THE LADY'S MAID
The first difficulty experienced by the barrister in his self-imposed
task was the element of mystery purposely contributed by Lady Dyke
herself. To a man of his quick perception, sharpened and clarified by
his legal training, it was easy to arrive at the positive facts
underlying the trivial incidents of his meeting with the missing lady at
Victoria Station.
Briefly stated, his summary was this: Lady Dyke intended to go to
Richmond at a later hour than that at which his unexpected presence had
caused her to set out. She had resolved upon a secret visit to some one
who lived in Raleigh Mansions, Sloane Square--some person whom she knew
so slightly as to be unacquainted with the exact address, and, as the
result of this visit, she desired subsequently to see her sister at
Richmond.
Sir Charles Dyke was apparently in no way concerned with her movements,
nor had she thought fit to consult him, beyond the mere politeness of
announcing her probable absence from home at the dinner hour.
To one of Bruce's analytical powers the problem would be more simple
were it, in a popular sense, more complex. In these days, it is a
strange thing for a woman of assured position in society to be suddenly
spirited out of the world without leaving trace or sign. He approached
his inquiry with less certainty, owing to Lady Dyke's own negative
admissions, than if she had been swallowed up by an earthquake, and he
were asked to determine her fate by inference and deduction.
It must be remembered that he was sure she was dead--murdered, and that
her body had been lodged by human agents beneath an old drain-pipe at
Putney.
What possible motive could any one have in so foully killing a
beautiful, high-minded, and charming woman, whose whole life was known
to her associates, whom the breath of scandal had never touched?
The key of the mystery might be found at Raleigh Mansions, but Bruce
decided that this branch of his quest could wait until other transient
features were cleared up.
He practically opened the campaign of investigation at Putney. Mild
weather had permitted the workmen to conclude their operations the
day before the barrister reached the spot where the body had been
found--that is to say, some forty-eight hours after he had resolved
neither to pause nor deviate in his search until the truth was laid
bare.
A large house, untenanted, occupied the bank, a house with solid front
facing the road, and a lawn running from the drawing-room windows to the
river. Down the right side of the grounds the boundary was sharply
marked by a narrow lane, probably a disused ferry road, and access to
this thoroughfare was obtained from the lawn by a garden gate.
A newly marked seam in the roadway showed the line of the drainage work,
and Bruce did not glance at the point where the pipe entered the Thames,
as the structural features here were recent.
He went to the office of the contractor who had carried out the
alterations. An elderly foreman readily answered his questions.
"Yes, sir. I was in charge of the men who were on the job. It was an
easy business. Just an outlet for rain from the road. An old-fashioned
affair; been there thirty or forty years, I should think; all the pipes
were crumbling away."
"Why were the repairs effected at this moment?"
"Well, sir, the house was empty quite a while. You see it used to be a
school, a place where young gents were prepared for the army. It was
closed about a year ago, and it isn't everybody as wants so many
bedrooms. I do hear as how the new tenant has sixteen children."
"The incoming people have not yet arrived?"
"No, sir."
"Can you tell me the name of the schoolmaster?"
"Oh, yes. When I was younger I have done a lot of carpenter's work for
him. He was the Reverend Septimus Childe."
Bruce made a note of the name, and next sought the local
police-inspector.
"No, nothing fresh," said the latter, in reply to a query concerning the
woman "found drowned."
"I suppose these things are soon lost sight of?" said Bruce casually.
"Sometimes they are, and sometimes they aren't. It's wonderful
occasionally how a matter gets cleared up after years. Of course we keep
all the records of a case, so that the affair can be looked into if
anything turns up."
"Ah, that brings me to the most important object of my visit. A small
piece of iron was found imbedded in the woman's skull."
The inspector smiled as he admitted the fact.
"May I see it? I want either the loan of it for a brief period, or an
exact model."
Again the policeman grinned.
"I don't mind telling you that you are too late, sir."
"Too late! How too late?"
"It's been gone to Scotland Yard for the best part of a week."
So others besides the barrister thought that the Putney incident
required more attention than had been bestowed upon it.
* * * * *
Bruce concluded his round by a visit to the surgeon who gave evidence at
the inquest.
The doctor had no manner of doubt that the woman had been murdered
before being placed in the water, the state of the lungs being proof
positive on that point.
"It was equally indisputable that she was put to death by malice
aforethought?"
"Oh, yes. A small iron spike was absolutely wedged into the brain
through the hardest part of the skull."
"What was the nature of the injuries that caused death?"
"This piece of iron penetrated the occipital bone at the lowest part,
and injured the cerebellum, damaging all the great nerve centres at the
base of the brain."
"Would death ensue instantly?"
"Yes. Such a blow would have the effect of a high voltage electric
current. Complete paralysis of the nerve centres means death."
"Then I take it that great force must have been used?"
"Not so much, perhaps, as the nature of the wound seems to imply; but
considerable--sufficient, at any rate, to break the piece of iron."
"It was broken, you say? Was it cast-iron?"
"Yes, of good quality. Off some ornament or design, I should imagine.
But it snapped off inside the head at the moment of the occurrence."
"Curious, is it not, for a person to be killed in such a manner by such
an instrument?"
"I have never before met such a case. Were it not for the way in which
the body was jammed beneath a hidden drain-pipe, and the effective means
taken to destroy the identity, I should have inclined to the belief that
some strange accident had happened. At any rate, the murderer must have
committed the crime on the spur of the moment, and seized upon the first
weapon to hand."
"You say she was forcibly placed where found?"
"Yes; the workmen's description left no other idea."
"Could not the tide have done this?"
"Hardly. One cannot be quite emphatic, as such odd things do happen. But
it seems to be almost impossible for the tide at Putney to pack a body
beneath a jutting drain-pipe in such a manner that the waist, or
narrowest part, should be beneath the pipe and the body remain securely
held."
"Yet it is not so marvellous as the coincidence that this particular
drain should need repairs at the precise period when this tragedy
happened."
"Quite so. It is exceedingly strange. Are you interested in the case?
Have you reason to believe that this poor woman--?"
"I hardly know," broke in the barrister. "I have no data to go upon, but
I feel convinced that I shall ultimately establish her identity. You,
doctor, can help me much by telling me your surmises in addition to the
known facts."
The medico looked thoughtfully through the window before he exclaimed:
"I am certain that the woman found in the Thames came from the upper
walks of life. Notwithstanding the disfiguring effects of the water and
rough usage, any medical man can rapidly appreciate the caste of his
subject. She was, I should say, a woman of wealth and refinement, one
who led an orderly, well-regulated life, whose surroundings were normal
and healthy."
Bruce thanked his informant and hurried back to London. A telegram
to Inspector White preceded him. He had not long reached his
Victoria-street chambers when the detective was announced. He soon made
known his wishes. "I want you to give me that small piece of iron found
in the head of the woman at Putney," he said. "If necessary, I will
return it in twenty-four hours."
Mr. White's face showed some little sign of annoyance. "It is against
the rules," he began; but Bruce curtly interrupted him.
"Very well, I will make direct application to the Commissioner."
"I was going to say, Mr. Bruce, that although not strictly in accordance
with orders, I will make an exception in your case." And the detective
slowly produced the _piece de conviction_ from a large pocket-book.
In sober fact, the police officer was somewhat jealous of the clever
lawyer, who saw so quickly through complexities that puzzled his slower
brain. He was in nowise anxious to help the barrister in his inquiries,
though keenly wishful to benefit by his discoveries, and follow out his
theories when they were defined with sufficient clearness.
Bruce did not at first take the proffered article.
"Let me understand, Mr. White," he said. "Do you object to my presence
in this inquiry? Are you going to hinder me or help me? It will save
much future misunderstanding if we have this point settled now."
The detective flushed at this direct inquiry. "I will be candid with
you, Mr. Bruce. It is true I have been vexed at times when you have
overreached me; but I regret it immediately. It is foolish of me to try
and solve problems by your methods. Kindly forget my momentary
disinclination to hand over the only genuine link in the case."
"In what case?"
"In the case of Lady Dyke's disappearance."
"Ah! Then you think it is in some way connected with the woman found at
Putney?"
"I am sure of it. The woman at Putney, whether Lady Dyke herself or not
I cannot tell, wore some of her ladyship's clothes. When we have
ascertained the means and the manner of the death of the woman buried at
Putney we shall not be far from learning what has become of Lady Dyke."
"How have you identified the clothes?"
"I managed to gain the confidence of the lady's maid, who gave evidence
at the inquest. She, of course, is quite positive that the body was not
that of her mistress, but when I had examined some of Lady Dyke's linen
I no longer doubted the fact."
"If you knew all this, how comes it that more did not transpire at the
coroner's inquiry?"
"In such affairs an inquest is rather a hindrance to the police. It is
better to lull the guilty person or persons into the belief that the
crime has passed into oblivion. They know as well as we do that Lady
Dyke is buried at Putney. We have failed to establish her identity by
the evidence of the husband and servants. The linen and clothes, our
sole effective testimony, remain in our possession; so, taking
everything into consideration, I prefer that matters should remain as
they are for the present."
"Really, Mr. White, I congratulate you. You will perhaps pardon me for
saying that some of your colleagues do not usually take so sensible a
view."
The policeman smiled at the compliment. "I am learning your method, Mr.
Bruce," he said.
As he spoke, Smith entered with a note endorsed "Urgent."
It was in the handwriting of Sir Charles Dyke, and even the
imperturbable barrister could not resist an exclamation of amazement
when he read:
"MY DEAR BRUCE,--My wife's maid has vanished. She has not been
near the house for three days. The thing came to my ears owing
to gossip amongst the servants. There is something maddening
about these occurrences. I really cannot stand any more. Do
come to see me, there's a good fellow."
"Well, I'm jiggered!" said the detective. "The blessed girl must have
been spirited away a few hours after I saw her. Maybe, Mr. Bruce, we are
all wrong. Has she gone to join her mistress?"
"Possibly--in the next world."
Nothing would shake the barrister's belief that Alice, Lady Dyke, was
dead.