CHAPTER XIV
FIFTY THOUSAND POUNDS REWARD
Allerdyke encountered this direct question with a long, fixed stare ofgrowing comprehension; his silence showed that he was gradually taking inits significance.
"Aye, just so!" he said at last. "Just so! How much do I know of any of'em? Well, of Fullaway no more than I've seen. Of his secretary no morethan what I've seen and heard. Of Delkin no more than that such a manexists. Sum total--what!"
"Next to naught," said Appleyard. "In a case like this you ought to knowmore. Fullaway may be all right. Fullaway may be all wrong. His ladysecretary may be as right as he is, or as wrong as he is. As toDelkin--he might be a creature of Fullaway's imagination. Put it all toyourself now, Mr. Allerdyke--on the face of what you've told me, thesethree people--two of 'em, at any rate, for a certainty--knew about thesevaluables coming over in Mr. James's charge. So far as you know, yourcousin had 'em when he left Christiania and reached Hull. There theydisappear. So far as you're aware, nobody but these people knew of theircoming--no other people in England knew, at any rate, so far, I repeat,as your knowledge goes. I should want to know something about thesethree, if I were in your place, Mr. Allerdyke."
"Aye--aye!" replied Allerdyke. "I see your point. Well, I've been inFullaway's company now for two days--there's no denying he's a smartchap, a clever chap, and he seems to be doing good business. Moreover,Ambler, my lad, James knew him and James wasn't the sort to take up withwrong 'uns. As to the secretary, I can't say. Besides, Fullaway said thisafternoon that he hadn't told her all about it yet."
"All about the Hull affair and the Lennard affair, I took that to meanfrom your account," remarked Appleyard. "If she's his confidentialsecretary, with access to his papers and business, she'd know all aboutthe Princess transaction. Now, of course, an inquiry or two of the usualsort would satisfy you about Fullaway--I mean as a business man. Aninquiry or two would tell you all about Delkin. But you can't get to knowall about Mrs. Marlow from any inquiry. And you can't find out all aboutFullaway from any inquiry. He may be the straightest business man in allLondon--and yet have a finger in this pie, and his secretary with him.Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds' worth of jewels, Mr. Allerdyke,is--a temptation! And--these folks knew the jewels were on the way.What's more, they'd time to intercept their bearer--Mr. James."
Allerdyke rubbed his chin and knitted his brows in obvious bewilderment."There must ha' been more than them in at it," he said musingly. "Aregular gang of 'em, judging by results."
"Every gang has its ganger," replied Appleyard, with a knowing smile."There's no doubt this is a big thing--but there must be a central point,a head, a controlling authority in it. We come back, you see, after all,to where we started--these people were the only people in England whoknew about these jewels, so far as we know."
"Aye, but only so far as we know," said Allerdyke. "There may have beenothers. There may have been folks who got to know about them over therein Russia and who communicated their knowledge to some folks here. Andthere's always this to be borne in mind--the affair, the plot, may havebeen originated there, and worked from there. Remember that!"
"Quite so--and you can't decide on anything relating to that until thisPrincess comes," agreed Appleyard. "It'll have to rest till you've heardall she has to say, and then you'll know where you are. But in themeantime you can find out a bit about Fullaway and this millionaireman--I can find out for you, if you like, in a few hours."
"Do, my lad!" said Allerdyke. "It's always well to know who you'redealing with. Aye--make an inquiry or two."
"But remember that all I can inquire about will be in the ordinarybusiness way," continued Appleyard. "I can ascertain if there is a Delkinin town, who's a Chicago millionaire, and if Fullaway's a reputablebusiness man--but that'll be all. As to the secretary, I can't doanything."
"I'll keep an eye on her myself," said Allerdyke. "Well, do this, then,and let me know the results. I've put up at the Waldorf, and there Ishall stop while all this is being investigated here in London, but Ishall pop in and out here, of course. And now I'll go back there and findout if there's any fresh news from the police or from Hull. I reckonthere'll be some fine reading in the newspapers in a day or two,Ambler--it'll all have to come out now."
In this supposition Allerdyke was right. The police authorities, findingthat the affair had assumed dimensions of an astonishing magnitude,decided to seek the aid of the Press, and to publish the entire story inthe fullest possible fashion. And Allerdyke and all London woke nextmorning to find the newspapers alive with a new sensation, and everyother man asking his neighbour what it all meant. Three mysteriousmurders--two big thefts--together--the newspaper world had known nothinglike it for years, and the only regrets in Fleet Street were those of themen who would have sacrificed their very noses to have got the storyexclusively to themselves. But the police authorities had exercised awise generosity, and no one newspaper knew more than another at thatstage--they all, as Fullaway said to Allerdyke at breakfast, got a fairstart, and from that one could run their own race.
"We shall be to these Pressmen as a pot of honey to flies," he observed."Take my advice, Allerdyke--see none of them, and if you should--as youwill--get buttonholed and held up, refuse to say a word."
"You can leave that to me," answered Allerdyke, with a twitch of hisdetermined jaw. "It 'ud be a clever newspaper chap that would get aughtout of me. I've other fish to fry than to talk to these gentry. And whatgood will all this newspaper stuff do?"
"Lots!" replied Fullaway. "It will draw attention. There'll already be afew thousand amateur detectives looking out for the man who left theFrench maid dead in Eastbourne Terrace, and a few hundred amateurcriminologists racking their brains for a plausible theory of the wholething. Oh, yes, it's a good thing to arouse public interest, Allerdyke.All that's wanted now is a rousing reward. Have you thought of that?"
"Didn't I mention it to the man at Scotland Yard yesterday?" saidAllerdyke. "I'm game to find aught reasonable in the way of brass. But,"he added, with a touch of true Yorkshire caution, "I've been thinkingthat over during the night, and it seems to me that there are two otherparties who ought to come in at it, with me, of course. Miss Lennard andthe Princess, d'ye see? If they're willing, I am."
"You mean a joint reward for the detection of the murderer and therecovery of the jewels?" suggested Fullaway.
"Well, you can be pretty certain, by now, that the murders and the theftsare all the work of one gang," replied Allerdyke. "So it's long as it'sshort. These two women want their pearls and their diamonds back--I wantto know who killed my cousin James. We're all three in the same boat,really; so if we make up a good, substantial purse between us--what?"
"Good!" agreed Fullaway. "We'll hear what the Princess says when shearrives to-night. I guess we shall all know better where we exactly arewhen we've heard what she has to say."
"If she's like most women that's lost aught in the way of finery,"remarked Allerdyke drily, "she'll have plenty to say."
That night he had abundant opportunity of hearing the PrincessNastirsevitch's views on the situation, freely expressed. He himselffetched Celia Lennard to the conference at New Scotland Yard; they foundFullaway and the Princess already there, in full blast of debate.Allerdyke inspected the new arrival with keen interest and found her awell-preserved, handsome woman of middle-age, sharp, smart, and Americanto the finger-tips. The official whom they had met before was alreadyquestioning her, and for Allerdyke's benefit he repeated what hadalready transpired.
"The Princess affirms, Mr. Allerdyke, that not a soul but herself andyour cousin, Mr. James Allerdyke, knew of this affair," he said. "I amright, am I not, madame," he went on, turning to the Princess, "in sayingthat not one word of this transaction, or proposed transaction, was evermentioned by you to any person but Mr. James Allerdyke?"
"To no other person than Mr. James Allerdyke," assented the Princessfirmly. "It would have been strange conduct on my part, I think, if I hadtold anybody else
anything about it!--my object, of course, beingsecrecy. From the moment I first mentioned it to Mr. James Allerdykeuntil I arrived here just now and met Mr. Fullaway there, I never spokeof the matter to any one!"
The official looked at Allerdyke as if inviting him to ask any questionthat occurred to him, and Allerdyke immediately brought up that which hadbeen in his mind ever since his discovery of James Allerdyke'spocket-diary.
"How came you to repose such confidence in my cousin, ma'am?" he askedbrusquely. "I always thought I was pretty deep in his counsels, but Inever heard him mention your name. Did he know you well?"
"I had known Mr. James Allerdyke for a little over a year," replied thePrincess. "I met him first in Paris--then on the Riviera--then inRussia. The fact is, he did some business for me. I had every confidencein him--the fullest confidence. I knew he was a thoroughly straight man.And just as I had decided to sell these jewels'--all my own property,mind--in order to clear off the whole lot of the mortgages on my son'sestate, so's he could come into them quite unencumbered, I happened tomeet Mr. James Allerdyke in St. Petersburg--that's of course, a few weeksago--and I immediately took him into my confidence and asked his help.With the result," added the Princess, "that he cabled to Mr. Fullawaythere and that all this has come about! I tell you in the most emphaticmanner at my command," she went on, turning to the official, and tappingthe edge of his desk as if to accentuate her words, "it's impossible thatanybody over there in Russia could have known of my arrangements with Mr.James Allerdyke--utterly impossible. For I never spoke of them to any onethere, and I'm sure he would not!"
"Impossible is a big word, Princess," said the official. "There may havebeen ways of leakage. Did you exchange any correspondence on the matter?"
"Not a line!" replied the Princess. "There was no need. We met threetimes and arranged everything. The only correspondence there was--if youcould call it correspondence--was the exchange of cablegrams between Mr.James Allerdyke and Mr. Fullaway. I saw those cablegrams--of course thejewels were mentioned. But I don't believe Mr. James Allerdyke was thesort of man to leave his cablegrams lying around for somebody else tosee. I know he had them in his pocket-book. No!" she went on, with addedemphasis and conviction. "The thing did not start over there, I'm sure.It's been put up here, in London."
"Well," observed the official, after a pause, "there's only one thingmore I want to ask you just now, Princess. You gave these immenselyvaluable jewels to Mr. James Allerdyke? Did he hand you any receiptfor them?"
"A receipt which I've got here," answered the Princess, tapping herhand-bag. "And it's all in his handwriting, and made out in the form ofan inventory--all that was at his suggestion."
"And how," asked the official, "were the jewels packed when given tohim?"
"Very simply," said the Princess. "That was his suggestion, too. Theywere wrapped up in soft paper and chamois leather, and put into an oldcigar-box which he placed in his small travelling-bag. That bag, he said,would never go out of his sight until he reached London, where, when he'dexhibited the jewels to Mr. Fullaway's client, he was to lodge them in abank. It seemed to him that the cigar-box was a good notion--the jewelsthemselves didn't take up so much room as you might think, and he laidsome very ordinary things over the top of the package--a cake or two ofsoap, a sponge, and things like that--so that, supposing the cigar-boxhad been opened, its contents would have seemed very ordinary, youunderstand?"
"And yet," said the official softly, "the thieves evidently wentstraight for that cigar-box when the critical moment came. Well," hecontinued, looking round at his visitors, "I don't know that we can domore to-night. Is there anything any of you ladies or gentlemen wishto suggest?"
"Yes!" said Allerdyke. "In my opinion a most important thing. It's mydecided conviction that in this case we've got to offer a reward--no meretrifling sum, but one that'll set a few fingers tingling. And it's myconcern, and the Princess's, and Miss Lennard's. And if you'll permit usthree to have a quiet talk in yon corner of your room, I'll tell you itsresult when we've finished."
The result of that quiet talk--chiefly conducted by Allerdyke withmasculine force and vigour--was that by noon of next day the exterior ofevery London police-station attracted vast attention by reason of afreshly-posted bill. It was a long bill, and it set out the surfaceparticulars of three murders, and of two robberies in connectiontherewith. The particulars made interesting reading enough--but the realfascination of the bill was in its big, staring headline--
FIFTY THOUSAND POUNDS REWARD.