CHAPTER XXVIII
THE FIRST PURSUIT
For a moment Fullaway stood in the doorway of the hotel, staring towardsthe mouth of Kingsway, around the corner of which Chilverton's cab hadalready disappeared. Then he turned, gave Allerdyke a look of absolutenon-comprehension, and with a sudden gesture, as of surrender tocircumstances, walked into the hotel and made for the stairs.
"That licks everything!" he muttered, as he and Allerdyke went up to thefirst floor. "Tell you what it is, Allerdyke--my poor brain is gettinginto a whirl! We've had quite enough excitement this morning in allconscience, and now this comes on top of it. Now, how in creation do youexplain this last occurrence?"
Allerdyke laughed cynically.
"I don't know so much of the world as you do, Fullaway," he said, "but Idon't think this needs much explanation. When a man makes himselfsuddenly scarce at sight of a well-known detective, I should say that manknows the detective wants him--badly! My impression is that at thismoment your friend Van Koon is running away from Chilverton, andChilverton's going hot-foot after him. And--"
They were at that moment passing the room which Van Koon had occupied,and Allerdyke suddenly remembered the occasion on which he had seen Mrs.Marlow steal out of it, suspiciously and furtively, and when its propertenant was away. He had carefully abstained from telling Fullaway aboutthat little incident, preferring to wait until events had furtherdeveloped. Should he tell him now--now that there seemed to be evidencethat Van Koon himself was a doubtful character? He hesitated--and whilehe hesitated Fullaway strode on, flung open his office door, turned tothe letter-box at the back, and took out some letters and a telegram. Hetore the telegram open, and the next instant flung it on the table with afierce exclamation.
"Damn it all, Allerdyke!" he said, waving an indignant hand at the bit ofpink paper. "What in the name of all that's wicked is the meaning ofthat? Read it--read!"
Allerdyke picked the telegram up and read it aloud.
"Regret shall be unable to return to office for day or two; called awayon extremely urgent private business.--MARLOW."
He laughed again as he put the telegram back and turned to Fullaway, who,hands plunged deep in pockets and black of countenance, was stamping upand down the room.
"Um!" said Allerdyke. "Um! Now, in my humble opinion, Fullaway, that's agood deal queerer than the Van Koon incident. For look you here--yoursecretary was talking to us in your room there at less than five minutesto one, and we left her here when we went out on the stroke of one. Andyet--look at the wire!--she handed that in at the East Strand post officewithin ten minutes after we'd left her! What do you make of that?"
"Damnation!" exclaimed Fullaway. "How the blazes do I know what to makeof it! I seem to be surrounded with--God knows what hellish mysteries!Allerdyke, is there a regular devil's conspiracy, or--what is there?"
Allerdyke made a show of looking at the telegram again. In reality, hewas considering matters. Should he tell Fullaway what he knew? He wasmore than a little tempted to do so. But his natural sense of caution andreserve stopped the words before they reached his tongue, and he tookanother tack.
"You said just now, in talking to Delkin, that you'd the greatestconfidence in this Mrs. Marlow, and had the best references with her,Fullaway," he remarked. "What references?"
"Good business references!" answered Fullaway excitedly. "The best! Firmsof high standing in the City. Couldn't have had better. Go and ask any ofthem about her--I'll lay my last dollar they will say the same. Capitalsecretary--clever woman--thoroughly trustworthy!"
"What do you know about her private life?" asked Allerdyke.
"What the deuce has the woman's private life to do with me?" snappedFullaway. "I know nothing. So long as she comes here at ten, stops tillfive, and does her duty--hang her private life!"
"Do you know where she lives?" asked Allerdyke imperturbably. "But ofcourse you do."
"Then I don't!" retorted Fullaway. "Somewhere up town, I believe--WestEnd somewhere. I don't know. I've nothing to do with her privateaffairs. I never have had anything to do with the private affairs of anyemployee of mine."
"She makes her private affairs have something to do with you though,"said Allerdyke, tapping the telegram significantly. "But, in my opinion,that wire's nothing but an excuse. What're you going to do?"
"Oh, I don't know!" exclaimed Fullaway. "I'm about sick of thewhole thing."
Allerdyke pulled out his watch.
"I must go," he said. "I've a business appointment. I'll see you later."
Fullaway made no reply, and Allerdyke left him, went downstairs andsought Gaffney, whom, having found, he led outside to the street.
"How soon can you lay hands on that brother of yours?" he asked.
"Twenty minutes--in a cab, sir," replied Gaffney.
"Get a cab, then, find him, and drive, both of you, to the warehouse,"commanded Allerdyke. "You'll find me there."
He himself got a cab, too, and went off to Gresham Street, more puzzledand doubtful than ever. He closeted himself with Ambler Appleyard andtold him all the details of the eventful morning, and the managerlistened in silence, taking everything in and making his own mentalnotes. And with his usual acuteness of perception he quickly separatedthe important from the momentarily unimportant.
"You don't want to bother your head about what Mr. Delkin says just now,Mr. Allerdyke," he said, when Allerdyke had brought this story to an end."Never mind his theories--there may be a lot in 'em, and there mayn't beany more than his personal opinion in 'em. Never mind, too, whatChilverton wants with Van Koon. Nor if there's any connection between VanKoon and Miss Slade, or Mrs. Marlow. The thing to do is to find--her!"
"You think she's hooked it?" said Allerdyke.
"I should say that something said by some of you at that talk thismorning in Fullaway's room has startled her into action," answeredAppleyard. "Now let's get at facts. You say she sent that wire from theEast Strand post Office within ten minutes of your leaving her? Verywell--I should say she was on her way to Arundel Street to see Rayner,alias Ramsay. I wish we'd had a constant watch kept on him. But we'llsoon repair that if you've sent for young Gaffney."
The two Gaffneys arrived at that moment and Appleyard, after some furthertalk, assigned them their duties. Gaffney, the chauffeur, was to go atonce and get himself a room at an inn in close proximity to the PompadourHotel, so that he would be at Appleyard's disposal at any hour of thecoming evening and night. Albert Gaffney, the clerk, was to devotehimself to watching Rayner. He was to follow Rayner wherever Rayner wentfrom the time of his leaving Clytemnestra House that afternoon--even ifRayner should leave town by motor or by train he was to follow. For, asAppleyard sagely observed, it was not likely that Mrs. Marlow, alias MissSlade, would return to the Pompadour Hotel that night if her fears hadbeen aroused by what had taken place that morning, and it was areasonable presumption that if she and Rayner were in league she wouldhave communicated with him on leaving Fullaway's office, and that theywould meet again somewhere before the day was over.
"The only thing now," said Appleyard, when the two Gaffneys had beenpresented with funds sufficient to carry each through all possibleimmediate emergencies, "is to arrange for a meeting to-night. There aretwo matters we want to be certain about. First, if Albert Gaffneywitnesses any meeting between Rayner and Miss Slade, and, in that case,if he can tell us where they go and what they do. Second, if they bothreturn, or either of them returns to the Pompadour to-night. So it hadbetter be near the Pompadour--somewhere in that district, anyhow. Can yousuggest any place?" he continued, turning to the chauffeur. "You knowthat district well, don't you?"
"Tell you the very spot, sir," answered Gaffney promptly. "Lancaster Gateitself, sir. Close by there, convenient pub, sir--stands back a bit fromthe road. Bar-parlour, sir--quiet corners. What time, sir?"
Appleyard fixed half-past eleven. By that time, he said, he should knowif Mr. Rayner and Miss Slade had returned to the Pompadour; by that time,too, Albert Gaffney would
be in a position to report his own doings andprogress. And so the two Gaffneys went off on their respective missions,and Allerdyke looked at his manager and made a grimace.
"It's like a lot of blind men seeking for something they couldn't see ifit was shoved under their very noses, Ambler!" he said cynically. "Is itany good?"
"Maybe," replied Appleyard. "That Albert Gaffney's a smart chap--he'llnot lose sight of Rayner once he begins to track him. And I'm certain ascertain can be that if Miss Slade's in a hole it's Rayner she'll turn to.Well--we can only wait now. What're you going to do, Mr. Allerdyke?"
"Let's have a bit of a relief," answered, Allerdyke suddenly. "Let's dinetogether somewhere and go to a theatre or something until it's time tokeep this appointment. And not a word more of the whole thing till then!"
"You forget that I've got to look in at the Pompadour last thing to seeif those two are there as usual," remarked Appleyard. "But that'll onlytake a few minutes--I can call there on our way to the rendezvous. Allright--no more of it until half-past eleven, then."
Albert Gaffney was already in a quiet corner of the bar-parlour of theappointed meeting-place when the other three arrived there. Appleyard hadalready ascertained that neither Rayner nor Miss Slade had returned tothe Pompadour; Gaffney, the chauffeur, who had been keeping an eye on theexterior of that establishment, had nothing to tell. And Albert's facewas somewhat dismal, and his eye inclined to something like an aggrievedsurliness, as he joined the new-comers and answered their first question.
"It's not my fault, gentlemen," he whispered, bending towards the othersover the little table at which they were all seated. "But the truthis--I've been baulked! At the last moment as you may term it. Just whenthings were getting really interesting!"
"Have you seen--anything?" asked Appleyard.
"I'll give you it in proper order, sir," replied Albert Gaffney. "I'veseen both of 'em--followed 'em, until this confounded accident happened.This is the story of it. I kept watch there, outside C. House--you knowwhere I mean--till near on to six o'clock. Then he came out. But hedidn't get into his motor, though it was waiting for him. He sent itaway. Then he walked to the Temple Station, and I heard him book forCannon Street. So did I, and followed him. He got out at Cannon Streetand went up into the main line station and to the bookstall. There he mether--she was waiting. They talked a bit, walking about; then they wentinto the hotel. I had an idea that perhaps they were going to dine there,so as I was togged up for any eventualities, I followed 'em in. They diddine there--so did I, keeping an eye on 'em. They sat some time over andafter their dinner, as if they were waiting for something or somebody. Atlast a man--better-class commercial traveller-looking sort of man--camein and went up to them. He sat down and had a glass of wine, and they allthree talked--very confidential talk, you could see. At last they allleft and went down to the yard outside the station and got into ataxi-cab--all three. I got another, gave the driver a quiet hint as towhat I was after, and told him to keep the other cab in view. So hedid--for a time. They went first to a little restaurant near LiverpoolStreet Station--she and the commercial-looking chap got out and went in;R. stopped in the cab. The other two came back after a bit with anotherman--similar sort--and all three joined R. Then they went off towardsAldgate way--and we were keeping nicely behind 'em when all of a sudden ablooming 'bus came to grief right between us and them, and blocked thetraffic! And though I nearly broke my neck in trying to get through andspot them, it was no use. They'd clean disappeared. But!--I've got thenumber of the cab they took from Cannon Street."
Appleyard nodded approval.
"Good!" he said. "That's something, Gaffney--a good deal. We can work onfrom that."
"Well?" he continued, turning to Allerdyke. "I think there's nothing elsewe can do to-night? We'd better meet, all of us, at Gresham Street, at,say, ten to-morrow morning; then I shall be able to say if they return tothe Pompadour to-night. It's my impression they won't--but we shall see."
Allerdyke presently drove him to his hotel, wondering all the way whatthese last doings might really mean. They were surprising enough, butthere was another surprise awaiting him. As he walked into the Waldorfthe hall-porter stopped him.
"There's a gentleman for you, sir, in the waiting-room," he said. "Beenwaiting a good hour. Name of Chettle."