AT THE MAGISTRATE'S COURT.
There was an unusual bustle in the Bishop Street Police Court on
Friday morning, every person who could gain admittance and every
person in the crowds outside being on the tiptoe of expectation. Mr.
Mallandaine, the magistrate, was in attendance early, and half-a-dozen
minor cases of drunkenness were disposed of by eleven o'clock, before
which time every seat was occupied, and there was not a vacant inch of
standing room. If there had been any intention on the part of Dr. Pye
and Mr. Ezra Lynn not to present themselves it was frustrated by the
vigilance of Detective Lambert, who had stepped outside the boundary
of his duties to secure their attendance. There was not a trace of
discomposure on the countenance of Dr. Pye. In marked contrast to his
composed demeanour was that of Mr. Ezra Lynn, who, while assuming an
air of amused benevolence, was not entirely successful in concealing
his inward agitation. No information had reached him as to whether he
had been subp[oe]naed as a witness for the prosecution or the defence;
he knew that this was irregular, but he did not dare disobey the
summons. No token of recognition passed between him and Dr. Pye,
although Lambert had man[oe]uvred that they should be seated next to
each other. Immediately behind Dr. Pye sat an individual who might
have been French or Italian; his swarthy complexion and curled
moustache proclaimed him to be certainly not an Englishman. He took
his seat, the position of which had also been arranged by Lambert,
after the entrance of Dr. Pye, so that the former, who did not once
turn his head, was not aware of his presence. Mr. Rawdon, the
recalcitrant juror, was within hail, and manifestly as little at ease
as Mr. Ezra Lynn. Near them sat Mrs. Abel Death, worn and haggard with
anxiety, all her efforts to find Gracie having failed. Uncle and Aunt
Rob and Florence were on another bench, and the eyes that rested on
their suffering faces were filled with pity and kindly sympathy; and
near them were seated Lady Wharton and her brother, Lord Fairfax. Mr.
Higgins, in skull cap and list slippers, was also present.
There was scarcely elbow-room at the long narrow table below the
magistrate's chair. Mr. Finnis, Q.C., representing her ladyship, was
there, and Mr. Marlow for the prosecution, and Mr. Pallaret for the
defence, with the solicitors engaged in the case, and the newspaper
reporters, who were so numerous that accommodation could not be found
for more than half of them; those who could not obtain seats stood at
the back, and plied their pencils industriously.
A buzz of excitement ran through the Court as Reginald and Dick
appeared in the dock. They were ushered in separately, and this was
the first time they had met since Reginald's arrest, but messages had
passed between them through friends and solicitors, and their first
action now, as they stood side by side, was to hold out their hands in
token of hearty friendship and confidence. Upon some of the spectators
this friendly greeting produced a favourable impression; upon others
the reverse. Of the two young men, it was clear that Reginald felt his
position the more acutely; Dick had recovered his bright and cheery
manner, and it was hard to believe that he stood charged with a
horrible crime.
Upon the case being called, Mr. Pallaret rose and said that he
appeared for both the accused. "In expressing the hope," added the
learned counsel, "that the case for the prosecution will be fully
disclosed, and in such a comprehensive manner as to enable your
worship to decide to-day whether you will discharge the accused or
commit them for trial, I am carrying out their strong wish, with which
my own view of what is just and right coincides."
Mr. Mallandaine: "It is certainly advisable that a charge of this
nature should not be kept hanging over the heads of the accused for an
unreasonable length of time, but we have to be guided, to some extent,
by the counsel for the prosecution."
Mr. Marlow: "There is no desire on our part for delay. In a matter of
this grave import every opportunity for defence should be given to an
accused person, and in our proceedings to-day I say frankly that I do
not intend to hold anything back. At the conclusion of the evidence it
will be for your worship to decide whether the facts disclosed are
sufficient to warrant the committal of the prisoners. I venture to say
that there have been few cases of the kind in which the circumstantial
evidence is so strong and direct. I would point out to your worship
that the case assumes a different complexion from that which it
presented this day week. Then there was only one person charged, now
there are two, and I shall be able to prove collusion in the committal
of a murder as brutal as any which can be found in the whole calendar
of crime. The arrest of the second prisoner, Richard Remington, cousin
of the first, Reginald Boyd, instead of complicating the issue, has
cleared it, for much that was mysterious is now capable of
explanation. The medical evidence will establish that the murder was
committed on the night of Friday, the 1st of March----"
Mr. Pallaret: "Or on the night of Saturday, the 2nd. My learned
brother will see the point."
Mr. Marlow: "Yes, I see it, but I shall contend that it was committed
on Friday, on which night Reginald Boyd visited his father, for the
purpose, as he has himself admitted, of obtaining money from him, he
being then, upon his own confession, in an impecunious state. The
notes of his evidence at the inquest will be read to you----"
Mr. Pallaret: "It will shorten the proceedings by my admitting the
visit and its purpose. Mr. Reginald Boyd gave his evidence of his own
free will."
Mr. Mallandaine: "Nevertheless, Mr. Pallaret, the evidence had better
be read from the Coroner's notes, in which you may possibly find
discrepancies."
Mr. Pallaret: "There are parts which I wish to be read, in proof of
the ingenuous part played by Mr. Reginald Boyd."
Mr. Marlow: "We will read the whole of it. There will also be
submitted to your worship proof of identification of the body, with
the Coroner's notes, and the evidence of the two prisoners on that
point."
Mr. Pallaret: "We admit that. There can be no possible doubt that the
man murdered was Mr. Samuel Boyd, and I may state explicitly that
there is not the least intention on our parts to dispute matters of
fact."
Mr. Marlow: "On the night in question three incidents occurred of
which we have positive knowledge. The first was the summary discharge
by the murdered man of his clerk, Mr. Abel Death, whose singular
disappearance has yet to be accounted for; the second was the visit of
Lady Wharton to Mr. Samuel Boyd, and her depositing with him certain
articles of jewellery which her ladyship will be called upon to
identify; the third, the visit of Reginald Boyd to his father under
the circumstances I have mentioned. I name these incidents in the
order of their occurrence. From the first discovery of the murder
suspicion pointed to Reginald Boyd as its probable perpetrator, but
the disclosures made up to a certain point of the inquiry in the
Coroner's Court were not considered sufficiently conclusive by the
police to warrant his arrest. But he was kept under observation.
Towards the conclusion of the second day of the inquiry an important
witness came forward in the person of Dr. Pye, a gentleman who, we
understand, has devoted his life to scientific pursuits. This
gentleman resides in Shore Street, a street running parallel to
Catchpole Square. The windows at the back of Dr. Pye's house directly
face the front of the house occupied by Mr. Samuel Boyd. It has been
his habit for years to keep up late at night for the purpose of making
scientific experiments, and on the night of Friday the 1st of March he
was so employed. At three o'clock on that night--that is to say, on
the morning of Saturday, the 2nd--he was standing at the window of the
room in which he was at work, when his attention was attracted by an
unusual movement at the door of Samuel Boyd's house. It will be
necessary to bear in mind that Catchpole Square is a _cul de sac_, and
that it is very rarely indeed that any person enters there, and none,
unless it be an entire stranger, with the intention of passing
through. The entrance to the Square is through a hooded passage
bearing the ominous name of Deadman's Court. As I have told you, Dr.
Pye was standing at the window--as he will tell you aimlessly, and as
I submit in the abstracted mood habitual to students after some hours
of secluded work--when he dimly observed the opening of the street
door. An incident so unusual and suspicious made a strong impression
upon him, and for the purpose of ascertaining the cause he brought
forward an ingenious contrivance of his own invention by means of
which he is enabled to throw a flashlight a considerable distance upon
any desired spot, while the operator remains in shadow. The flashlight
revealed the figure of a man standing at the door in an attitude of
fear; Dr. Pye distinguished quite clearly the features of this man,
who at that time was a stranger to him. The man remained at the door
in his fear-struck attitude for several moments; then, the flashlight
extinguished, Dr. Pye observed the shadow of a man--the night was
dark, and he could distinguish no more than the shadow--slink
cautiously and stealthily out of the Square. This was the end of the
incident. During the inquest Dr. Pye properly conceived it to be his
duty, in the interests of justice, to make the incident public, and he
addressed a note to the Coroner, stating that he had evidence of more
or less importance to tender. He was called and examined, and the
statement he made was to the effect I have described. His examination
over, a remarkable incident occurred. Glancing around the Court his
eyes fell upon Reginald Boyd, and he was instantly struck with the
resemblance he bore to the man he had seen in Catchpole Square; and
his further examination elicited this fact. It is a proof of his
fair-mindedness that he warned the jury not to be led into a possible
error by attaching a too great importance to this resemblance, which
he suggested might be accidental. If so, it was a remarkable accident.
While offering this warning against a possible miscarriage of
justice--of which I admit there are instances on record--he was not to
be shaken from the positive fact of the extraordinary resemblance.
Observe that he was not aware that the man whom he pointed out in the
Coroner's Court was the son of Samuel Boyd. Now, in this connection,
there will be found a discrepancy between Dr. Pye and another witness,
Mrs. Abel Death, as to the hour at which the man emerged from the
house. Dr. Pye says it was three o'clock, while Mrs. Death avers that
she was in Catchpole Square from half-past two till half-past three,
during which space of time the door of the house in Catchpole Square
was not opened. Dr. Pye fixes the time by his watch, which he says he
consulted, while Mrs. Death fixes it by the striking of the hour from
St. Michael's Church, which is in the immediate vicinity of Catchpole
Square. Stress will no doubt be laid upon this discrepancy to
discredit Dr. Pye's evidence, but it should not be allowed to weigh
with you. Either of these witnesses may be reasonably and blamelessly
mistaken, and the strong probability is that it is Mrs. Death, who
does not possess a watch or a clock, and whose agitation at the
disappearance of her husband may easily have led her into error. But
anyway this discrepancy is of small significance. Whether it was at
three or two o'clock does not affect the fact that a man was seen
coming from the house----"
Mr. Pallaret: "I beg my learned friend's pardon. The unsupported
evidence of a witness in relation to the important incident he
describes does not establish the fact, and such a word should not be
used."
Mr. Marlow: "I withdraw the word. You will have the evidence, and will
judge of its value. It is not conceivable that Dr. Pye had any
personal interest to serve in coming forward----"
Mr. Pallaret: "Again I beg pardon. What is conceivable and not
conceivable will probably be made clear before we finish."
Mr. Marlow: "I will pass over the incident. The presumption is that
the man was either the murderer or an accomplice. Now, how does the
prisoner, Reginald Boyd, stand in relation to what took place on that
night? We have his own statement that he left his father's house and
was in his lodgings by midnight, and if he could produce a witness or
witnesses to confirm his statement, and to prove that he did not leave
his lodgings again during the night, it would effectually dispose of
the peril in which he stands in regard to the resemblance between him
and the man whom Dr. Pye saw. But such a witness has not been, and I
venture to say will not be, produced, and we have only his bare word
to fall back upon. Remember that he had a latchkey, and could let
himself into the house without the knowledge of the inmate. We may
take it for granted that Samuel Boyd, before he retired to bed,
chained and bolted the street door, and in these circumstances the
latchkey would be useless.
"I come now to the other prisoner, Richard Remington. No suspicion was
entertained of his complicity in the crime, and there was no evidence
connecting him with it until Monday night of this week. When Reginald
Boyd was arrested Richard Remington was acting as his cousin's
attorney, and on that very day he was seen posting up bills of large
rewards, as stated therein, for the discovery of the murderer and Mr.
Abel Death. On the face of it this simultaneous posting up of the two
bills would go some way to directly associate Mr. Abel Death with the
murder. I do not say that this was the intention, but it is open to
that construction. If such an intention existed the design was artful
and wicked, and Richard Remington's personal participation in the
bill-posting--bill-sticking not being his trade--is open to another
construction, that it was done for the purpose of averting suspicion
from himself. On the following day, Friday, a notice appeared on the
street door of the house in Catchpole Square, which stated that
Richard Remington was absent on business, and that all communications
for him were to be left at a certain address. Inquiry was made for him
at that address by a witness who will be called, and nothing could be
learned about him. I mention this incidentally, as indicating that he
wished it to be supposed he was living at that address. If this were
so, for what reason did he make it public, when he was not to be found
there? Saturday, Sunday, and the daylight of Monday, passed without
anything being heard of him; but late that night an incident of a very
startling nature occurred, in which he was the principal actor.
"Constable Applebee was on his beat, which embraced Catchpole Square,
and during the storm which came on suddenly at two in the morning, he
took refuge in Deadman's Court, which you will recollect is the only
approach to the Square. During a lull in the storm the constable
stepped from his shelter to reconnoitre the houses in the Square. He
had not been there a minute before the door of Samuel Boyd's house was
flung open, and a man ran out, almost into the constable's arms. This
man was Richard Remington."