XIV WHO GAVE THE POISON?
Though Fleming Stone's acumen and quick perception had led to a swiftapprehension of Bates, his next steps were not taken so rapidly. He spentmuch time in the boudoir of Miss Carrington, as if striving to make thewalls tell what their traditional ears had heard.
The upset breakfast tray had been removed, but nothing else disturbed.Estelle had owned up, after Bates' arrest, that she did drop the tray, inher fright at the sight of the dead lady, and that she afterward deniedit lest she be suspected of wrong-doing.
The plate that had contained sandwiches was still on the bedside table,but the glass of milk, with bromide in, had been carried away.
Stone looked at the empty plate, and wondered. Had the poison been placedin the sandwiches? By Estelle? By anybody else? Who had had opportunity?Estelle had brought the sandwiches and milk to the bedroom, according toher usual custom, when she prepared the bed for the night. A tinyserviette had been over the sandwiches, and was still there beside theplate. Stone looked at it. A mere wisp of fine linen, with a monogrammedcorner. The few wrinkles in it showed clearly to Stone's sharp eyes thedainty touch of fingers that had held the caviare sandwich. Itundoubtedly denoted that Miss Carrington had eaten the sandwich. Had anyone merely removed it, the napkin would have been uncreased. He had beentold that she rarely ate this night luncheon, though it was always placedfor her. Why had she partaken of it on that particular night? Had someone advised her to? Or urged it? Had the Count really visited her in theboudoir, and having previously arranged the poisoned sandwich, made surethat it would perform its deadly mission? Could he have entered the roomunknown to the rest of the household?
Stone went to the window. Yes, that matter was easy enough. A balconyoutside the long French window was connected with the lower verandah by aspiral staircase. Any one could run up the steps and be admitted to theboudoir in perfect secrecy. Stone wondered for a moment why Bates hadn'tentered that way, and quickly realized that for a marauder to appear atthe window would have frightened Miss Carrington and caused an outcry.The entrance of the Count, however, whether expected or not, would beeasily effected.
If the Count were really guilty, the circumstances were all explicable.Suppose Miss Carrington had made the appointment. Would she not, in hervanity, have donned the beautiful boudoir gown and the jewels to appearattractive in his eyes? And, supposing she had playfully caught his gloveas he removed it, and had half-unconsciously continued to hold it. Thenthe conversation alleged to have been overheard by Miss Frayne would havebeen addressed to him, and the remarks would be, at least, intelligible.
The snake? Ah, yes, the snake. As to that there was no hint, no clue ofany sort. But then, the thing was so inexplicable, that the explanation_must_ be easy. A clue so strange, so bizarre, must lead somewhere. Thatcould be left to the future. Now, he must decide on his first steps.
The decision took him to call on Doctor Stanton, and the physicianwelcomed him warmly.
"Glad to see you, Mr. Stone," he said; "sit down, sir, sit down. I'vebeen wanting a talk with you ever since I heard of your arrival. Soyou've ferreted out the burglar already! Great work, great work indeed!And now for the real murderer. You see, sir, I'm up to the minute in myinformation regarding this case."
"Glad to know it," returned Stone. "Now, Doctor Stanton, I hope you canhelp me. I don't mind admitting the thing has its baffling aspects. Theburglar was easily traced, and easily disposed of. The real work, as yousay, is just beginning. Will you, sir, tell me all you know of the poisonthat killed Miss Carrington?"
"Surely, Mr. Stone. The autopsy showed a fatal dose of aconitine.Aconite, as you of course know, is the herb, wolfsbane, of the Helleboretribe, all the species of which are poisonous. Aconitine is an intenselypoisonous alkaloid obtained from aconite. Taken in a moderate quantity,it acts as a powerful sedative, but the dose absorbed by Miss Carringtonwas undoubtedly fatal within half or three-quarters of an hour."
"And she died at what time?"
"About two o'clock."
"Proving she took the poison at about quarter or half after one."
"Yes; thereabouts. It is not possible to fix these hours precisely, butthe poison was administered positively between one and two."
"Administered? You do not think then, that she took it herself?"
"Most certainly not! Miss Carrington has been in my care, professionally,for many years. I knew her very well, and I know nobody more opposed tomedicine in any form or drugs of any sort. It was a most difficult taskto persuade her to take even the simplest remedy, and then she had to beassured over and over again that it was harmless. No, Mr. Stone, nothingcould have made her take that dose of her own accord, nor could any onehave persuaded her to take it, consciously. It was, without doubt, givento her secretly, by the clever ruse of the murderer. Of course it couldnot have been an accident. The marvelous part is, to my mind, how any onesecured the poison. It is not an easy matter to buy aconitine."
"Then that ought to make it easier to trace. If the public could easilyprocure it at will, there would be greater difficulty in running down thepurchaser."
"That is so; and yet, I think your search will be a hard one. How shallyou go about it?"
"By canvassing the drug shops of the city, and of the small towns aswell."
"It may be you can trace the sale. But if it was bought under promise ofsecrecy, and if that secrecy were well paid for----?"
"True, there is the difficulty. But what's a detective for if not to findout secrets?"
"Quite right. May your quest succeed."
"And now, a little more about the action of this poison. What are theimmediate effects of a fatal dose?"
"In a few moments there occurs a tingling numbness of lip and tongue andpharynx. The numbness increases and affects all the muscles and deathensues inside of an hour. This paralyzing effect renders it impossiblefor the victim to cry out, and there are no convulsions. The body remainscalm and undisturbed, and the eyes open. A dilatation of the pupil takesplace, but the expression on the face remains as in life. This is whyMiss Carrington continued to look happy and smiling----"
"And proves that when she took the poison she was happy and smiling, andtherefore in no way terrorized or frightened into it."
"Exactly so. And that indicates that she didn't know she was takingit,----"
"Or, that it was administered by some one she knew and loved and had allconfidence in."
"It would seem so," and Doctor Stanton's fine old face showed a sadapprehension.
"How was it taken,--in what medium?"
"That we can't tell to a certainty. There were traces of the sandwichesdiscovered at the autopsy, but, though the poison could have been givenher, concealed in a sandwich filling, it is improbable."
"Why?"
"Because the white granules or powder, which are soluble in water, wouldbe more easily discerned in solid food."
"But, on the other hand, it could be unostentatiously placed in asandwich, with little fear of detection; but to prevail on her to swallowa solution,--it is bitter, is it not?"
"Yes, slightly so. I admit, I cannot imagine any one inducing MissCarrington to swallow such a draught. Therefore, it may well be, it wasplaced in a sandwich. The filling, they tell me, was caviare, which woulddisguise the bitterness."
"And does not all this, if true, point to some one exceedingly familiarwith all the details of Miss Carrington's affairs? Some one who knew ofher nightly sandwich? And, also, does it not imply the presence of someone who could and did insure her consumption of that sandwich?"
"It would indeed seem so, Mr. Stone; but when it comes to discussing sucha question as that, I must ask to be allowed to retire from the field. Itis my duty to tell all I know, from my medical experience, but furtherthan that I am not obliged to express any opinions or voice anysuspicions."
"You know, however, that Count Charlier is held pending investigation?"
"Yes, I kn
ow it. I have no opinion to express."
Fleming Stone rather admired this gentleman of the old school, whosecourtesy was evident, but equally so his determination to say only whatjustice demanded of his profession.
And then, like a flash, the reason came to him. Doctor Stanton suspected,or at least feared to suspect some member of the Carrington household.
Of course, this was not a new idea to Fleming Stone. He had mentally goneover the possibility of every one in the family and all of the servantsat Garden Steps, but so far he had held his mind open for impressionsrather than to formulate theories himself.
"Then, to sum up, doctor," he said, as he rose to go, "you assure me thatyou consider it out of the question that Miss Carrington took theaconitine herself, say, as a headache cure, or something, intending onlya small curative dose?"
"Absolutely impossible, sir," exclaimed the old gentleman, almostangrily; "to begin with, Miss Carrington never had headaches, and if shehad she would have borne any amount of suffering from them before shewould have touched a drug or a medicinal remedy of any sort. And, asidefrom all that, how could she get aconitine? It is not to be bought forthe asking at any druggist's! No, sir, my conscience makes me insist onthat point, Miss Carrington never took that poison knowingly,--either byaccident or design. It was given to her, without her knowledge, by avery, very clever villain."
"Again, then, could it have been given her innocently, by mistake? Imean, if some one, her maid, or any friend, had wanted to give her asedative, and meant only a light dose, but by error in quantity----"
"No, sir! Not a chance! The amount given was too great to be an error.And every one in that house knows better than ever to have attempted togive medicine in any form or degree or for any purpose to Miss LucyCarrington."
"It was crime, then," said Fleming Stone, "black crime. And as such, itmust be discovered and punished."
"Yes," agreed Doctor Stanton, but he spoke with deep sadness and as onewho feared where or toward whom such discoveries might lead.
From the doctor's house Stone went to see the Count.
That elegant gentleman was highly irate at being detained against hiswill in such plain quarters as The Tombs furnished, but he was not asbelligerent or vindictive as Stone expected to find him.
Hasty work on the part of the detectives from the District Attorney'soffice had resulted in his imprisonment, but the later development ofBates' share in the matter made it extremely probable that the Countmight soon be released from custody.
Pleasantly enough the two men conversed, and Count Charlier gave theimpression of one glad of help from an outside source.
"It is such absurdity," he declared, "to think I would in any way wishharm to the lady. Why, I admired her above all, and it was my hope thatshe would do me the honor to accept my hand."
"Honestly, Count Charlier?" and Stone looked at him with a man-to-manglance that caused the Count to hesitate in his protestations.
"Well, I was considering the matter in my own mind. You know, Mr. Stone,it is a great responsibility, this seeking a wife. And Miss Carringtonwas not--not in her first youth. Of a fact, her years outnumbered my own.So, I asked myself was it wise, was it altogether just to the ladyto----"
"Never mind all that, Count," said Stone, a little impatiently, "justgive me a few details of that evening, so far as your actions wereconcerned. You were at the house till midnight?"
"Yes, Mr. Illsley and I left together. We had spent the evening there atcards and music."
"You had had any private conversation with Miss Carrington during theevening?"
"Yes, we walked alone in the conservatory for a time,----"
"You proposed marriage?"
"Not exactly that,--but I may have hinted at such an event."
"And the lady seemed agreeable?"
"Entirely so. If I may say it, she met my advances half-way, and I couldnot misunderstand her feeling toward my unworthy self."
"She spoke to you of money matters? Of her will?"
"Yes, to my surprise, she told me she had bequeathed to me ten thousanddollars."
"Was not this a strange bequest to a casual acquaintance?"
"Oh, we were more than casual acquaintances. I have known Miss Carringtonfor two or three months."
"Which? two or three?"
"Perhaps nearer two," and the Count showed a slight embarrassment.
"Do your friends often leave you large sums of money on such shortacquaintance?"
"It has never happened before," and now the Count's dignity was touchedand he spoke shortly and coolly.
"Then, of course, it struck you as peculiar," and Stone's smile assumedan acquiescence.
But the Count returned: "Not at all. Miss Carrington was an unusualwoman, and I never expected her behavior to be entirely conventional.When she told me of this I was simply and honestly grateful, as I shouldhave been to any one who showed me such a kindness."
"You were glad to get the money, then?"
"Yes, indeed!" the Count exclaimed, with sparkling eyes, then realizinghis slip, he hastily added: "that is, I was glad of the knowledge that itwould come to me some day. Surely I did not want the lady to die, that Imight receive it, but I was pleased to know she thought enough of me tomake the direction."
"What did she mean by saying 'To-morrow all will be different'?"
"That I do not know. Could she have meant----"
"She did say it, then? You admit she said it to you?"
Breathlessly, Fleming Stone waited the answer. Miss Carrington had saidthis to the person who was with her behind her closed door at oneo'clock! Could the Count be going to incriminate himself?
"Not to me only. She said it to all who were present. It was while wewere playing bridge."
"She said it again to the man who killed her!"
"Of that I know nothing," said Count Charlier, politely.
"Bother!" said Fleming Stone, inaudibly.