A SINISTER DISCOVERY
Mrs. Whitney sat up in bed and contemplated her husband reproachfully as
he entered her room.
"Have you been working all night?" she inquired.
Whitney nodded absently as he stooped to kiss her. "Now, don't worry,
dear; work will not injure me. I've just had a cold shower and feel ten
per cent better, and all ready for my breakfast. You are the one who
looks tired; that's a very becoming cap you are wearing, but you need
more color here," pinching her cheek. "I don't like to see you so pale.
Were the Sisters in Unity as strenuous as ever?"
"Just about--but, Oh, Winslow, I was elected...."
"That was a foregone conclusion, you modest child." Again Whitney kissed
her. "Congratulations, my darling, though why you should want it...."
Mrs. Whitney laughed good-naturedly. "I'm too happy today to argue the
question," she broke in.
"Kiametia Grey frightened us all last night by fainting ..."
"Fainting! Kiametia? I thought she was as tough as a horse?"
"So she is usually, but she has been doing too much socially, and late
hours do not agree with a woman of her years."
"She isn't so old," protested Whitney.
"She is older than I, and I'm not so young," Mrs. Whitney, whose years
sat lightly upon her, jerked a dainty dressing-gown about her shoulders.
"Kiametia did faint and when she came to, declared it was the overheated
atmosphere of the rooms and the continuous talking which had upset her."
"Well, you must admit, Minna, the Sisters are famous for noisy
discussions. Kiametia is generally able to hold up her end of an
argument. I am sorry she had to give in to superior numbers," Whitney
laughed. "You'll never convince me that she fainted."
"She did, too; and felt so badly that I persuaded her not to go home, but
to spend the remainder of the night in our blue bedroom."
"Good heavens!" Whitney gazed blankly at his wife. "Did she--did ..."
"No, she did not stay there," pausing dramatically. "She found Sinclair
Spencer sound asleep in the bed." She waited expectantly for her
husband's comment, but getting no reply, she burst out, "What was he
doing there--how came he to be there?"
"I was foolish enough to offer him whiskey." Her husband seated himself
carefully on the edge of the bed, "Spencer had been drinking before he
came to see me, and a very little more made him tipsy. I was fearful that
if I took him downstairs he would try and break up your meeting, so
persuaded him to go and lie down on the bed in the blue room."
"Sometimes, Winslow, for a thoughtful man, you ball things up
dreadfully," sighed Mrs. Whitney. "Why did you select that room? You
always put your friends in the hall bedroom."
"Never gave the matter of the rooms a thought." Whitney moved restlessly;
he hated to see a woman cry, and his wife looked perilously upon the
point of tears. In spite of his assertion that he did not miss the loss
of sleep, his nerves were not under full control. Ordinarily not a
drinking man, he had stopped on his way from his bedroom to help himself
to the small amount of Scotch left in the bottle.
"Such a scene as I had with Kiametia," groaned Mrs. Whitney sighing
dismally at the recollection. "Finally, I convinced her that I knew
nothing of Mr. Spencer's presence, and she consented to sleep in the
hall bedroom."
"I'm glad Kiametia discovered Spencer in time." His chuckle developing
into a laugh, Whitney rose and walked to the door. "It's no crying
matter, my dear. Kiametia will be the first to enjoy the joke."
"If it had been anyone but Sinclair Spencer!" Mrs. Whitney shook her head
forlornly. "She has developed an intense dislike for him."
"And Kiametia is usually a woman of discernment." His sarcasm passed
unheeded, and he opened the hall door. "Hurry and dress, Minna, I'll wait
for you in the dining-room. Heavens! What's that?"
A muffled cry, long drawn out, agonizing, vibrated through the stillness.
Spellbound, husband and wife eyed each other, then Whitney stepped into
the hall just as Miss Kiametia tore out of her bedroom.
"What is it?" she demanded. "Oh, stop it, stop it!" clapping her hands
over her ears as the cry rose again.
"It comes from the elevator shaft, sir," panted Vincent, appearing up the
stairs, Henry, the chauffeur, close at his heels. Without moving, Whitney
stared stupidly at the two servants, and it was Henry who laid a
trembling finger on the elevator button. As they heard the automatic car
come to a standstill on the other side of the closed mahogany door there
was a second's pause; then Miss Kiametia, summoning all her fortitude,
laid her hand on the door knob and pulled it open. A horrified
exclamation escaped her as her eyes fell upon Kathleen, whose bloodless
face was pressed against the iron grating of the inner door, to which she
was clinging for support.
"Let me out," she pleaded, her eyes dark with horror. "Let me out."
At sight of his daughter Whitney recovered himself. "Stand back,
Kathleen," he directed. "Then we can slide open the door." He had to
repeat his words twice before she took in their meaning. Releasing her
hold upon the grating, she covered her face as if to shut out some
terrifying spectacle. As Henry pushed back the door, she collapsed into
her father's arms.
"Bring Kathleen in here," called Mrs. Whitney from her doorway, where she
had stood, too frightened to move. "There are smelling salts on my
bureau. What can have brought on this attack of hysterics, Kiametia?"
"The Lord knows. Perhaps the machinery's out of order and she's been
stuck between floors." The spinster, suddenly remembering her extremely
light attire, backed toward her room.
Whitney, reentering the hall, caught her words. "Go to Kathleen, Minna;
she asked for you," and as his wife turned back into her bedroom, he
added, "See if there is anything wrong with the elevator, Henry."
Obediently the chauffeur stepped through the narrow entrance to the
elevator and into the steel cage. The next instant he turned an ashy face
toward his companions.
"Look!" he gasped. "Look!" And his shaking hand pointed to that part of
the elevator concealed by the solid wall of the shaft from the view of
those standing in the hall. With one accord they crowded into the
elevator, and a stricken silence prevailed.
Crouching on the floor at the far end of the shallow cage was Sinclair
Spencer. The rays of the overhead electric lamp, by which the cage was
lighted, showed plainly the gash in his throat, while crimson stains on
his white shirt added to the ghastly tableau. Death was stamped upon the
marble whiteness of his upturned face.
"Good God!" Whitney reeled back and but for Vincent's arm would
have fallen.
"Here, sir, sit here, sir," and the butler half lifted him to a chair in
the hall. "Go get whiskey, Henry," noting the pallor of Whitney's face.
"Quick, man!"
"Telephone for a doctor, Vincent," directed Miss Kiametia, pulling
herself together. She had been the first to bolt out of the elevator. "I
will stay with Mr. Whitney until you get back," and flashing her a
grateful look, the butler, relieved to have responsibility taken from his
shoulders, fled downstairs after Henry.
Miss Kiametia laid trembling hands on Whitney's bowed shoulders.
"It's awful, Winslow," she stammered. "Awful!"
As he paid no attention to her, but stared vacantly at the floor before
him, she paced to and fro, always careful, however, never to go in the
direction of the elevator. The exercise brought back some semblance of
self-control, and her eyes were beginning to take on their wonted snap
when Whitney rose unsteadily and stepped toward the elevator. Miss
Kiametia's voice stopped him on its threshold.
"I wouldn't go in there again," she advised. "Wait until the
coroner comes."
"The coroner?" staring stupidly at her.
"Yes, hadn't you better send for him?"
Whitney's hands dropped to his side with a hopeless gesture. "The
coroner," he muttered. "God help us!"
"Winslow!" Mrs. Whitney appeared in the doorway, tears streaming down
her white cheeks. "Kathleen is completely unnerved; come and help me
quiet her."
At that moment Henry arrived, tray in hand. "I couldn't find the whiskey,
sir," he explained, breathless with hurry. "But here's some cognac, sir.
Let me pour it out," and he handed a filled liqueur glass to Whitney, who
swallowed the stimulant at a gulp.
"Shouldn't mind having some of that myself," announced Miss Kiametia.
"Bring the tray here, Henry," walking over to a table. "And, Winslow,
take a glass to Kathleen; it will do her good. Henry, did Vincent
telephone for the doctor?" she added below her breath, as Whitney and his
wife disappeared in the latter's bedroom and closed the door.
"Yes, Miss Grey, but he was out. So Vincent rang up the hospital and
the coroner."
"Good." Miss Kiametia debated a moment whether or not to take more
cognac, and ended by refilling her glass. "Stay right in this hall,
Henry; don't leave it for a moment until the doctor comes. I'm going in
to dress."
As the door closed behind the spinster, Henry stood in deep thought, then
pouring out a glass of cognac he hastily drank it. Setting down the
glass, he tiptoed over to the elevator, but one look at the still figure
crouching with head thrown back and sightless eyes turned to the ceiling
sent him back into the center of the hall. Drawing out his handkerchief,
he mopped his damp forehead.
From Mrs. Whitney's bedroom came the murmur of voices, and Henry,
darting a quick, searching look about the empty hall, slipped over to
the door and applied his ear to the keyhole. The sound of approaching
footsteps and voices warned him of the arrival of the physician, and
when Vincent appeared, followed by two men, he was standing on guard
near the elevator shaft.
A quick word of explanation sufficed, and then the younger of the
newcomers entered the elevator. He recoiled at sight of Spencer, then
advancing tested the dead man's pulse and heart.
"This is a case for you, Penfield," he exclaimed backing out into the
hall, and without a word the coroner took his place beside Spencer. The
young physician turned to Vincent. "Didn't you tell me that someone was
ill and required medical assistance? Mr. Spencer is dead; I can do
nothing for him."
Without answering, Vincent tapped on Mrs. Whitney's door, and Whitney's
voice bade him enter. "Dr. Hall, sir," announced the butler. "Want him to
come in, sir?--Yes, sir; this way, Doctor," and he pulled to the door
after the physician. The elevator drew Vincent's eyes as a magnet draws
steel, and he started violently at sight of the coroner beckoning to him
from its entrance.
"Call up Police Headquarters," directed Penfield. "Tell them I am here,
and ask to have Detective Mitchell and three plain-clothes men sent over
at once. Be quick about it," and his peremptory tone caused the agitated
butler to hasten his usually leisurely gait. Henry started to follow him,
but the coroner called him back. "Explain to me exactly what happened
when Mr. Spencer was found," he said, stepping into the hall.
The tale lost nothing in Henry's telling, and Penfield was gnawing his
fingernails, a trick he had if perplexed, when Vincent escorted the
detective and plain-clothes policemen into the hall. The coroner rose
with alacrity.
"Glad you could come, Mitchell," he said. "Let me put you in possession
of all facts so far known," and he repeated all that Henry had told him.
Mitchell listened in silence; only the gleam in his eyes attested his
interest, as his face remained expressionless. And that gleam deepened as
he stepped into the elevator and examined Spencer. When he came out he
was wrapping his handkerchief around a knife. Exchanging a glance with
the coroner, he turned to Vincent.
"Show my men over the house," he directed, "and you," addressing
Henry, "inform Mr. Whitney that Coroner Penfield and I would like to
see him at once."
"I am here." Whitney, who had entered the hall unnoticed a second before,
joined the group. "What can I do for you?"
"Answer a few questions," and Penfield, observing the strain under which
he was laboring, pushed a chair in his direction. "Sit down, Mr.
Whitney." He turned back to Henry. "You need not wait," and the chauffeur
reluctantly went down the stairs. The coroner waited an appreciable
moment before again speaking to Whitney. "Was Mr. Spencer visiting you?"
he questioned.
"Only for the night."
"When did you see him last?"
"About midnight."
"And where was that?"
"In the bedroom across the way," pointing to it, and the detective
crossed the hall and entered the room, the door of which was closed.
"And what was Mr. Spencer doing the last time you saw him?" asked the
coroner, with quiet persistence.
"Falling asleep," tersely. "Spencer was drunk," added Whitney after a
pause. "His behavior led me to believe that he would intrude upon my
wife's guests if he went downstairs, so I suggested that he spend the
night here." Whitney drew a long breath, "Is Spencer really dead?"
"Yes."
Whitney shrank back in his chair; he had aged in the past hour, and he
was conscious that his hands were trembling. "I feared so," he muttered,
"I feared so. Can"--clearing his throat--"can Spencer be moved?"
"Not just yet; there are certain formalities to be gone through with
first." Penfield paused to make an entry in his notebook. "Of course,
there will be an autopsy--at the morgue. Oh, Mitchell," as the detective
returned, "have you any questions to ask Mr. Whitney?"
Before answering the detective drew up a chair near Whitney. "I am
told your daughter's screams aroused the household," he said. "Can I
see Miss Whitney?"
"No, you must wait until she is composed; the doctor is just
administering an opiate," replied Whitney hastily. "Kathleen has been
through a most harrowing experience."
"I see." Mitchell drummed impatiently on the arm of his chair. Whitney
eyed the two men askance. Their manner, combined with the events of the
morning, was telling on him. At any price he must break the silence--he
could endure it no longer.
"I wish to God," he exclaimed, "Spencer had chosen any other spot to kill
himself in than our elevator!"
The coroner was the first to reply. "The wound was not self-inflicted."
"What!" Whitney sprang to his feet. "Do you mean--Spencer was murdered?"
"Yes." Both men never moved their gaze from Whitney's ashen face. "Were
all members of your family on good terms with Mr. Spencer?"
"They were," Whitney moistened his parched lips, and only the detective
caught his furtive glance behind him.
"Did anyone beside your immediate family spend last night in this house,
Mr. Whitney?" he asked.
"No--yes," confusedly. "Miss Kiametia Grey...."
"Winslow"--Mrs. Whitney, fully dressed, stepped into the hall from her
boudoir. "Pardon me," with a courteous inclination of her head as the
coroner and Mitchell rose. "Winslow, I've asked the servants, and they
tell me she has disappeared...."
"She? Who?" chorused the three men.
"Julie, my French maid."