CHAPTER XXVII
Meanwhile the fates were working in another direction. Field hadstumbled, more or less by accident, upon a startling discovery. He had,it will be remembered, called upon the little actress to whom he hadrendered so signal a service on the night of the theatre panic, and whomin the heat and confusion of the moment he had failed to recognize, butnow he knew that he was face to face with the lady whom he had seen withSartoris at Audley Place.
Field was not often astonished, but he gave full rein to that emotionnow. For he had made more than one discovery at the same time. In thefirst place he had found Miss Violet Decie, Sir Charles Darryll's ward,who proved at the same time to be the actress known as Adela Vane. Butthat was a minor discovery compared to the rest. Here was the girl whoat one time had been engaged to Carl Sartoris, and who was supposed tobe connected more or less with his misfortunes.
Here was the girl, too, who might be in a position to supply the key tothe mystery. Undoubtedly, the backbone of the whole thing was the desirefor money. Sir Charles Darryll and his friend Lord Edward Decie had beenengaged in some adventurous speculation together in Burmah. They haddoubtless deemed that speculation to be worthless, but Carl Sartoris hadfound that they were mistaken. Therefore, trusting to his changedappearance and his disguise, he had asked his old sweetheart to callupon him. The conversation that Field had overheard in the conservatorywas going to be useful.
The curious questioning look in the girl's eyes recalled Field tohimself. He had instantly to make up his mind as to his line of action.Miss Decie, to give her her proper name, gave the inspector a littletime to decide what to do.
"How can I ever sufficiently thank you?" she asked. "Really, I could notsleep all night for thinking about the horror of the thing and yourbrave action. It was splendid!"
"Not at all," Field said modestly. "I am accustomed to danger. You see Iam a police officer, a detective inspector from Scotland Yard. It is alittle strange that I should have been able to do you a service, seeingthat I came to the theatre on purpose to see you."
The girl's eyes opened a little wider, but she said nothing.
"Perhaps I had better be quite candid," Field went on. "I want you tohelp me if you can."
"Most assuredly. After last night, I will do anything you like. Pray goon."
"Thank you very much," Field replied. "It is very good of you to make mytask easier. You see I am closely connected with the inquiry into thesudden death of Sir Charles Darryll and the subsequent startlingdisappearance of his body. Were not your father and Sir Charles greatfriends in India long ago? Do you recollect that?"
The girl nodded; her eyes were dilated with curiosity. Field could notfind it in his heart to believe that she was a bad girl.
"They had adventures together," she said. "They were going to make afortune over some mine or something of that kind. But it never came toanything."
"You are absolutely sure of that?" Field asked.
"Well, so far as I know, the thing came to nothing. Some man wasemployed to make certain investigations, and he reported badly of thescheme. I only heard all this talk as a child, and I was notparticularly interested. You see, I knew very little of Sir Charles,though he was my guardian. There were certain papers that he depositedwith a solicitor who used to get him out of messes from time to time,but really I am as ignorant as you are."
"You don't even know the name of the solicitor?" Field asked.
"I do now," the girl said. "I found it among some letters. Do you knowthat a Mr. Sartoris, who claims to know my father and Sir Charles, alsowrote me on the same matter? He asked me to go and see him atWandsworth. He is a crippled gentleman, and very nice. He has a lovelyconservatory-room full of flowers. I was at his house only last night,and he talked to me very much the same way as you are doing."
"I know that," Field said calmly. "I was hiding in the conservatory andlistened."
Miss Decie gave a little cry of astonishment.
"Our profession leads us into strange places," Field said. "I heard allthat conversation, so there is no occasion to ask you to repeat it. Youwill recollect saying that Mr. Sartoris reminded you of somebody thatyou knew years ago in India. Have you made up your mind who thegentleman in question does resemble?"
The girl's face grew white, and then the red blood flamed into hercheeks ago.
"I have a fancy," she said. "But are not these idle questions?"
"I assure you that they are vital to this strange investigation," Fieldsaid earnestly.
"Then I had better confess to you that Mr. Sartoris reminded me of agentleman to whom I was once engaged in India; I was greatly deceived inthe man to whom I was engaged; indeed it was a tragic time altogether. Idon't like to speak of it."
"Loth as I am to give you pain, I must proceed," Field said. "Was thegentleman you speak of known as a Mr. Carl Grey, by any chance."
"Yes, that was the name. I see you know a great deal more than Ianticipated. I suppose you have been making investigations. But I cannotpossibly see what----"
"What this has to do with the death of Sir Charles Darryll? My dearyoung lady, this is a very complicated case; at least it looks like oneat present, and its ramifications go a long way. I want to know all youcan tell me about Carl Grey."
"I can tell you nothing that is good," the girl said. She had risen fromthe chair and was pacing up and down the room in a state of considerableagitation. "There was a tragedy behind it all. I don't think that Ireally and truly loved Carl Grey; I fancy that he fascinated me. Therewas another man that I cared more for. He died trying to save my life."
Field nodded encouragement; a good deal of this he knew already.
"Let me make it easy for you if I can," he said. "I have found out agreat deal from a little conversation, part of which I overheard betweenColonel Berrington and Miss Mary Grey, or Miss Mary Sartoris, which youlike. There was a mysterious affair, but it resulted in the death ordisappearance of the other man and the permanent crippling of Carl Grey.Am I misinformed, or is this practically the case?"
"I cannot see what this has to do with Sir Charles Darryll," VioletDecie said slowly.
"Pardon me, but it has a great deal to do with the case," Field replied."If you knew all that I do you would not hesitate for a moment. If youcare to write it down----"
The girl stopped in her restless walk; her eyes were heavy with tears.
"I'll tell you," she said. "I must not forget that I owe my life to yourbravery. As I said before, I was engaged to Carl Grey. But for hissister I don't think that I should ever have consented. But there itwas, and I loved another man at the time. And the other man loved me.There was a deal of jealousy between the two, and I was frightened. CarlGrey was always queer and mysterious; he was ever seeking to penetratethe mysteries of the East. Strange men would come to his bungalow lateat night, and I heard of weird orgies there. But I did not see anythingof this till one day when I was riding on the hills with Mr. Grey. Wehad a kind of quarrel on the way, and he was very difficult that day. Wecame presently to a kind of temple in ruins, which we explored. Therewas a vault underneath, and Mr. Grey pressed me to enter. It all seemslike a dream now; but there were natives there and some kind of ceremonyprogressing. The air of the place seemed to intoxicate me; I seemed tobe dragged into the ceremony, Mr. Grey and I together. Somebody dressedme in long white robes. Even to this day I don't know whether it was adream or a reality. Then there was a disturbance, and the other man camein; I do not recollect anything after but blows and pistol shots; when Icame to myself I was in the jungle with my horse by my side. From thatday to this I have never seen or heard of Mr. Grey, and I never againbeheld the man I loved, and who gave his life to save me."
Field listened patiently enough to the strange story. He had yet a fewquestions to ask.
"You think that Mr. Grey had been initiated into the mysteries of thoserites?" he asked. "And that his idea was to initiate you into themalso?"
"I think so," Violet Decie said with a shudder. "There a
re such strangeand weird things in the East that even the cleverest of our scholarsknow nothing of them. An old nurse used to tell the most dreadful tales.Perhaps the man who died for me could have explained. I presume that hefollowed me, expecting mischief of some kind."
"I dare say he did," Field replied. "Did an explanation follow?"
"No. I declined to see Mr. Grey again. I heard that he had met with anaccident; they said that he was maimed for life. And people blamed mefor being callous and heartless. As if they knew! Even Mr. Grey's sisterwas angry with me. But nothing could induce me to look upon the face ofthat man again, and I left Simla soon afterwards."
"And that is all you have to tell me?" Field asked.
"I don't think there is any more. It is rather strange that this thingshould crop up again like this, so soon after I have been to see Mr.Sartoris, who reminded me so strangely of Carl Grey. Only of course, Mr.Sartoris is much older."
"I fancy there is not so much difference between their ages," Field saidgrimly. "You see, a clever disguise goes a long way. And you say thatyou never saw Mr. Grey after that supposed accident. A thing like thatchanges people dreadfully."
The girl looked up with a startled expression in her eyes.
"You don't mean to say," she faltered. "You don't mean to suggestthat----"
"That Mr. Grey and Mr. Sartoris are one and the same person," Field saidquietly. "My dear young lady, that is actually the fact. Mr. Sartorisknew or thought that you could give him certain information. It wasnecessary to see you. The name of Sartoris would convey nothing to you,and in that interview the man was right. But you might have recognisedhim, and so he disguised himself. I saw the disguise assumed; I saw youcome into the room amongst the flowers. And long before you had finishedwhat you had to say I began to see the motive for what looked like apurposeless and cruel crime. But you were certainly talking to Carl Greylast night."
The girl shuddered violently and covered her face with her hands. Thewhole thing had come back to her now; she blushed to the roots of herhair as she realised that she had kissed the man that she only thoughtof with horror and detestation.
"If I had known, no power on earth would have induced me to enter thathouse," she said. "That man seems to be as cruel and cunning as ever.But why should he have had a hand in the stealing of the body of SirCharles Darryll?"
"We will come to that presently," Field said drily. "Sartoris wantedcertain information from you, the address of a lawyer or something ofthat kind. You were not quite sure last night whether or not you couldfind the information. Did you?"
"Yes," Violet Decie said. "I found it in an old memorandum book ofmine."
"And you were going to post the address to Mr. Sartoris?"
"I am afraid the mischief is done," the girl said. "It was posted earlythis morning."