon of his

  death?"

  "Yes, yes, I had tea with him. I told you

  so."

  "You told us that, yes, but you did not

  tell us about your conversation."

  "We -- just -- talked."

  "What about?" "Daily

  happenings, the house, Sophia--"

  "What about Associated Catering? Was that

  mentioned?"

  I think I had hoped up to then that

  Josephine had been inventing the whole

  story -- but if so, that hope was quickly

  quenched.

  Roger's face changed. It changed in a

  moment from eagerness to something that

  was recognisably close to despair.

  "Oh my God," he said. He dropped into

  a chair and buried his face in his hands.

  Taverner smiled like a contented cat.

  "Ynn admit, Mr. Leonides, that you have

  not been frank with us?"

  "How did you get to know about that? I

  thought nobody knew -- I don't see how

  anybody could know."

  "We have means of finding out these

  things, Mr. Leonides." There was a majestic

  pause. "I think you will see now that you

  had better tell us the truth."

  "Yes, yes, of course. I'll tell you. What

  do you want to know?"

  "Is it true that Associated Catering is on

  the verge of collapse?"

  "Yes. It can't be staved off now. The

  crash is bound to come. If only my father

  could have died without ever knowing. I

  feel so ashamed -- so disgraced --"

  "There is a possibility of criminal prosecution?"

  Roger sat up sharply.

  "No, indeed. It will be bankruptcy --

  but an honourable bankruptcy. Creditors

  will be paid twenty shillings in the pound

  if I throw in my personal assets which I

  shall do. No, the disgrace I feel is to have

  failed my father. He trusted me. He made

  over to me this, his largest concern -- and

  his pet concern. He never interfered, he

  never asked what I was doing. He just --

  trusted me. . . . And I let him down."

  My father said drily:

  "You say there was no likelihood of

  criminal prosecution? Why then, had you

  and your wife planned to go abroad without

  telling anybody of your intention?"

  "You know that, too?"

  "Yes, Mr. Leonides."

  "But don't you see?" He leaned forward

  eagerly. "I couldn't face him with the truth.

  It would have looked, you see, as if I was

  asking for money? As though I wanted him

  to set me on my feet again. He ? he was

  very fond of me. He would have wanted to

  help. But I couldn't ? I couldn't go on ?

  it would have meant making a mess of

  things all over again ? I'm no good. I

  haven't got the ability. I'm not the man my

  father was. I've always known it. I've tried.

  But it's no good. I've been so miserable ?

  God! you don't know how miserable I've

  been! Trying to get out of the muddle,

  hoping I'd just get square, hoping the dear

  old man would never need hear about it.

  And then it came ? no more hope of

  avoiding the crash. Clemency ? my wife

  ? she understood, she agreed with me. We

  thought out this plan. Say nothing to

  anyone. Go away. And then let the storm

  break. I'd leave a letter for my father,

  telling him all about it -- telling him how

  ashamed I was and begging him to forgive

  me. He's been so good to me always -- you

  don't know! But it would be too late then

  for him to do anything. That's what I

  wanted. Not to ask him -- or even to seem

  to ask him for help. Start again on my own

  somewhere. Live simply and humbly. Grow

  things. Coffee -- fruit. Just have the bare

  necessities of life -- hard on Clemency, but

  she swore she didn't mind. She's wonderful

  -- absolutely wonderful."

  "I see." My father's voice was dry. "And

  what made you change your mind?"

  "Change my mind?'''

  "Yes. What made you decide to go to

  your father and ask for financial help after

  all?"

  Roger stared at him.

  "But I didn't!"

  "Come now, Mr. Le^onides."

  "You've got it all wrong. I didn't go to

  him. He sent for me. He'd heard, somehow, in the City. A rumour? I suppose. But he
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  always knew things. So^neone had told him.

  He tackled me with it^ Then, of course, I

  broke down ... I t
  I said it wasn't so irnuch the money -- ^ was the feeling X'd let him down

  after he'd tmsi^ me."

  Roger swall^d convulsively. "The dear ^ ^n," he said. "You can't

  imagine how^ he was to me. No reproaches.

  Just^^ss. I told him I didn't

  want help, t ^ preferred not to have it

  -- that I'd r^ g^ y^^y ^ p^ planned

  to do. But h^u^'t listen. He insisted

  on coming tc^e rescue -- on putting |

  Associated C^^g o^ ^s Iggs again."

  Taverner s^ sharply:

  "You are a^g us ^ believe that your

  father intend^ ^ come to your assistance

  financially?'9

  "Certainly ^ did. He wrote to his brokers

  then and thei^ giving them instructions."

  I suppose saw the incredulity on the

  two men's fa^ ^ flushed. J

  "Look her^" ^e said, "I've still got the

  letter. I was ^ post k. But of course later

  -- with -- wi^ ^e shock and confusion, I

  forgot. I've ^obably got it in my pocket

  now."

  He drew ou^is wallet and started hunting

  through it. Fi^iy he found what he wanted.

  It was a crea^ envelope with a stamp on

  it. It was ack^ssed, as I saw by leaning

  Iorwa 310 ^ssrs. Greatorex and Hanbury. Read it for yourselves," he said. "If you

  don't believe me."

  My father tore open the letter. Taverner

  went round behind him. I did not see the

  letter then, but I saw it later. It instructed

  Messrs. Greatorex and Hanbury to realise

  certain investments and asked for a member

  of the firm to be sent down on the following

  day to take certain instructions re the affairs

  of Associated Catering. Some of it was

  unintelligible to me but its purport was

  clear enough. Aristide Leonides was preparing

  to put Associated Catering on its

  feet again.

  Taverner said:

  "We will give you a receipt for this, Mr.

  Leonides."

  Roger took the receipt. He got up and

  said:

  "Is that all? You do see how it all was, don't you?"

  Taverner said:

  "Mr. Leonides gave you this letter and

  you then left him? What did you do next?"

  "I rushed back to my own part of the

  house. My wife had just come in. I told

  her what my father proposed to do. How

  wonderful he had been! I -- really, I hardly

  knew what I was doing."

  "And your father was taken ill -- how

  long after that?"

  "Let me see ? half an hour, perhaps, or

  an hour. Brenda came rushing in. She was

  frightened. She said he looked queer. I ?

  I rushed over with her. But I've told you

  this before."

  "During your former visit, did you go

  into the bathroom adjoining your father's

  room at all?"

  "I don't think so. No ? no, I am sure I

  didn't. Why, you can't possibly think that

  I?"

  My father quelled the sudden indignation.

  He got up and shook hands.

  "Thank you, Mr. Leonides," he said.

  "You have been very helpful. But you

  should have told us all this before."

  The door closed behind Roger. I got up

  and came to look at the letter lying on my

  father's table.

  "It could be forgery," said Taverner

  hopefully.

  "It could be," said my father, "but I

  don't think it is. I think we'll have to accept

  it as it stands. Old Leonides was prepared

  to get his son out of this mess. It could

  have been done more efficiently by him

  alive than it could by Roger after his death

  ?llv as it now transpires that no

  c?c"r?^r'ia

  will is to be found and that in consequence

  Roger's actual amount of inheritance is

  open to question. That means delays ?

  and difficulties. As things now stand, the

  crash is bound to come. No, Taverner,

  Roger Leonides and his wife had no motive

  for getting the old man out of the way. On

  the contrary ?"

  He stopped and repeated thoughtfully as

  though a sudden thought had occurred to

  him, "On the contrary ..."

  "What's on your mind, sir?" Taverner

  asked.

  The Old Man said slowly:

  "If Aristide Leonides had lived only

  another twenty-four hours, Roger would

  have been all right. But he didn't live

  twenty-four hours. He died suddenly and

  dramatically within little more than an

  hour."

  "Hm," said Taverner. "Do you think

  somebody in the house wanted Roger to go

  broke? Someone who had an opposing

  financial interest? Doesn't seem likely."

  "What's the position as regards the will?"

  niy father asked. "Who actually gets old

  Leonides' s money ?"

  "You know what lawyers are. Can't get

  a straight answer out of them. There's a

  T

  former will. Made when he married the

  second Mrs. Leonides. That leaves the same

  sum to her, rather less to Miss de Haviland,

  and the remainder between Philip and

  Roger. I should have thought that if this

  will isn't signed, then the old one would

  operate, but it seems it isn't so simple as

  that. First the making of the new will

  revoked the former one and there are

  witnesses to the signing of it, and the

  'testator's intention.' It seems to be a toss

  up if it turns out that he died intestate.

  Then the widow apparently gets the lot ?

  or a life interest at any rate."

  "So if the will's disappeared Brenda