CHAPTER XIII
THEORIES, WISE AND OTHERWISE
Half an hour later, having excused himself to Miss Carleton, Mr.Whitney hastened to the grove, where he found the detectivesauntering up and down the winding walk, his hands behind him in areflective mood, absorbed in thought and in the enjoyment of a finecigar. He nodded pleasantly as the attorney approached.
"Going to be at liberty for some time?" he inquired, at the sametime extending his cigar-case.
"Yes, for any length of time you please; it's a relief to get awayfrom those egotists."
"H'm!" said Merrick, as he returned the cigar-case to his pocketafter the attorney had helped himself; "I didn't think that youlooked particularly anxious to be relieved of your company when Isaw you. I really felt considerable delicacy about speaking as Idid."
"Oh, to the deuce with your nonsense!" the attorney replied, hischeek flushing as he lighted his cigar. "If you had listened tothe twaddle that I have all day, you would be glad to talk to almostany one for a change."
"In that event, perhaps you won't mind talking to me for a while.Well, suppose we go down to the stables, to the coachman's room; heis probably with his best girl by this time, and we will be safefrom interruption or eavesdroppers."
"That suits me all right so long as Ralph Mainwaring doesn't thinkof looking for me there. That man makes me exceedingly weary!"
"Anxious to secure the property according to the terms of that will,I suppose."
"Anxious! He is perfectly insane on the subject; he can't talk ofanything else, and he'll move heaven and earth to accomplish it,too, if necessary."
"Don't anticipate any difficulty, do you?"
"None whatever, unless from that woman; there's no knowing to whatshe may resort. It will only be necessary to prove that the will,if not in existence at the death of the testator, was fraudulentlydestroyed prior thereto, and I think we have a pretty clear case.By George, Merrick!" suddenly exclaimed the attorney in a differenttone, as he paused on the way to the stables. "I hadn't thought ofit before, but there's one thing ought to be done; we should havethis lake dragged at once."
Merrick raised his eyebrows in mute inquiry.
"To find whatever Brown threw in there, you know; it might furnishus with an almighty important clue."
"H'm! might be a good idea," Merrick remarked, thoughtfully.
"Of course it would! I tell you, Merrick, I was cut out for adetective myself, and I'm pretty good for an amateur, now."
"Haven't a doubt of it," was the quiet response, and the pair resumedtheir walk. Both were soon comfortably seated in the coachman'sroom, their chairs tilted at just the right angle before a largedouble window, facing the sunset. Both smoked in silence for a fewmoments, each waiting for the other to speak.
"Well, my friend, what do you know?" inquired the detective, whilehe watched the delicate spirals of blue smoke as they diffusedthemselves in the golden haze of the sunlight.
"Just what I was about to ask you," said his companion.
"Oh, time enough for that later. You have been looking into thiscase, and, as you are a born detective, I naturally would like tocompare notes with you."
Mr. Whitney glanced sharply at the detective, as though suspiciousof some sarcasm lurking in those words, but the serious face ofthe latter reassured him, and he replied,--
"Well, I've not had much experience in that line, but I've madequite a study of character, and can tell pretty correctly what aperson of such and such evident characteristics will do under suchand such conditions. As I have already stated to you, I know, bothfrom observation and from hints dropped by Hugh Mainwaring, that ifever a dangerous woman existed,--artful, designing, absolutelydevoid of the first principles of truth, honor, or virtue,--thatwoman is Mrs. LaGrange. I know that Mainwaring stood in fear ofher to a certain extent, and that she was constantly seeking, bythreats, to compel him to either marry her or secure the propertyto her and her son and I also know that he was anxious to have thewill drawn in favor of his namesake as quickly and as secretly aspossible.
"Now, knowing all these circumstances, what is more reasonable thanto suppose that she, learning in some way of his intentions, wouldresort to desperate measures to thwart them? Her first impulsewould be to destroy the will; then to make one final effort tobring him, by threats, to her terms, and, failing in that, her furywould know no bounds. Now, what does she do? Sends for Hobson, theone man whom Hugh Mainwaring feared, who knew his secret and stoodready to betray it. Between them the plot was formed. They haveanother interview in the evening, to which Hobson brings one of hiscoadjutors, the two coming by different ways like the vileconspirators they were, and in all probability, when Hugh Mainwaringbade his guests good-night, every detail of his death was plannedand ready to be carried into execution in the event of his refusingto comply with that woman's demands made by herself, personally,and later, through Hobson. We know, from the darkey's testimony,that Hobson and his companion appeared in the doorway together; thatthe man suddenly vanished--probably concealing himself in theshrubbery--as Hobson went back into the house; that a few momentslater, the latter reappeared with Mrs. LaGrange; and the darkeytells me that he, supposing all was right, slunk away in the bushesand left them standing there. We know that the valet, going upstairs a while after, found Mrs. LaGrange in the private library,and at the same time detected the smell of burning paper. Youfound the burnt fragments of the will in the grate in the tower-room.
"Now, to my mind, it is perfectly clear that Mrs. LaGrange andHobson proceeded together to the library and tower-room, where theyfirst destroyed the will, and where she secreted him to await theresult of her interview with Mainwaring, at the same time providinghim with the private keys by which he could effect his escape, andwith Hugh Mainwaring's own revolver with which the terrible deed wasdone. Later, finding that Mainwaring would not accede to herdemands, I believe she left that room knowing to a certainty whathis fate would be in case Hobson could not succeed in making termswith him, and I believe her object in coming down the corridorafterwards was simply to ascertain that her plans were being carriedinto execution. Now there is my theory of this whole affair; whatdo you think of it?"
"Very ingeniously put together! What about the jewels? Do youthink Hobson took them?"
"No. I think Mrs. LaGrange got possession of them in some way. Shehas no means of her own to hire that scoundrel, yet the darkey heardher promise to pay him liberally, and you see her very first attemptto pay him was by the sale of some of those jewels. I'll acknowledgeI'm not prepared to say how or when she secured them."
"Could she open the safe?"
"That I cannot say. Mainwaring told me, some months ego, that hefound her one day attempting to open it, and he immediately changedthe combination. Whether she had discovered the new combination, Iam unable to say; but she is a deep woman, and usually finds some wayof accomplishing her designs."
"Brown, the coachman, seems to have no place in this theory ofyours."
"Well, of course we none of us thought of him in connection withthis affair until since his sudden disappearance yesterday, but Iam inclined to think that he is to be regarded in the light of anaccessory after the fact. I think it very probable that Mrs.LaGrange has employed him since the murder to assist her inconcealing evidences of the crime, and that is why I suggesteddragging the lake in search of what may be hidden there; but,according to his own story, he was in the city that night untilsome time after the murder was committed."
"Yes, according to his own story, but in reality he did not go tothe city at all that night. More than that, he was seen in thisvicinity about midnight with a couple of suspicious lookingcharacters."
"By George! when did you learn that?"
"I knew it when Brown gave his testimony at the inquest."
"The deuce you did! and then let the rascal give you the slip,after all!"
"Don't give yourself any anxiety on that score; I can produce Brownany hour he's wanted.
One of my subordinates has his eye on himday and night. At last reports, he and Brown were occupying thesame room in a third-class lodging house; I'll wager they're havinga game of cards together this evening."
"Well, well! you have stolen a march on us. But, if I may ask, whydon't you bag your game?"
"I am using him as a decoy for larger game. Whatever Brown is mixedup in, he is only a tool in the hands of older and shrewder rascals."
Before the attorney could say anything further, Merrick rose abruptlyand stepped to a table near by, returning with a package.
"What do you think of that?" he asked, removing the wrappings andholding up the rusty, metallic box.
"Great heavens!" ejaculated Mr. Whitney, springing forward excitedly."Why, man alive, you don't mean to say that you have found the jewels!"
"No such good fortune as that yet," the detective answered quietly,"only the empty casket;" and having opened the box, he handed it tothe attorney.
"Where did you find this?" the latter inquired.
"Fished it out of the lake."
"Ah-h! I should like to know when."
"While you were snoring this morning."
"Great Scott! They'll catch a weasel asleep when they find younapping! But, by George! this rather confirms my theory about thatwoman getting possession of the jewels and hiring Brown to help her,doesn't it?"
Without replying, Merrick handed over the revolver which had beenbrought to light that morning.
"Where did you get this rusty thing? Was it in the lake, also?"
The detective nodded affirmatively, and Mr. Whitney examined theweapon in some perplexity.
"Well, I must say," he remarked at length, "I don't see whatconnection this has with the case. The shooting was done withHugh Mainwaring's own revolver; that was settled at the inquest-"
"Pardon me! It was only 'settled' that the revolver found lyingbeside him was his own."
The attorney stared as Merrick continued, at the same time producingfrom his pocket the revolver in question, "This, as you aredoubtless aware, is a Smith and Wesson, 32 calibre, while that,"pointing to the rusty weapon in Mr. Whitney's hands, "is an oldColt's revolver, a 38. On the morning of the murder, after you andthe coroner had gone, I found the bullet for which we had searchedunsuccessfully, and from that hour to this I have known, what beforeI had suspected, that this dainty little weapon of Mr. Mainwaring'splayed no part in the shooting. Here is the bullet, you can see foryourself."
Mr. Whitney gazed in silent astonishment as the detective comparedthe bullet with the two weapons, showing conclusively that it couldnever have been discharged from the familiar 32-calibre revolver.
"Well, I'll be blessed if I can see what in the dickens thatrevolver of Mainwaring's had to do with the affair, anyway!"
"Very easily explained when you once take into consideration thefact that the whole thing was an elaborately arranged plan, on thepart of the murderer, to give the affair an appearance of suicide.One glance at the murdered man convinced me that the wound hadnever been produced by the weapon lying at his side. That clueled to others, and when I left that room with you, to attend theinquest, I knew that Hugh Mainwaring had been shot with a 38-calibrerevolver, in his library, near the centre of the room, and that thebody had afterwards been so arranged in the tower-room as to givethe appearance of his having deliberately shot himself beside hisdesk and with his own revolver."
"By George! I believe you're right," said the attorney; "and Irecall now your statement that day, that the shooting had occurredin the library; I wondered then what reason you had for such anopinion."
"A small stain on the library carpet and the bullet told me thatmuch. Another thing, which at first puzzled me, was the markedabsence of blood-stains. There was a small pool of blood underneaththe head, a slight stain on the carpet in the adjoining room, butnone on the clothing or elsewhere. The solution to this I foundon further investigation. The wound had been firmly and skillfullybandaged by an expert hand, the imprint of the bandage beingplainly visible in the hair on the temples. Here is the proof thatI was correct," and Merrick held up to the attorney's astonishedview the stained and knotted handkerchief. "This, with the privatekeys belonging to Mr. Mainwaring's library, was in that box at thebottom of the lake. Do you consider Mrs. LaGrange or Hobson capableof planning and carrying out an affair so adroitly as that?"
"You've got me floored," the attorney answered, gazing at the proofsbefore him. "Hobson I know nothing about; but that woman I believecould scheme to beat the very devil himself; and yet, Merrick, whenyou think of it, it must have taken time--considerable time--toplan a thing like that."
"Or else," Merrick suggested, "it was the performance of an expertcriminal; no bungling, no work of a green hand."
Mr. Whitney started slightly, but the detective continued. "Anotherpoint: Hobson, as you say, was the one man whom Hugh Mainwaringfeared and who evidently had some hold upon him; would he then havedared denounce him as a liar and an impostor? Would not his use ofsuch terms imply that he was addressing one whom he considered astranger and unacquainted with the facts in the case?"
"I see," the attorney replied quickly; "you have in mind Hobson'saccomplice, the tall man with dark glasses."
Merrick smiled. "You are then inclined to the opinion that J. HenryCarruthers, who called in the afternoon, is identical with theso-called Jack Carroll who accompanied Hobson in the evening?"
"Certainly that is a reasonable supposition. The descriptions ofthe two men agree remarkably, and the darkey was positive, both inhis testimony at the inquest and in conversation with me, that theywere one and the same person."
"Their general appearance seems to have been much the same, buttheir conduct and actions were totally unlike. Carruthers actedfearlessly, with no attempt at concealment; while, if you will stopto think of it, of all the witnesses who tried to give a descriptionof Carroll, not one had seen his face. He always remained in thebackground, as much concealed as possible."
"I don't deny that you are correct," the attorney said musingly;"and they may have been two distinct individuals, Carroll evidentlybeing the guilty party; but even in that event, in my opinion, hewas only carrying out with a skillful hand the plans already arrangedby that woman and Hobson."
"Whatever part Carroll took in the affair, he was undoubtedlyHobson's agent; and you will find that Hobson and Mrs. LaGrange havebeen more intimately associated and for a much longer time than yoususpect," and Merrick repeated what he had overheard of the interviewin Mrs. LaGrange's parlor, just after the close of the inquest.
Mr. Whitney listened with deep interest. "Well, well! And youheard her accuse him of being an accessory? Of course she referredto the murder. By George! I should have wanted them arrested onthe spot!"
After a slight pause, he continued. "There's one thing, Merrick,in the conduct of Carruthers which I don't understand. Why, aftertelling the secretary that he would remain at the Arlington for thenext two or three days, should he return to the city the next morningon the 3.10 train?"
"He seems to have been an impulsive man, who acted on the spur ofthe moment," Merrick answered; "but the strangest part of that is,that he did not return to the city at all. He bought a ticket forNew York, but the conductor informs me there was no such man onboard; while the north-bound train, which pulls out about fiveminutes later, had a passenger answering exactly to his description.The conductor on the latter train also informed me that, just asthey were pulling out of the station, a man, tall and dark, rathergood-looking, he should judge, though he could not see his face, andwearing a long, light overcoat, sprang aboard, decidedly winded, asthough from running, and immediately steered for the darkest cornerof the smoking-car, where he sat with his hat well drawn down overhis face."
"Carroll again, by George!" exclaimed the attorney.
"Here is a problem for you to solve," Merrick continued, pointingto the revolver and box lying side by side. "You think Brown threwthose in the lake. W
ho was the man that Brown saw standing besidethe lake just before three o'clock in the morning, and what was hedoing? He was tall and dark, and wore a long coat or ulster. Wasthat Carroll or Carruthers? Did he throw anything into the lake?And if so, what?"
Mr. Whitney gazed dubiously at the detective for a moment, thenbegan to whistle softly, while he slowly shook his head.
"No, Merrick; you've got me there! I never have had enoughexperience in this line that I could go into the detail work. Ihave to be guided by the main points in the case. Then, again, Igave Brown's testimony very little thought, as I considered himunreliable and irresponsible."
"Well, to come back to the 'main points,' then: what reasons haveyou for connecting Mrs. LaGrange and Hobson with this affair thatmight not apply equally well in the cases of certain other people?"
"What reason? Why, man alive! there is every reason to considerMrs. LaGrange the instigator of the whole affair. In the firstplace, her one object and aim for the past seventeen or eighteenyears has been to get hold of Hugh Mainwaring's property, to securefor herself and her son what she calls their 'rights'--"
"That is the point," Merrick interrupted. "You consider her guiltybecause she would be interested in securing a hold upon the property,although she, personally, has no claim whatever. Has it neveroccurred to you that there might be others more deeply interestedthan she, inasmuch as they have valid claims, being the rightfulheirs?"
"I never thought of such a possibility," said the astonishedattorney; "and I don't know that I understand now to whom you refer."
"I have learned from various reliable sources," the detectivereplied, "that Ralph Mainwaring has a younger brother, Harold, whois as much of a money-lover as himself, though too indolent to takethe same measures for acquiring it. He is a reckless, unprincipledfellow, and having about run through his own property, I understand,he has had great expectations regarding this American estate,depending upon his share of the same to retrieve his wasted fortune.I learned yesterday, by cable, that since the departure of RalphMainwaring and his family for this country, his brother has beenmissing, and it is supposed, among his associates in London, thathe took the next steamer for America, intending to assert his ownclaims."
"And you think--" the attorney interrupted, breathlessly; butMerrick shook his head and continued,--
"I have also, in the course of my investigations, incidentallydiscovered Hugh Mainwaring's secret, and, consequently, Hobson'ssecret, only that I know the real facts in the case, which Hobsondoes not know. You, as Mainwaring's friend, will not care tolearn the details, and I shall not speak of them now, but I willsay this much: there are probably in existence to-day, and perhapsnot very far distant, heirs to this property, having a claimpreceding not only that of Ralph Mainwaring or his son, but ofHugh Mainwaring himself."
There was silence for a few moments as the detective paused, Mr.Whitney's surprise rendering him speechless; at last he said,--
"Well, you are a truthful fellow, Merrick, and you never jump atconclusions, so I know your statements can be relied upon; but I'llbe blessed if I understand how or when you have gathered all thisinformation together. I suppose it would be useless to ask yourdeductions from all this, but I wish you would answer one or twoquestions. Do you think that this Harold Mainwaring, or thosepossible heirs you mention, would put in an appearance personally,or that they would work through agents and emissaries?"
"Depends altogether upon circumstances. Harold Mainwaring would notbe likely to appear on the scene unless he were pretty effectuallydisguised. As to the others,--if they were to assert their claim,--itwould be difficult to say just what course they might take.I have made these statements merely to give you a hint of thepossibilities involved in the case. It is now getting rather late,but I will give you one or two pointers to ruminate upon. Don'tthink that Hobson will run any risks or put himself to any personalinconvenience for Mrs. LaGrange. He is working first and foremostfor Richard Hobson, after that for whoever will pay him best.Another thing, don't ever for a moment imagine that Hugh Mainwaring'sprivate secretary is looking for a job. It's my opinion he'll giveyou fellows one of the hardest jobs you ever tackled; and, unlessI'm greatly mistaken, he's got brains enough and backing enough tocarry through whatever he undertakes."
"Say! I don't know as I exactly catch your meaning; but that's onething I wanted to ask you. What do you think of that young man,anyway? I can't make him out."
"I noticed that you had not assigned him any place in that theoryof yours."
"No; he's been a mystery to me, a perfect mystery; but this eveninga new idea has occurred to me, and I would like your judgment on it.Has he ever reminded you of any one? That is, can you recall anyone whom he resembles?"
"Well, I should say there was a marked resemblance. I've oftenwondered where your eyes were that you had not seen it."
"You have noticed it, then? Well, so have I; but it has puzzled me,for, though the look was familiar, I was unable to recall whose itwas until to-night. Now that I have recalled it, that, taken inconnection with some other things I have observed, has led me towonder whether it were possible that he is a son of HughMainwaring's, of whose existence no one in this country has everknown."
"Hugh Mainwaring! I don't understand you."
"Why, you just acknowledged you had noticed the resemblance betweenthem!"
"I beg your pardon; but you must recollect that I have never seenHugh Mainwaring living, and have little idea how he looked."
"By George! that's a fact. Well, then, who in the dickens do youthink he resembles?"
The coachman's step was heard at that instant on the stairs, andMerrick's reply was necessarily brief.
"Laying aside expression, take feature for feature, and you havethe face of Mrs. LaGrange."