CHAPTER XX
THE ESCAPE
I have a confused remembrance of Godfrey stooping for an instantabove the body, staring at it, and then, with a sharp cry, hurlinghimself through that open doorway. A door slammed somewhere, therewas a sound of running feet, and before either Simmonds or myselfunderstood what was happening, Godfrey was back in the room, crossedit at a bound, and dashed to the door opening into the hall, just asit was slammed in his face.
I saw him tear desperately at the knob, then retreat two steps andhurl himself against it. But it held firm, and from the hall outsidecame a burst of mocking laughter that fairly froze my blood.
"Come here, you fools!" cried Godfrey between clenched teeth. "Don'tyou see he's getting away!"
Simmonds was quicker than I, and together they threw themselves atthe door. It cracked ominously, but still held; again they tried, andthis time it split from top to bottom. Godfrey kicked the pieces toeither side and slipped between them, Simmonds after him.
Then, in a sort of trance, I staggered to it, and after a moment'saimless fumbling, was out in the hall again. I reached the stairheadin time to see Godfrey try the front door, and then turn along thelower hall leading to the back of the house. An instant later, achorus of frenzied women's shrieks made my hair stand on end.
How I got down the stair I do not know; but I, too, turned back alongthe lower hall, expecting any instant to come upon I knew not whathorror; I reached an open door, passed through it, and found myselfin the laundry, in the midst of a group of excited and indignantwomen, who greeted my appearance with a fresh series of screams.
Unable to go farther, I sat limply down upon a box and looked atthem.
I dare say the figure I made was ridiculous enough, for the screamsgave place to subdued giggles; but I was far from thinking of myappearance, or of caring what impression I produced. And I was stillsitting there when Godfrey came back, breathing heavily, chagrin andanger in his eyes. The employes of the laundry, conscious thatsomething extraordinary was occurring, crowded about him, but heelbowed his way through them to the desk where the manager sat.
"A crime has been committed upstairs," he said. "This gentleman withme is Mr. Simmonds, of the detective bureau," and at the wordsSimmonds showed his shield. "We shall have to notify headquarters,"Godfrey went on, "and I would advise that you keep your girls attheir work. I don't suppose you want to be mixed up in it."
"Sure not," agreed the manager promptly, and while Simmonds went tothe 'phone and called up police headquarters, the manager dismountedfrom his throne, went down among the girls, and had them back attheir work in short order.
Godfrey came over to me and laid his hand on my shoulder.
"Why, Lester," he said, "you look as though you were at your lastgasp."
"I am," I said. "I'm going to have nervous prostration if this thingkeeps up. You're not looking particularly happy yourself."
"I'm not happy. I've let that fellow kill a man right under my nose--literally, under my nose!--and then get away!"
"Kill a man?" I repeated. "Do you mean...."
"Go upstairs and look at the right hand of the man lying there," saidGodfrey, curtly, "and you'll see what I mean!"
I sat staring at him, unable to believe that I had heard aright;unable to believe that Godfrey had really uttered those words ... theright hand of the man lying there ... that could mean only onething....
Simmonds joined us with a twisted smile on his lips, and I saw thateven he was considerably shaken.
"I got Grady," he said, "and told him what had happened. He says he'stoo busy to come up, and that I'm to take charge of things."
Godfrey laughed a little mocking laugh.
"Grady foresees his Waterloo!" he said. "Well, it's not far distant.But I'm glad for your sake, Simmonds--you're going to get some gloryout of this thing, yet!"
"I hope so," and Simmonds's eyes gleamed an instant. "The ambulancewill be around at once," he added. "We'd better get our shoes on, andgo back upstairs, and see if anything can be done for that fellow."
"There can't anything be done for him," said Godfrey wearily; "butwe'd better have a look at him, I guess," and he led the way out intothe hall.
Not until Simmonds spoke did I remember that I was shoeless. Now Isat down beside Godfrey, got fumblingly into my shoes again, and thenfollowed him and Simmonds slowly up the stair.
I thought I knew what was passing in Godfrey's mind: he was blaminghimself for this latest tragedy; he was telling himself that heshould have foreseen and prevented it; he always blamed himself inthat way when things went wrong--and then, to have the murderer slipthrough his very fingers! I could guess what a mighty shock that hadbeen to his self-confidence!
The latest victim was lying where he had fallen, just inside thedoorway leading into the inner room. Simmonds stepped to the window,threw open the shutters, and let a flood of afternoon sunshine intothe room. Then he knelt beside the body, and held up the limp righthand for us to see.
Just above the knuckles were two tiny incisions, with a drop or twoof blood oozing away from them, and the flesh about them swollen anddiscoloured.
"I knew what it was the instant he yelled '_La mort!_'" said Godfreyquietly. "And _he_ knew what it was the instant he felt the stroke.It is evident enough that he had seen it used before, or heard of it,and knew that it meant instant death."
I sat down, staring at the dead man, and tried to collect my senses.So this fiendish criminal, who slew with poison, had been lurking inVantine's house, and had struck down first Drouet and then the masterof the house himself! But why--why! It was incredible, astounding, mybrain reeled at the thought. And yet it must be true!
I looked again at the third victim, and saw a man roughly dressed,with bushy black hair and tangled beard; a very giant of a man, whosephysical strength must have been enormous--and yet it had availed himnothing against that tiny pin-prick on the hand!
And then a sudden thought brought me bolt upright.
"But Armand!" I cried. "Where is Armand?"
Godfrey looked at me with a half-pitying smile.
"What, Lester!" he said, "don't you understand, even yet? It was yourfascinating M. Armand who did that," and he pointed to the dead man.
I felt as though I had been struck a heavy blow upon the head; blackcircles whirled before my eyes....
"Go over to the window," said Godfrey, peremptorily, "and get somefresh air."
Mechanically I obeyed, and stood clinging to the window-sill, gazingdown at the busy street, where the tide of humanity was flowing upand down, all unconscious of the tragedy which had been enacted soclose at hand. And, at last, the calmness of all these people, thesight of the world going quietly on as usual, restored me a portionof my self-control. But even yet I did not understand.
"Was it Armand," I asked, turning back into the room, "who lay therein the corner?"
"Certainly it was," Godfrey answered. "Who else could it be?"
"Godfrey!" I cried, remembering suddenly. "Did you see his eyes as helay there watching the man at the cabinet?"
"Yes; I saw them."
"They were the same eyes...."
"The same eyes."
"And the laugh--did you hear that laugh?"
"Certainly I heard it."
"I heard it once before," I said, "and you thought it was a case ofnerves!"
I fell silent a moment, shivering a little at the remembrance.
"But why did Armand lie there so quietly?" I asked, at last. "Was heinjured?"
Godfrey made a little gesture toward the corner.
"Go see for yourself," he said.
Something lay along the wall, on the spot where I had seen thatfigure, and as I bent over it, I saw that it was a large net, finelymeshed but very strong.
"That was dropped over Armand's head as he came up the stairs," saidGodfrey, "or flung over him as he came into the room. Then the deadman yonder jumped upon him and trussed him up with those ropes."
Pushing the ne
t aside, I saw upon the floor a little pile of severedcords.
"Yes," I agreed; "he would be able to do that. Have you noticed hissize, Godfrey? He was almost a giant!"
"He couldn't have done it if Armand hadn't been willing that heshould," retorted Godfrey, curtly. "You see he had no difficulty ingetting away," and he held up the net and pointed to the great rentsin it. "He cut his way out while he was lying there--I ought to haveknown--I ought to have known he wasn't bound--that he was onlywaiting--but it was all so sudden...."
He threw the net down upon the floor with a gesture of disgust anddespair. Then he stopped in front of the Boule cabinet and lookeddown at it musingly; and, after a moment, his face brightened.
The burlap wrappings had been almost wholly torn away, and thecabinet stood, more insolently beautiful than ever, it seemed to me,under the rays of the sun, which sparkled and glittered and shimmeredas they fell upon it.
"But we'll get him, Simmonds," said Godfrey, and his lips broke intoa smile. "In fact, we've got him now. We have only to wait, and he'llwalk into our arms. Simmonds, I want you to lock this cabinet up inthe strongest cell around at your station; and carry the keyyourself."
"Lock it up?" stammered Simmonds, staring at him.
"Yes," said Godfrey, "lock it up. That's our one salvation!" His facewas glowing; he was quite himself again, alert, confident of victory."You're in charge of this case, aren't you? Well, lock it up, andgive your reasons to nobody."
"That'll be easy," laughed Simmonds. "I haven't got any reasons."
"Oh, yes, you have," and Godfrey bent upon him a gaze that waspositively hypnotic. "You will do it because I want you to, andbecause I tell you that, sooner or later, if you keep this cabinetsafe where no one can get at it, the man we want will walk into ourhands. And I'll tell you more than that, Simmonds; if we do get him,I'll have the biggest story I ever had, and you will be world-famous.France will make you a chevalier of the Legion of Honour, Simmonds,mark my words. Don't you think the ribbon would look well in yourbutton-hole?"
Simmonds was staring at the speaker as though he thought he hadsuddenly gone mad. Indeed, the thought flashed through my own brainthat the disappointment, the chagrin of failure, had been too muchfor Godfrey.
He burst into laughter as he saw our faces.
"No, I'm not mad," he said, more soberly; "and I'm not joking. I'mspeaking in deadly earnest, Simmonds, when I say that this fellow isthe biggest catch we could make. He's the greatest criminal of moderntimes--I repeat it, Lester, this time without qualification. And now,perhaps, you'll agree with me."
And with Armand, so finished, so self-poised, so distinguished, in mymind, and the body of his latest victim before my eyes, I noddedgloomily.
"But who is he?" I asked. "Do you know who he is, Godfrey?"
"There's the ambulance," broke in Simmonds, as a knock came at thestreet door, and he hurried down to open it.
"Come on, Lester," and Godfrey hooked his arm through mine. "There'snothing more we can do here. We'll go down the back way. I've hadenough excitement for the time being--haven't you?"
"I certainly have," I agreed, and he led the way back along the hallto another stair, down it and so out through the laundry.
"But, Godfrey, who is this man?" I repeated. "Why did he kill thatpoor fellow up there? Why did he kill Drouet and Vantine? How did heget into the Vantine house? What is it all about?"
"Ah!" he said, looking at me with a smile. "That is the importantquestion--what is it all about! But we can't discuss it here in thestreet. Besides, I want to think it over, Lester; and I want you tothink it over. If I can, I'll drop in to-night to see you, and we canthresh it out! Will that suit you?"
"Yes," I said; "and for heaven's sake, don't fail to come!"