CHAPTER FOUR
THE PLATINUM SOLITAIRE
The newcomer, an elderly, thick-set man, who, in spite of his plainclothes, looked as if he were an official of some sort and carried somedocuments in his hand, at which he was glancing as he entered, startedand exclaimed as Lauriston, in his haste, ran up against him. "Hullo!"he said. "What's the matter? You seem in a hurry, young fellow!"
Lauriston, almost out of breath with excitement, turned and pointed tothe open door of the little parlour.
"There's an old man--lying in there--dead!" he whispered. "Agrey-bearded old man--is it the pawn-broker--Mr. Multenius?"
The man stared, craned his neck to glance in the direction whichLauriston's shaking finger indicated, and then started forward. But hesuddenly paused, and motioned Lauriston to go first--and beforefollowing him he closed the street door.
"Now then, where?" he said. "Dead, do you say?" He followed Lauristoninto the parlour, uttered a sharp exclamation as he caught sight of therecumbent figure, and, bending down, laid a hand on the forehead."Dead, right enough, my lad!" he muttered. "Been dead some minutes,too. But--where's the girl--the grand-daughter? Have you seen anybody?"
"Not a soul!" answered Lauriston. "Since I came in, the whole place hasbeen as still as--as it is now!"
The man stared at him for a second or two, silently; then, as if heknew the ins and outs of the establishment, he strode to an inner door,threw it open and revealed a staircase.
"Hullo there!" he called loudly. "Hullo! Miss Wildrose! Are you there?"
This was the first time Lauriston had heard Zillah's surname: even inthe midst of that startling discovery, it struck him as a very poeticalone. But he had no time to reflect on it--the man turned back into theparlour.
"She must be out," he said. "Do you say you found him?"
"Yes--I found him," answered Lauriston. "Just now."
"And what were you doing here?" asked the man. "Who are you?"
Lauriston fancied he detected a faint note of suspicion in thesequestions, and he drew himself up, with a flush on his face.
"My name's Andrew Lauriston," he answered. "I live close by. I came inon--business. Who are you?"
"Well, if it comes to that, my lad," said the man, "I'mDetective-Sergeant Ayscough--known well enough around these parts! Icame to see the old gentleman about these papers. Now--what was yourbusiness, then?"
He was watching Lauriston very keenly, and Lauriston, suddenlyrealizing that he was in an awkward position, determined on candour.
"Well, if you really want to know," he said, "I came to borrow somemoney--on these rings."
And he opened his left hand and showed the detective the two ringswhich he had taken from his trunk--not half-an-hour before.
"Your property?" asked Ayscough.
"Of course they're my property!" exclaimed Lauriston. "Whose elseshould they be?"
Ayscough's glance wandered from the rings to a table which stood, alittle to one side, in the middle of the parlour. Lauriston turned inthat direction, also. Two objects immediately met his eye. On the tablestood a small tray, full of rings--not dissimilar in style andappearance to those which he held in his hand: old-fashioned rings. Thelight from the gas-brackets above the mantel-piece caught the facets ofthe diamonds in those rings and made little points of fire; here andthere he saw the shimmer of pearls. But there was another object. Closeby the tray of old rings lay a book--a beautifully bound book, a smallquarto in size, with much elaborate gold ornament on the back and side,and gilt clasps holding the heavy leather binding together. It lookedas if some hand had recently thrown this book carelessly on the table.
But Ayscough gave little, if any, attention to the book: his eyes werefixed on the rings in the tray--and he glanced from them to Lauriston'srings.
"Um!" he said presently. "Odd that you have a couple of rings, youngman, just like--those! Isn't it?"
"What do you mean?" demanded Lauriston, flushing scarlet. "You don'tsuggest--"
"Don't suggest anything--just now," answered the detective, quietly."But you must stop here with me, until I find out more. Come to thedoor--we must have help here."
Lauriston saw there was nothing to do but to obey, and he followedAyscough to the street door. The detective opened it, looked out, andwaiting a few minutes, beckoned to a policeman who presently strolledalong. After a whispered word or two, the policeman went away, andAyscough beckoned Lauriston back into the shop.
"Now," he said, "there'll be some of our people and a surgeon along ina few minutes--before they come, just tell me your story. You're anhonest-looking young chap--but you must admit that it looks a bit queerthat I should find you running out of this shop, old Multenius deadinside his parlour, and you with a couple of rings in your possessionwhich look uncommonly like his property! Just tell me how it cameabout."
Lauriston told him the plain truth--from the pawning of the watch tothe present visit. Ayscough watched him narrowly--and at the end noddedhis head.
"That sounds like a straight tale, Mr. Lauriston," he said. "I'minclined to believe every word you say. But I shall have to report it,and all the circumstances, and you'll have to prove that these tworings were your mother's, and all that--and you must stay here till thedoctor comes with our people. Queer that the old man should be alone! Iwonder where his grand-daughter is?"
But just then the street door opened and Zillah came in, a big bunch offlowers under one arm, some small parcels in the other. At the sight ofthe two men she started; crimsoned as she saw Lauriston; paled again asshe noticed that Ayscough was evidently keeping an eye on him.
"Mr. Ayscough!" she exclaimed. "What's this?--is something the matter?What are you doing here?" she went on hurriedly, turning to Lauriston."Inside the shop! What's happened?--tell me, one of you?"
The detective purposely kept himself and Lauriston between Zillah andthe open door at the rear of the shop. He made a kindly motion of hishead towards her.
"Now, my dear!" he said. "Don't get upset--your grandfather was gettinga very old man, you know--and we can't expect old gentlemen to live forever. Take it quietly, now!"
The girl turned and laid her flowers and parcels on the counter.Lauriston, watching her anxiously, saw that she was nerving herself tobe brave.
"That means--he's dead?" she said. "I am quiet--you see I'm quiet. Tellme what's happened--you tell me," she added, glancing at Lauriston."Tell me--now!"
"I came in and found no one here, and I looked round through the doorinto the parlour there," answered Lauriston, "and I saw yourgrandfather lying on the floor. So I jumped over the counter and wentto him."
Zillah moved forward as if to go into the parlour. But the detectivestopped her, glancing from her to Lauriston.
"You know this young man, Miss Wildrose?" he asked. "You've met himbefore?"
"Yes," replied Zillah, confidently. "He's Mr. Lauriston. Let me go inthere, please. Can nothing be done?"
But Ayscough only shook his head. There was nothing to be done--but toawait the arrival of the doctor. They followed the girl into theparlour and stood by while she bent over the dead man. She made nodemonstration of grief, and when Ayscough presently suggested that sheshould go upstairs until the doctor had come, she went quietly away.
"Hadn't we better lift him on that sofa?" suggested Lauriston.
"Not till our people and the police-surgeon have seen him," answeredAyscough, shaking his head. "I want to know all about this--he may havedied a natural death--a seizure of some sort--and again, hemayn't--They'll be here in a minute."
Lauriston presently found himself a passive spectator while apolice-inspector, another man in plain clothes, and the doctor examinedthe body, after hearing Ayscough's account of what had just happened.He was aware that he was regarded with suspicion--the inspectorsomewhat brusquely bade him stay where he was: it would, indeed, havebeen impossible to leave, for there was a policeman at the door, inwhich, by his superior's orders, he had turned the key. And there was ageneral, uncomforta
ble sort of silence in the place while the doctorbusied himself about the body.
"This man has been assaulted!" said the doctor, suddenly turning to theinspector. "Look here!--he's not only been violently gripped by theright arm--look at that bruise--but taken savagely by the throat.There's no doubt of that. Old and evidently feeble as he was, the shockwould be quite enough to kill him. But--that's how it's been done,without a doubt."
The inspector turned, looking hard at Lauriston.
"Did you see anybody leaving the place when you entered?" he asked.
"There was no one about here when I came in--either at the street dooror at the side door," replied Lauriston, readily. "The whole place wasquiet--deserted--except for him. And--he was dead when I found him."
The inspector drew Ayscough aside and they talked in whispers for a fewminutes, eyeing Lauriston now and then; eventually they approached him.
"I understand you're known here, and that you live in theneighbourhood," said the inspector. "You'll not object if the sergeantgoes round with you to your lodgings--you'll no doubt be able tosatisfy him about your respectability, and so on. I don't want tosuggest anything--but--you understand?"
"I understand," replied Lauriston. "I'll show or tell him anything helikes. I've told you the plain truth."
"Go with him now," directed the inspector; "you know what to do,Ayscough!"
Half an hour later, when the dead man had been carried to his room, andthe shop and house had been closed, Melky Rubinstein, who had come inwhile the police were still there, and had remained when they had gone,stood talking to Zillah in the upstairs sitting-room. Melky wasunusually grave: Zillah had already gathered that the police had somesuspicion about Lauriston.
"I'll go round there and see what the detective fellow's doing withhim," said Melky. "I ain't got no suspicion about him--not me!But--it's an awkward position--and them rings, too! Now, if he'd onlyha' shown 'em to me, first, Zillah--see?"
"Do go, Melky!" urged Zillah tearfully. "Of course, he'd nothing to dowith it. Oh!--I wish I'd never gone out!"
Melky went downstairs. He paused for a moment in the little parlour,glancing meditatively at the place where the old man had been founddead. And suddenly his keen eyes saw an object which lay close to thefender, half hidden by a tassel of the hearthrug, and he stooped andpicked it up--a solitaire stud, made of platinum, and ornamented with acurious device.