The Attic Murder Part 6

"Very well. Murder."

The Inspector's attention was already concentrated upon the letter. He read: Dear Sir, -- In reference to the recent forgeries which have caused, and are still causing, so much loss to the Bank, I should be obliged if you would grant me a private interview, at which I could place certain facts before you.

Yours faithfully, -- Wllliam Rabone.

Inspector Combridge considered this doc.u.ment carefully.

"As it reads," he asked, "might it not be the letter of an honest man, who had made certain discoveries in the course of his work, by which his suspicions had been aroused?"

"Yes, on the face of it, so it might. No doubt, that is intended to read. But he would hardly have asked for a private interview with the General Manager under such circ.u.mstances. He would have included it in his ordinary report, or perhaps communicated direct with the Committee which has this investigation in hand. Or, had it been a case of urgency, he would not have proceeded by letter at all. He would have come here at once."

Before the Inspector could discuss these aspects of the matter, Mr. Jellipot was announced.

Chapter XVII.

MR. JELLIPOT shook hands with a quiet cordiality. He felt confident both in the strength of his own case and in the goodwill of those to whom he proposed to state it. He observed, without resentment, the slight official constraint in the Inspector's manner which it must be his part to dispel.

He said: "I'm glad you've brought us together, Sir Reginald. It seems to me that this is a case where we've got to pool all that we know, if the guilt is to be laid at the right door. And so long as we're all wasting our wits over the question of Francis Hammerton's complicity in a crime with which he had nothing to do, beyond -- - "

"Who did you say?" the Inspector asked sharply. He remembered the name in which the cheque had been drawn.

"I said Francis Hammerton. That's my client's true name, as he ought to have had the sense to tell you before."

The Inspector was quick to see the implications of the new fact. He said: "Then the order for the cheque-book which his accomplice secured was signed in his true name?"

"Naturally so. But I don't know that you should describe the young lady in that way. If," he smiled, "I am correctly instructed, she may turn out to be Sir Reginald's I accomplice rather than his. But," he added cautiously, "I am not acting for her, nor am I directly concerned for the veracity of the explanation which she appears to have given of her acquaintance with Rabone."

Inspector Combridge, while still warily conscious that he must not allow either friends.h.i.+p or respect for Mr. Jellipot to warp his official judgement, was sufficiently well acquainted with him to know that he would not be likely to speak as he did without a solid basis of fact to support his words. He saw also that there was information to be gained, probably from both of his present companions, beyond anything he could have antic.i.p.ated a few moments before, and which it might be vital for him to have. But even now he did not overlook the importance of maintaining an independent position.

"If you think," he said, "it to be to your client's interest to disclose the line of defence which he intends to set up, of course I shall be glad to listen."

"His defence is that he discovered the murder exactly as he told you when he was first asked. Beyond that, I propose to show that he is an absolutely respectable young man, who was foolish enough to make some undesirable friends, and lacked the moral courage to give his true name when he found himself in a particularly distasteful mess."

The Inspector considered this. He observed a possibility -- no more -- that it might be true; but even if that might be, it seemed a good deal to attempt to demonstrate in the present position. And there were some awkward facts which might excuse doubt of Vaughan's -- or Hammerton's -- absolute innocence in a less sceptical mind than that of an inspector of the Metropolitan Police.

"You're putting it rather high," he said. "After all, he's a convicted criminal. I don't see how you get over that."

"There's the Court of Appeal."

The Inspector did not dispute the fact, but was doubtful of its use in the present case. "You know," he said, "they won't listen to fresh evidence, if the accused himself withheld it at the trial. They'll say it's too late for that now."

"It is a difficulty," Mr. Jellipot admitted, "which I have already observed. But I hope that we may find a way through."

The Inspector did not fail to notice that Mr. Jellipot used the plural "we" as though alluding to his present company, and being confident of their co-operation. He said: "Well, of course, if you can convince me of Hammerton's innocence, I'll do all that I can. But you won't find it an easy job. What about his pocket being full of Rabone's money when he was arrested half an hour afterwards?"

"The reply is that it wasn't. It was full of his own. You'll find that the blank counterfoil in the cheque-book is a sufficient explanation of that."

Sir Reginald interposed for the first time. "Yes, Inspector, I think you'll find that he succeeded in cas.h.i.+ng the cheque. I've had confirmation of that."

"But two of the notes have been traced to Rabone's possession "

Mr. Jellipot replied by narrating the circ.u.mstances under which they had pa.s.sed into his client's hands.

"It is an explanation," the Inspector said dryly, "which would have been more convincing had he told me at first."

Mr. Jellipot conceded that. "So it would. The fact is he forgot."

The explanation reduced the Inspector to a silent consideration of its plausibility, and in the resulting pause Sir Reginald said: "Gentlemen, I don't know how you feel, but it's about the time when I begin to have a decided inclination for a good lunch.

"I can't let you go yet, because I want you to meet Mr. Banks of the Texall Enquiry Agency, and a Miss Weston -- a charming girl -- who'll both have some things to tell you that you'll find it worth while to hear.

"I've asked them to come at two o'clock, and as I thought the Inspector mightn't like to be seen lunching publicly with the solicitor on the other side, I've ordered a little meal to be brought in here."

Neither of the gentlemen concerned making any objection to this hospitable arrangement, they lunched together accordingly, Sir Reginald leading the conversation skilfully backward to a time when they had been allied in the pursuit of a common foe, until Mr. Banks and Miss Weston were shown into the room.

Chapter XVIII.

IT IS a commonplace of the fiction of crime that the brilliant amateur will discover elusive murderers whose ident.i.ty will be hidden from the slower-witted officers of the law. But in this inferiority of truthful narrative it may appear, at this stage at least, that the official mind of Inspector Combridge, and the civilian one of the Head of the Texall Enquiry Agency, were of a close equality, whether of dullness or perspicuity, for it appeared, when they met in Sir Reginald's office, with no excess of cordiality on either side, that they had come to the same decision as to the ident.i.ty of the wanted man.

In arriving at this conclusion it was already evident that Mr. Banks had had the benefit of the knowledge of some circ.u.mstances of the crime of which the Inspector had not been equally well informed, but if we regard the matter with an entire impartiality we must observe also that Mr. Banks had not had the benefit of hearing Sir Lionel Tips.h.i.+ft's opinion that the crime had been the work of a left-handed man.

It was after Miss Weston had completed a narrative which may be conveniently deferred, as it was given with greater precision in the witness-box on a later day, that Mr. Banks said "Well, I don't know what you think, Inspector, but I should say that you won't have to look farther than the top floor of number seven to find the man that you want."

"Meaning Entwistle?"

"Meaning Long Pete, of course. That's what he's mostly called in his own crowd."

The Inspector was aware of the name usually applied to Peter Entwistle in the criminal circles that were supposed to make use of his skill. But he dissented from the enquiry agent's description.

"His own crowd?" he said. "You can't say there's any to which he really belongs. That's been what's kept him clear of our hands for the last ten years, and he making a fortune the while, at a safe guess. He doesn't drink, he doesn't gamble, he doesn't mix with any of the gangs among whom we may have one or two who know how to give us the information we want at the right time; and so he's kept out of our hands for more years than one of his kind probably ever did since we've been an organized force."

"The gentleman," Sir Reginald interrupted, "seems to be an interesting character. Do you mind telling me what his occupation is supposed to be, and why you conclude that he's the most likely man to have murdered a bank inspector four doors away?"

Inspector Combridge answered: "It's a matter of deduction, of course. I'm not sure that we've got evidence enough even to justify an arrest. But that's been the difficulty with Mr. Entwistle since I heard of him first in connection with the Bradwell forgeries, nearly ten years ago.

"He's a handwriting expert, and an artist in more ways than one. He taught engraving for two years at a Munic.i.p.al Technical School in North London, and since he gave that up he's been doing landscape painting -- actually sold one or two pictures, I believe, for moderate amounts.

"But his main occupation, if he isn't a greatly misjudged man, is that of forging cheques and other doc.u.ments.

"He does just that, and no more. He won't mix himself up in procuring specimen signatures, or pa.s.sing the doc.u.ments, or -- in fact, in anything but the actual use of his pen, and it's said that he only asks a ten per cent commission on the face value of the cheques he forges, but he insists on that, cash down at the time, and won't listen to other terms.

"It follows that he only deals with those gangs that are well-established and well-financed, and you can see that if he does nothing to give himself away he isn't easy to catch.

"We've laid traps for him more than once, but he's been too wary to walk in; and we've tried, without any success, to get someone to give him away.

"The curious thing about him is that he's ambidextrous. He's called left-handed, but that's not exactly correct. He can imitate some signatures with his right hand, and some with his left; and, with one or other, he'll sign your name so that you'll swear it's genuine yourself, though you can't remember writing it.

"He's never made any secret of that capacity -- boasts of it, in fact -- and of course it's no crime to be expert with a pen; and being so open about it is in his favour rather than not. But we've known what he's done more than once, and only been just short of the legal proof which would have justified an arrest."

"You mean," Sir Reginald replied, "the forging of cheques, such as those which have been causing such losses to us?"

"Yes. It's never been less than an even guess that they were his work, and it's ten to one now."

"But how far does that connect him with Rabone's death?"

"It's only inference, as I've said. But here's a man leaving Rabone's window immediately after he's killed, and Miss Weston follows this man -- though she can't say who he was -- to the window of the house where Entwistle lives. And there's a man named Bigland on the floor below him, who was wide awake enough to hear her feet going down the stairs, when she escaped by the same way, but didn't hear anyone who would have had a much heavier tread.

"And there's the fact that Rabone had visitors before who came to him over the roof, and from where else would they be? We can't suppose that it was a general habit in that street to make midnight calls on Mr. Rabone over the slates.

"When you add to that the conspiracy that Rabone was either engaged in himself or on the point of discovering -- you can read this letter either way, but it's got to be one of the two -- and the occupation by which we've no doubt that Entwistle lives, and you've got the kind of case with which we usually have to begin. We know the fact well enough, and we've just got to settle down on it till we've built up the formal proof that the law requires.

"I don't say that we've got it yet, by a long way, especially as there's no legal evidence of motive of a kind that we should be allowed to mention in court, but there's one point that helps a little, and that is that Sir Lionel's almost sure that it was the work of a left-handed man, who attacked Rabone from behind."

"Well," Mr. Banks commented on this somewhat lengthy statement of the official att.i.tude, "if that isn't enough to justify you in laying him by the heels, I must say you're not easy to please."

"Perhaps I'm not. But it seems that we've got to own up to one mistake already, and that's more than enough. We can't risk an acquittal for lack of evidence, on the top of that, or perhaps even a discharge from the Magistrates' Court."

"I thought," Sir Reginald interposed again, "that it was a theory at the Yard that criminals always keep to their own type of offence. Is Mr. Entwistle supposed to be equally addicted to violent murder and forging cheques? The combination's rather unusual, isn't it?"

"Yes," the Inspector admitted frankly, "so we do; and so, no doubt, it is. And if this were a crime committed under rather different circ.u.mstances, I should say it would let Entwistle out. If it were a case of violent homicide in the course of a burglary, for instance, we shouldn't give him a thought.

"But you've got to consider the position of a very cautious and successful criminal who's avoided all contact with the law, as very few criminals do, and who (we may suppose) suddenly finds himself in desperate peril because Rabone's going to squeal, and he takes the one course that remains. It's a crime that grows naturally, so to speak, from what he has done before, however different its kind.

"He must be an exceptionally wily and cool-blooded character, or he wouldn't have walked free as long as he has.

"And you think" -- Sir Reginald's tone was still doubtful -- " that this murder was planned in a way that makes it look consistent with what his character's likely to be? There's not much discretion in changing a risk of being arrested for forgery for a seat in the condemned cell."

"Perhaps not. But he couldn't guess that Miss Weston would be hopping out on to the roof. And as to the condemned cell -- well, he's not there yet!"

It was a statement which Sir Reginald could not dispute. But he saw reason to hope that the Inspector's diagnosis of the position was correct, for, if so, he might have a sound expectation that the losses that his bank had suffered during recent years would have reached an end, and that in a way which he much preferred -- without the publicity which a prosecution on the direct issue would have involved.

Chapter XIX.

MR. JELLIPOT went back to his office, conscious of some arrears of work which would keep him later than it was his habit to stay, but content that the afternoon had not been wasted. He felt that Inspector Combridge was finally convinced of Francis Hammerton's innocence of the graver charge, though he was modest enough to attribute this result more to Miss Weston's eloquence than his own.

That being so, he had been content to leave the charge hanging over his client's head until the remand hearing in a week's time.

The Inspector had, in fact, never felt satisfied that Francis Hammerton had been more than an accessory in, or perhaps after, the crime; and that suspicion had been based mainly on the possession of the money, which had now been plausibly explained away. His best hope, which he had now put aside, had been that the murder charge would have induced a confession by which it would have become possible to fix the guilt upon the princ.i.p.al criminal.

But Mr. Jellipot had seen that the Inspector was reluctant to go to the length of publicly abandoning the case against Francis Hammerton until he should be prepared to demonstrate the activity of his Department by another arrest. As a more serious argument, he had said that the difficulty of establis.h.i.+ng a case against the man whom he now regarded as the almost certain criminal might be increased if it were publicly known that the charge against Harold Vaughan had been withdrawn. At present, the criminal must be easy in the belief that the police were working to build up a case against an absolutely innocent man, and one who could do nothing to give him away, knowing nothing of whom he was, or of the circ.u.mstances that had led up to the crime.

Mr. Jellipot, accepting this position, had made a bargain which might be to his client's future advantage, and was certainly conducive to his present peace. He had stipulated that, if he should concur in Francis Hammerton remaining under the charge of murder for another week (which he had no legal means of preventing, though he might have urged arguments to which Inspector Combridge would not have refused to listen), his true name should not be made public at the remand hearing, unless the course of the proceedings should render it a disclosure which could not be avoided.

When he reminded himself that his client was already convicted on another charge, and that the withdrawal of that of murder would make no immediate change in the fact of his confinement, and might even be unfavourable to its conditions, he concluded that the bargain was not one of which Francis could have cause to complain.

He turned his mind to the greater difficulty with which he was still confronted -- that of proving his client's innocence of a crime of which he had been already convicted.

Chapter XX.

DURING the remainder of the week, two things happened which, though not of spectacular character, were important in their influence upon the events of the drama which was to come.

First of these, Mr. Jellipot drew up and entered an appeal against his client's existing conviction, in which, though it may have exhausted the legal possibilities of the case in the grounds which it set out, he admitted to his own mind that he had a very limited confidence. But, bold in his cautious way, he intended to make a use of it, as soon as his client should be clear of the capital charge, which would not only be to his immediate benefit, but through which he hoped that further evidence might be procured, of such a nature that the Court of Appeal would not refuse to hear it.

Of perhaps equal, though different importance, was the information that came to Inspector Combridge, as he was vainly searching for additional evidence against Mr. Peter Entwistle, sufficient to justify him in applying for a warrant for his arrest, that that gentleman had disappeared.

His first feeling on hearing this was annoyance, and some anger with his subordinates, who had failed in the duty of observation which had been entrusted to them. Yet he had satisfaction in observing the implications of this disappearance. He knew that actually, if not legally, it is very near to an admission of guilt for a man to take flight under such circ.u.mstances, before the hunt has been opened upon him.

He decided that Entwistle, possibly having received a hint that the case against Harold Vaughan was not satisfactory to the police, had decided that it would be prudent to go into some hiding-place -- perhaps already prepared against such an emergency -- until the result of the present prosecution should appear. Should Harold Vaughan be convicted, or even should his trial conclude without indication that suspicion might be pointing in his own direction, he might then return to his former haunts with his usual coolness, or perhaps decide that it had become time to retire in comfort, to enjoy the fruits of his ten years of successful crime.

And so, by his own action, he had both supplied the Inspector with an additional reason for applying for a warrant against him, and increased his confidence that in so doing he would not be arresting the wrong man a second time.

He talked the matter over with Mr. Jesse Banks, with whom he was careful to keep in contact, recognizing, among other reasons, that that gentleman's investigations on behalf of the London & Northern ran closely alongside those on which he was more immediately engaged, and, being supported by his almost equally experienced opinion, he took out a warrant.

Fortified with this doc.u.ment, he searched Mr. Entwistle's two attic rooms, and was more annoyed than surprised to find that, though they had been abruptly left, they contained no incriminating evidence of any kind.

He did not antic.i.p.ate any prolonged delay in effecting the arrest of the missing man, knowing that it is almost impossibly difficult for any man to remain concealed from his fellows, even with the a.s.sistance of the resources which he supposed Peter Entwistle to possess, when the interests of press and public have been united in his pursuit. And he reflected with satisfaction that a figure of unusual height and leanness is not easily overlooked or disguised.