CHAPTER THIRTY
THE MORTUARY
Melky, who had grown breathless in his efforts to carry out hiscompanion's wishes, turned and looked at him with no attempt to concealhis wonder.
"Well, s'elp me if you ain't a cool 'un, Mr. Ayscough!" he exclaimed."Here you troubles to track a chap to this here Underground Railway,seen him pop into it like a rabbit into a hole--and let's him go! Whatdid we follow him up Gower Street for? Just to see him set off for aride?"
"All right, my lad!" repeated Ayscough. "You don't quite understand ourlittle ways. Wait here a minute."
He drew one of his cards from his pocket and carrying it into thebooking office exchanged a few words with the clerk at the window.Presently he rejoined Melky. "He took a ticket for Whitechapel,"remarked Ayscough as he strolled quietly up. "Ah! now what does a youngJapanese medical student want going down that way at eleven o'clock atnight? Something special, no doubt, Mr. Rubinstein. However, I'm goingwestward just now. Just going to have a look in at the Great WesternHotel, to see if Mr. Purdie heard anything from that American chap--andthen I'm for home and bed. Like to come to the hotel with me?"
"Strikes me we might as well make a night of it!" remarked Melky asthey recrossed the road and sought a west-bound train. "We've had suchan evening as I never expected! Mr. Ayscough! when on earth is thisgoing to come to something like a clearing-up?"
Ayscough settled himself in a corner of a smoking-carriage and leanedback.
"My own opinion," he said, "is that it's coming to an end. Tomorrow,the news of the Chinaman's murder'll be the talk of the town. And ifthat doesn't fetch Levendale out of whatever cranny he's crept into,hanged if I know what will!"
"Ah! you think that, do you?" said Melky. "But--why should that newsfetch him out?"
"Don't know!" replied Ayscough, almost unconcernedly. "But I'm almostcertain that it will. You see--I think Levendale's looking for Chen Li.Now, if Levendale hears that Chen Li's lying dead in ourmortuary--what? See?"
Melky murmured that Mr. Ayscough was a cute 'un, and relapsed intothought until the train pulled up at Praed Street. He followed thedetective up the streets and across the road to the hotel, dumblywondering how many times that day he had been in and about that quarteron this apparently interminable chase. He was getting dazed--butAyscough who was still smoking the cigar which Yada had given him,strode along into the hotel entrance apparently as fresh as paint.
Purdie had a private sitting-room in connection with his bedroom, andthere they found him and Lauriston, both smoking pipes and eachevidently full of thought and speculation. They jumped to their feet asthe detective entered.
"I say!" exclaimed Lauriston. "Is this true?--this about the Chinesechap? Is it what they think at your police-station?--connected with theother affairs? We've been waiting, hoping you'd come in!"
"Ah!" said Ayscough, dropping into a chair. "We've been pretty busy, meand Mr. Rubinstein there--we've had what you might call a pretty fullevening's work of it. Yes--it's true enough, gentlemen--another step inthe ladder--another brick in the building! We're getting on, Mr.Purdie, we're getting on! So you've been round to our place?--they toldyou, there!"
"They gave us a mere outline," answered Purdie. "Just the bare facts. Isuppose you've heard nothing of the other Chinaman?"
"Not a circumstance--as yet," said Ayscough. "But I'm in hopes--I'vedone a bit, I think, towards it--with Mr. Rubinstein's help, though hedoesn't quite understand my methods. But you, gentlemen--I came in tohear if you'd anything to tell about Guyler. What did he think aboutwhat John Purvis had to tell us this afternoon?"
"He wasn't surprised," answered Purdie. "Don't you remember that heassured us from the very start that diamonds would be found to be atthe bottom of this. But he surprised us!"
"Aye? How?" asked Ayscough. "Some news?"
"Guyler swears that he saw Stephen Purvis this very morning," repliedPurdie. "He's confident of it!"
"Saw Stephen Purvis--this very morning!" exclaimed Ayscough. "Where,now?"
"Guyler had business down in the City--in the far end of it," saidPurdie. "He was crossing Bishopsgate when he saw Stephen Purvis--heswears it was Stephen Purvis!--nothing can shake him! He, Purvis, wasjust turning the corner into a narrow alley running out of the street.Guyler rushed after him--he'd disappeared. Guyler waited, watching thatalley, he says, like a cat watches a mouse-hole--and all in vain. Hewatched for an hour--it was no good."
"Pooh!" said Ayscough. "If it was Purvis, he'd walked straight throughthe alley and gone out at the other end."
"No!" remarked Lauriston. "At least, not according to Guyler. Guylersays it was a long, narrow alley--Purvis couldn't have reached one end bythe time he'd reached the other. He says--Guyler--that on each side ofthat alley there are suites of offices--he reckoned there were a fewhundred separate offices in the lot, and that it would take him a weekto make enquiry at the doors of each. But he's certain that Purvisdisappeared into one block of them and dead certain that it was StephenPurvis that he saw. So--Purvis is alive!"
"Where's the other Purvis--the farmer?" asked Ayscough.
"Stopping with Guyler at the Great Northern," answered Lauriston."We've all four been down in the City, looking round, this evening.Guyler and John Purvis are going down again first thing in the morning.John Purvis, of course, is immensely relieved to know that Guyler'scertain about his brother. I say!--do you know what Guyler's theory isabout that diamond of Stephen's?"
"No--and what might Mr. Guyler's theory be, now Mr. Lauriston?"enquired the detective. "There's such a lot of ingenious theories aboutthat one may as well try to take in another. Mr. Rubinstein there isabout weary of theories."
But Melky was pricking his ears at the mere mention of anythingrelating to the diamond.
"That's his chaff, Mr. Lauriston," he said. "Never mind him! What doesGuyler think?"
"Well, of course, Guyler doesn't know yet about the Chinesedevelopment," said Lauriston. "Guyler thinks the robbery has been thework of a gang--a clever lot of diamond thieves who knew about StephenPurvis's find of the orange-yellow thing and put in a lot of big workabout getting it when it reached England. And he believes that thatgang has kidnapped Levendale, and that Stephen Purvis is working insecret to get at them. That's Guyler's notion, anyhow."
"Well!" said Ayscough. "And there may be something in it! For thissearch--how do we know that at any rate one of these Chinamen mayn'thave had some connection with this gang? You never know--and to get adead straight line at a thing's almost impossible. However, we've takensteps to have the news about the diamond and about this Chen Li appearin tomorrow morning's papers, and if that doesn't rouse the wholetown--"
A tap at the door prefaced the entrance of a waiter, who lookedapologetically at its inmates.
"Beg pardon, gentlemen," he said, "Mr. Ayscough? Gentleman outsidewould like a word with you, if you please, sir."
Ayscough picked up his hat and walked out--there, waiting a little waydown the corridor, an impressive figure in his big black cloak andwide-brimmed hat, stood Dr. Mirandolet. He strode forward as thedetective advanced.
"I heard you were here, so I came up," he said, leading Ayscough away."Look here, my friend--one of your people has told me of this affair atMolteno Lodge--the discovery of the Chinaman's dead body."
"That young fellow, Rubinstein, who called on you early this evening,and got me to accompany him discovered it," said Ayscough, who waswondering what the doctor was after. "I was with him."
"I have heard, too," continued Mirandolet, "also from one of yourpeople, about the strange story of the diamond which came out thisafternoon, from the owner's brother. Now--I'll tell you why after--Iwant to see that dead Chinaman! I've a particular reason. Will you comewith me to the mortuary?"
Ayscough's curiosity was aroused by Mirandolet's manner, and withoutgoing back to Purdie's room, he set out with him. Mirandolet remainedstrangely silent until they came to the street in which the mortuarystood.
"A strange and mys
terious matter this, my friend!" he said. "Thatlittle Rubinstein man might have had some curious premonition when hecame to me tonight with his odd question about Chinese!"
"Just what I said myself, doctor!" agreed Ayscough.
"It did look as if he'd a sort of foreboding, eh? But--Hullo!"
He stopped short as a taxi-cab driven at a considerable speed, camerushing down the street and passing them swiftly turned into the widerroad beyond. And the sudden exclamation was forced from his lipsbecause it seemed to him that as the cab sped by he saw a yellow-huedface within it--for the fraction of a second. Quick as that glimpsewas, Ayscough was still quicker as he glanced at the number on the backof the car--and memorized it.
"Odd!" he muttered, "odd! Now, I could have sworn--" He broke off, andhurried after Mirandolet who had stridden ahead. "Here we are, doctor,"he said, as they came to the door of the mortuary. "There's a man onnight duty here, so there's no difficulty about getting in."
There was a drawing of bolts, a turning of keys; the door opened, and aman looked out and seeing Ayscough and Dr. Mirandolet, admitted theminto an ante-room and turned up the gas.
"We want to see that Chinaman, George," said the detective. "Shan'tkeep you long."
"There's a young foreign doctor just been to see him, Mr. Ayscough,"said the man. "You'd pass his car down the street--he hasn't been gonethree minutes. Young Japanese--brought your card with him."
Ayscough turned on the man as if he had given him the most startlingnews in the world.
"What?" he exclaimed, "Japanese? Brought my card?"
"Showed me it as soon as he got here," answered the attendant,surprised at Ayscough's amazement. "Said you'd given it to him, so thathe could call here and identify the body. So, of course, I let him goin."
Ayscough opened his mouth in sheer amazement. But before he could getout a word, Mirandolet spoke, seizing the mortuary-keeper by the arm inhis eagerness.
"You let that man--a Japanese--see the dead Chinaman--_alone_?" hedemanded.
"Why, of course!" the attendant answered surlily. "He'd Mr. Ayscough'scard, and--"
Mirandolet dropped the man's arm and threw up his own long white hands.
"Merciful Powers!" he vociferated. "He has stolen the diamond!"