THEORIES, WISE AND OTHERWISE
Half an hour later, having excused himself to Miss Carleton, Mr.
Whitney hastened to the grove, where he found the detective
sauntering up and down the winding walk, his hands behind him in a
reflective mood, absorbed in thought and in the enjoyment of a fine
cigar. He nodded pleasantly as the attorney approached.
"Going to be at liberty for some time?" he inquired, at the same
time extending his cigar-case.
"Yes, for any length of time you please; it's a relief to get away
from those egotists."
"H'm!" said Merrick, as he returned the cigar-case to his pocket
after the attorney had helped himself; "I didn't think that you
looked particularly anxious to be relieved of your company when I
saw you. I really felt considerable delicacy about speaking as I
did."
"Oh, to the deuce with your nonsense!" the attorney replied, his
cheek flushing as he lighted his cigar. "If you had listened to
the twaddle that I have all day, you would be glad to talk to almost
any one for a change."
"In that event, perhaps you won't mind talking to me for a while.
Well, suppose we go down to the stables, to the coachman's room; he
is probably with his best girl by this time, and we will be safe
from interruption or eavesdroppers."
"That suits me all right so long as Ralph Mainwaring doesn't think
of looking for me there. That man makes me exceedingly weary!"
"Anxious to secure the property according to the terms of that will,
I suppose."
"Anxious! He is perfectly insane on the subject; he can't talk of
anything else, and he'll move heaven and earth to accomplish it,
too, if necessary."
"Don't anticipate any difficulty, do you?"
"None whatever, unless from that woman; there's no knowing to what
she may resort. It will only be necessary to prove that the will,
if not in existence at the death of the testator, was fraudulently
destroyed prior thereto, and I think we have a pretty clear case.
By George, Merrick!" suddenly exclaimed the attorney in a different
tone, as he paused on the way to the stables. "I hadn't thought of
it before, but there's one thing ought to be done; we should have
this lake dragged at once."
Merrick raised his eyebrows in mute inquiry.
"To find whatever Brown threw in there, you know; it might furnish
us with an almighty important clue."
"H'm! might be a good idea," Merrick remarked, thoughtfully.
"Of course it would! I tell you, Merrick, I was cut out for a
detective myself, and I'm pretty good for an amateur, now."
"Haven't a doubt of it," was the quiet response, and the pair resumed
their walk. Both were soon comfortably seated in the coachman's
room, their chairs tilted at just the right angle before a large
double window, facing the sunset. Both smoked in silence for a few
moments, each waiting for the other to speak.
"Well, my friend, what do you know?" inquired the detective, while
he watched the delicate spirals of blue smoke as they diffused
themselves in the golden haze of the sunlight.
"Just what I was about to ask you," said his companion.
"Oh, time enough for that later. You have been looking into this
case, and, as you are a born detective, I naturally would like to
compare notes with you."
Mr. Whitney glanced sharply at the detective, as though suspicious
of some sarcasm lurking in those words, but the serious face of
the latter reassured him, and he replied,--
"Well, I've not had much experience in that line, but I've made
quite a study of character, and can tell pretty correctly what a
person of such and such evident characteristics will do under such
and such conditions. As I have already stated to you, I know, both
from observation and from hints dropped by Hugh Mainwaring, that if
ever a dangerous woman existed,--artful, designing, absolutely
devoid of the first principles of truth, honor, or virtue,--that
woman is Mrs. LaGrange. I know that Mainwaring stood in fear of
her to a certain extent, and that she was constantly seeking, by
threats, to compel him to either marry her or secure the property
to her and her son and I also know that he was anxious to have the
will drawn in favor of his namesake as quickly and as secretly as
possible.
"Now, knowing all these circumstances, what is more reasonable than
to suppose that she, learning in some way of his intentions, would
resort to desperate measures to thwart them? Her first impulse
would be to destroy the will; then to make one final effort to
bring him, by threats, to her terms, and, failing in that, her fury
would know no bounds. Now, what does she do? Sends for Hobson, the
one man whom Hugh Mainwaring feared, who knew his secret and stood
ready to betray it. Between them the plot was formed. They have
another interview in the evening, to which Hobson brings one of his
coadjutors, the two coming by different ways like the vile
conspirators they were, and in all probability, when Hugh Mainwaring
bade his guests good-night, every detail of his death was planned
and ready to be carried into execution in the event of his refusing
to comply with that woman's demands made by herself, personally,
and later, through Hobson. We know, from the darkey's testimony,
that Hobson and his companion appeared in the doorway together; that
the man suddenly vanished--probably concealing himself in the
shrubbery--as Hobson went back into the house; that a few moments
later, the latter reappeared with Mrs. LaGrange; and the darkey
tells me that he, supposing all was right, slunk away in the bushes
and left them standing there. We know that the valet, going up
stairs a while after, found Mrs. LaGrange in the private library,
and at the same time detected the smell of burning paper. You
found the burnt fragments of the will in the grate in the tower-room.
"Now, to my mind, it is perfectly clear that Mrs. LaGrange and
Hobson proceeded together to the library and tower-room, where they
first destroyed the will, and where she secreted him to await the
result of her interview with Mainwaring, at the same time providing
him with the private keys by which he could effect his escape, and
with Hugh Mainwaring's own revolver with which the terrible deed was
done. Later, finding that Mainwaring would not accede to her
demands, I believe she left that room knowing to a certainty what
his fate would be in case Hobson could not succeed in making terms
with him, and I believe her object in coming down the corridor
afterwards was simply to ascertain that her plans were being carried
into execution. Now there is my theory of this whole affair; what
do you think of it?"
"Very ingeniously put together! What about the jewels? Do you
think Hobson took them?"
"No. I think Mrs. LaGrange got possession of them in some way. She
has no means of her own to hire that scoundrel, yet the darkey heard
her promise to pay him liberally, and you see her very first attempt
to pay him was by the sale of some of those jewels. I'll acknowledge
I'm not prepared to say how or when she secured them."
"Could she open the safe?"
"That I cannot say. Mainwaring told me, some months ego, that he
found her one day attempting to open it, and he immediately changed
the combination. Whether she had discovered the new combination, I
am unable to say; but she is a deep woman, and usually finds some way
of accomplishing her designs."
"Brown, the coachman, seems to have no place in this theory of
yours."
"Well, of course we none of us thought of him in connection with
this affair until since his sudden disappearance yesterday, but I
am inclined to think that he is to be regarded in the light of an
accessory after the fact. I think it very probable that Mrs.
LaGrange has employed him since the murder to assist her in
concealing evidences of the crime, and that is why I suggested
dragging the lake in search of what may be hidden there; but,
according to his own story, he was in the city that night until
some time after the murder was committed."
"Yes, according to his own story, but in reality he did not go to
the city at all that night. More than that, he was seen in this
vicinity about midnight with a couple of suspicious looking
characters."
"By George! when did you learn that?"
"I knew it when Brown gave his testimony at the inquest."
"The deuce you did! and then let the rascal give you the slip,
after all!"
"Don't give yourself any anxiety on that score; I can produce Brown
any hour he's wanted. One of my subordinates has his eye on him
day and night. At last reports, he and Brown were occupying the
same room in a third-class lodging house; I'll wager they're having
a game of cards together this evening."
"Well, well! you have stolen a march on us. But, if I may ask, why
don't you bag your game?"
"I am using him as a decoy for larger game. Whatever Brown is mixed
up in, he is only a tool in the hands of older and shrewder rascals."
Before the attorney could say anything further, Merrick rose abruptly
and stepped to a table near by, returning with a package.
"What do you think of that?" he asked, removing the wrappings and
holding up the rusty, metallic box.
"Great heavens!" ejaculated Mr. Whitney, springing forward excitedly.
"Why, man alive, you don't mean to say that you have found the jewels!"
"No such good fortune as that yet," the detective answered quietly,
"only the empty casket;" and having opened the box, he handed it to
the attorney.
"Where did you find this?" the latter inquired.
"Fished it out of the lake."
"Ah-h! I should like to know when."
"While you were snoring this morning."
"Great Scott! They'll catch a weasel asleep when they find you
napping! But, by George! this rather confirms my theory about that
woman getting possession of the jewels and hiring Brown to help her,
doesn't it?"
Without replying, Merrick handed over the revolver which had been
brought to light that morning.
"Where did you get this rusty thing? Was it in the lake, also?"
The detective nodded affirmatively, and Mr. Whitney examined the
weapon in some perplexity.
"Well, I must say," he remarked at length, "I don't see what
connection this has with the case. The shooting was done with
Hugh Mainwaring's own revolver; that was settled at the inquest-"
"Pardon me! It was only 'settled' that the revolver found lying
beside him was his own."
The attorney stared as Merrick continued, at the same time producing
from his pocket the revolver in question, "This, as you are
doubtless aware, is a Smith and Wesson, 32 calibre, while that,"
pointing to the rusty weapon in Mr. Whitney's hands, "is an old
Colt's revolver, a 38. On the morning of the murder, after you and
the coroner had gone, I found the bullet for which we had searched
unsuccessfully, and from that hour to this I have known, what before
I had suspected, that this dainty little weapon of Mr. Mainwaring's
played no part in the shooting. Here is the bullet, you can see for
yourself."
Mr. Whitney gazed in silent astonishment as the detective compared
the bullet with the two weapons, showing conclusively that it could
never have been discharged from the familiar 32-calibre revolver.
"Well, I'll be blessed if I can see what in the dickens that
revolver of Mainwaring's had to do with the affair, anyway!"
"Very easily explained when you once take into consideration the
fact that the whole thing was an elaborately arranged plan, on the
part of the murderer, to give the affair an appearance of suicide.
One glance at the murdered man convinced me that the wound had
never been produced by the weapon lying at his side. That clue
led to others, and when I left that room with you, to attend the
inquest, I knew that Hugh Mainwaring had been shot with a 38-calibre
revolver, in his library, near the centre of the room, and that the
body had afterwards been so arranged in the tower-room as to give
the appearance of his having deliberately shot himself beside his
desk and with his own revolver."
"By George! I believe you're right," said the attorney; "and I
recall now your statement that day, that the shooting had occurred
in the library; I wondered then what reason you had for such an
opinion."
"A small stain on the library carpet and the bullet told me that
much. Another thing, which at first puzzled me, was the marked
absence of blood-stains. There was a small pool of blood underneath
the head, a slight stain on the carpet in the adjoining room, but
none on the clothing or elsewhere. The solution to this I found
on further investigation. The wound had been firmly and skillfully
bandaged by an expert hand, the imprint of the bandage being
plainly visible in the hair on the temples. Here is the proof that
I was correct," and Merrick held up to the attorney's astonished
view the stained and knotted handkerchief. "This, with the private
keys belonging to Mr. Mainwaring's library, was in that box at the
bottom of the lake. Do you consider Mrs. LaGrange or Hobson capable
of planning and carrying out an affair so adroitly as that?"
"You've got me floored," the attorney answered, gazing at the proofs
before him. "Hobson I know nothing about; but that woman I believe
could scheme to beat the very devil himself; and yet, Merrick, when
you think of it, it must have taken time--considerable time--to
plan a thing like that."
"Or else," Merrick suggested, "it was the performance of an expert
criminal; no bungling, no work of a green hand."
Mr. Whitney started slightly, but the detective continued. "Another
point: Hobson, as you say, was the one man whom Hugh Mainwaring
feared and who evidently had some hold upon him; would he then have
dared denounce him as a liar and an impostor? Would not his use of
such terms imply that he was addressing one whom he considered a
stranger and unacquainted with the facts in the case?"
"I see," the attorney replied quickly; "you have in mind Hobson's
accomplice, the tall man with dark glasses."
Merrick smiled. "You are then inclined to the opinion that J. Henry
Carruthers, who called in the afternoon, is identical with the
so-called Jack Carroll who accompanied Hobson in the evening?"
"Certainly that is a reasonable supposition. The descriptions of
the two men agree remarkably, and the darkey was positive, both in
his testimony at the inquest and in conversation with me, that they
were one and the same person."
"Their general appearance seems to have been much the same, but
their conduct and actions were totally unlike. Carruthers acted
fearlessly, with no attempt at concealment; while, if you will stop
to think of it, of all the witnesses who tried to give a description
of Carroll, not one had seen his face. He always remained in the
background, as much concealed as possible."
"I don't deny that you are correct," the attorney said musingly;
"and they may have been two distinct individuals, Carroll evidently
being the guilty party; but even in that event, in my opinion, he
was only carrying out with a skillful hand the plans already arranged
by that woman and Hobson."
"Whatever part Carroll took in the affair, he was undoubtedly
Hobson's agent; and you will find that Hobson and Mrs. LaGrange have
been more intimately associated and for a much longer time than you
suspect," and Merrick repeated what he had overheard of the interview
in Mrs. LaGrange's parlor, just after the close of the inquest.
Mr. Whitney listened with deep interest. "Well, well! And you
heard her accuse him of being an accessory? Of course she referred
to the murder. By George! I should have wanted them arrested on
the spot!"
After a slight pause, he continued. "There's one thing, Merrick,
in the conduct of Carruthers which I don't understand. Why, after
telling the secretary that he would remain at the Arlington for the
next two or three days, should he return to the city the next morning
on the 3.10 train?"
"He seems to have been an impulsive man, who acted on the spur of
the moment," Merrick answered; "but the strangest part of that is,
that he did not return to the city at all. He bought a ticket for
New York, but the conductor informs me there was no such man on
board; while the north-bound train, which pulls out about five
minutes later, had a passenger answering exactly to his description.
The conductor on the latter train also informed me that, just as
they were pulling out of the station, a man, tall and dark, rather
good-looking, he should judge, though he could not see his face, and
wearing a long, light overcoat, sprang aboard, decidedly winded, as
though from running, and immediately steered for the darkest corner
of the smoking-car, where he sat with his hat well drawn down over
his face."
"Carroll again, by George!" exclaimed the attorney.
"Here is a problem for you to solve," Merrick continued, pointing
to the revolver and box lying side by side. "You think Brown threw
those in the lake. Who was the man that Brown saw standing beside
the lake just before three o'clock in the morning, and what was he
doing? He was tall and dark, and wore a long coat or ulster. Was
that Carroll or Carruthers? Did he throw anything into the lake?
And if so, what?"
Mr. Whitney gazed dubiously at the detective for a moment, then
began to whistle softly, while he slowly shook his head.
"No, Merrick; you've got me there! I never have had enough
experience in this line that I could go into the detail work. I
have to be guided by the main points in the case. Then, again, I
gave Brown's testimony very little thought, as I considered him
unreliable and irresponsible."
"Well, to come back to the 'main points,' then: what reasons have
you for connecting Mrs. LaGrange and Hobson with this affair that
might not apply equally well in the cases of certain other people?"
"What reason? Why, man alive! there is every reason to consider
Mrs. LaGrange the instigator of the whole affair. In the first
place, her one object and aim for the past seventeen or eighteen
years has been to get hold of Hugh Mainwaring's property, to secure
for herself and her son what she calls their 'rights'--"
"That is the point," Merrick interrupted. "You consider her guilty
because she would be interested in securing a hold upon the property,
although she, personally, has no claim whatever. Has it never
occurred to you that there might be others more deeply interested
than she, inasmuch as they have valid claims, being the rightful
heirs?"
"I never thought of such a possibility," said the astonished
attorney; "and I don't know that I understand now to whom you refer."
"I have learned from various reliable sources," the detective
replied, "that Ralph Mainwaring has a younger brother, Harold, who
is as much of a money-lover as himself, though too indolent to take
the same measures for acquiring it. He is a reckless, unprincipled
fellow, and having about run through his own property, I understand,
he has had great expectations regarding this American estate,
depending upon his share of the same to retrieve his wasted fortune.
I learned yesterday, by cable, that since the departure of Ralph
Mainwaring and his family for this country, his brother has been
missing, and it is supposed, among his associates in London, that
he took the next steamer for America, intending to assert his own
claims."
"And you think--" the attorney interrupted, breathlessly; but
Merrick shook his head and continued,--
"I have also, in the course of my investigations, incidentally
discovered Hugh Mainwaring's secret, and, consequently, Hobson's
secret, only that I know the real facts in the case, which Hobson
does not know. You, as Mainwaring's friend, will not care to
learn the details, and I shall not speak of them now, but I will
say this much: there are probably in existence to-day, and perhaps
not very far distant, heirs to this property, having a claim
preceding not only that of Ralph Mainwaring or his son, but of
Hugh Mainwaring himself."
There was silence for a few moments as the detective paused, Mr.
Whitney's surprise rendering him speechless; at last he said,--
"Well, you are a truthful fellow, Merrick, and you never jump at
conclusions, so I know your statements can be relied upon; but I'll
be blessed if I understand how or when you have gathered all this
information together. I suppose it would be useless to ask your
deductions from all this, but I wish you would answer one or two
questions. Do you think that this Harold Mainwaring, or those
possible heirs you mention, would put in an appearance personally,
or that they would work through agents and emissaries?"
"Depends altogether upon circumstances. Harold Mainwaring would not
be likely to appear on the scene unless he were pretty effectually
disguised. As to the others,--if they were to assert their claim,--it
would be difficult to say just what course they might take.
I have made these statements merely to give you a hint of the
possibilities involved in the case. It is now getting rather late,
but I will give you one or two pointers to ruminate upon. Don't
think that Hobson will run any risks or put himself to any personal
inconvenience for Mrs. LaGrange. He is working first and foremost
for Richard Hobson, after that for whoever will pay him best.
Another thing, don't ever for a moment imagine that Hugh Mainwaring's
private secretary is looking for a job. It's my opinion he'll give
you fellows one of the hardest jobs you ever tackled; and, unless
I'm greatly mistaken, he's got brains enough and backing enough to
carry through whatever he undertakes."
"Say! I don't know as I exactly catch your meaning; but that's one
thing I wanted to ask you. What do you think of that young man,
anyway? I can't make him out."
"I noticed that you had not assigned him any place in that theory
of yours."
"No; he's been a mystery to me, a perfect mystery; but this evening
a new idea has occurred to me, and I would like your judgment on it.
Has he ever reminded you of any one? That is, can you recall any
one whom he resembles?"
"Well, I should say there was a marked resemblance. I've often
wondered where your eyes were that you had not seen it."
"You have noticed it, then? Well, so have I; but it has puzzled me,
for, though the look was familiar, I was unable to recall whose it
was until to-night. Now that I have recalled it, that, taken in
connection with some other things I have observed, has led me to
wonder whether it were possible that he is a son of Hugh
Mainwaring's, of whose existence no one in this country has ever
known."
"Hugh Mainwaring! I don't understand you."
"Why, you just acknowledged you had noticed the resemblance between
them!"
"I beg your pardon; but you must recollect that I have never seen
Hugh Mainwaring living, and have little idea how he looked."
"By George! that's a fact. Well, then, who in the dickens do you
think he resembles?"
The coachman's step was heard at that instant on the stairs, and
Merrick's reply was necessarily brief.
"Laying aside expression, take feature for feature, and you have
the face of Mrs. LaGrange."