The Woman's Way Part 37

Smith looked at him with surprise; for Heyton's manner was scarcely that of a son whose father had nearly been done to death. The Inspector was in the hall and Heyton signed to him to follow into the library.

"This is dreadful news, my lord," said the Inspector.

"Rather!" a.s.sented Heyton. He was very pale, and his hair was dank with sweat, and his tongue moved over his lips thickly, with a restless, feverish movement. "Here, we'd better have a drink before we begin. I'm terribly upset. Only natural, eh, Inspector?--Own father, you know?--Bring in some soda and whisky," he ordered the footman who answered the bell.

"Not for me, my lord, thank you," said the Inspector, respectfully.

Heyton poured out half a gla.s.sful of whisky, made a pretence of adding soda, and swallowed the spirit.

"Absolutely upset," he said, wiping his lips on his handkerchief. "But there! I half expected it. I was telling my father only last night--or was it the night before?--about those d.a.m.ned gipsies on the common. I warned him; yes, I warned him."

"Gipsies, my lord?" said the Inspector. "You suspect them?"

"Who else am I to suspect?" demanded Heyton, with a sideway glance of his bloodshot eyes.

"That remains to be seen, my lord," said the Inspector quietly; "for myself, I don't think the gipsies have had any hand in this. I should like you to tell me everything you know about the affair, please, my lord."

"Certainly, Inspector," responded Heyton, promptly. "But, you see, I know precious little; in fact, I don't know anything. My man came bursting into my room this morning, and told me they'd found my father--well, as you know, lying in his dressing-room, badly knocked about; and, of course, I went straight to his room, and--that's all I know about it."

"Quite so, my lord. I should like to see the room at once."

"Come on, then," said Heyton. He was quite calm, and was quite proud of being so calm. The Inspector might look at the room as long as he liked; it wouldn't tell him anything of the truth.

They went up to the dressing-room, and the Inspector walked straight to the safe and began to look, not at its contents, but along the edge of the door. He nodded with a kind of satisfaction, and said:

"I've wired for a detective; he's more at home at this kind of case than I am."

He turned from the safe and examined the part of the floor on which the Marquess had fallen; then he caught sight of the poker and pursed his lips.

"That's what did it," he said, confidently. "The blood's still wet on it."

Heyton made as if to pick up the poker, but the Inspector caught his arm and stayed him.

"Beg pardon, my lord," he said, apologetically. "But you mustn't touch anything. We'll let everything bide as it is until the detective comes down from Scotland Yard."

He went to the window and examined it; but without touching it.

"Closed and hasped! Have you any idea how they got in, my lord; have any of the servants found a window or a door open?"

"No," replied Heyton; then he added, as if he had suddenly remembered.

"Here, by George, that's strange! I mean about the window. I found one of the back windows open when I went down this morning for a swim."

"Oh!" said the Inspector. "I should like to see that window, my lord.

But one moment! Was there anything of value--I mean, jewels or money or anything of that kind--in the safe?"

"Not that I'm aware of," replied Heyton, almost instantly; but he had had time to consider the question. "There may have been, of course. Not jewels, because my father kept the family diamonds at the bank."

"That's something to be thankful for, my lord," said the Inspector, with an approving shake of the head. "Quite the proper thing to do. There wouldn't be half the burglaries, if the gentry didn't leave their jewels about in the way they do. But there might have been money?"

"Oh, yes, there might," said Heyton.

The Inspector walked round the room cautiously, and presently went to the outer door.

"Is this locked, my lord?"

"I don't know," said Heyton; and, as if he had forgotten the Inspector's injunction, he tried the handle of the door before the Inspector could stop him. "It's locked," said Heyton.

"Tut, tut!" said the Inspector to himself, as if he were much annoyed by something.

"Come on," said Heyton. "I'll show you the window I found open." He was consumed by a feverish desire to get the Inspector out of the room.

They went down to the lower hall, the white-faced servants staring at them from coigns of vantage; and the Inspector glanced swiftly at the window and then at the hall.

"That's where they got in," he said. "Nothing easier. There is no door, I suppose, between the Marquess's room and the window here?"

"No," replied Heyton, moistening his lips as he stood behind the Inspector.

"And you are sure this window was open when you went out this morning, my lord? What time was that, by the way?"

"A little after six," replied Heyton. "It was deuced hot; I woke and had a fancy for a swim. There was no one about, and I opened the door, this door, for myself."

"Oh, it's plain enough," said the Inspector, nodding once or twice.

"It's quite easy for them to slip this hasp back with an ordinary knife.

The rest isn't difficult to guess. They must have made some noise while they were breaking into the safe; well, not 'breaking into' it, for they must have opened it with a key, because there wasn't even the mark of an ordinary chisel on the safe. You noticed that, my lord, no doubt?"

"I--I can't say I did," said Heyton; "I'm a bit upset and confused, you know."

"Yes, it was opened with a key," said the Inspector, "and that's the only part of the business that troubles me. That's a good safe, my lord; one of the first-cla.s.s makers, and it couldn't have been opened with a skeleton key; in fact, with anything but the proper key or a duplicate."

"Oh?" said Heyton. "Where did they get it?"

The Inspector shook his head. "Of course, that's just the puzzle, my lord. I'm afraid we shall have to leave that to the Scotland Yard man."

As he spoke, he took out his whistle and blew sharply on it. A constable came to the door and saluted.

"Got your men placed, Brown?" asked the Inspector. "Just put another man on the drive, and give him orders that no man is to enter the lodge gates excepting the detective, when he comes."

"What's that for?" asked Heyton, as if the question were inspired by his desire to understand everything that was being done.

"I don't want a lot of people tramping over the place," said the Inspector, rather evasively.

"Oh, ah, yes," said Heyton. "Well, I'll go upstairs again. Send for me, if you want me, Inspector."

He went upstairs, paused a moment outside the Marquess's door, then went on to his own dressing-room. He listened at the door leading to the bedroom; but there was no sound. He touched the handle of the door; but he could not open it, though he knew that Miriam was in the room, and that he ought to go to her. He could not. He rang the bell, and when the valet came, Heyton told him to bring some whisky and soda. But even the draught of almost undiluted spirit could not give him sufficient courage to face his wife.

For he knew that she would remember that she had told him the diamonds were in the safe. And that he had wanted them.