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The Master Detective

P >> Percy James Brebner >> The Master Detective




The doctor had already examined the glasses on the table.

"I can find no signs of poison," he said. "And two hours ago the man
was alive."

"That is according to the servant," I said. Masini was not in the room at
this time.

"There is no reason to doubt the statement, is there?" the doctor asked.

"No, but we have not yet corroborated it," I returned.

Quarles was already busy with his lens examining the dead man's
shirt front.

"You, have begun trying to find out who killed him before I have
pronounced upon the cause of death," said the doctor. "I am inclined to
think it is poison, but--"

"He didn't inject a drug, I suppose!" said Quarles.

"Not in his arm, you can look and satisfy yourself on that point. It is
just possible that he made an injection through his clothes. It requires
a more careful investigation than I can make to-night before I can give a
decided opinion."

"Quite so, but you do not mind my looking at the body rather closely? A
little thing so often tells a big story, and the little things are
sometimes difficult to find once the body has been moved."

The doctor watched Quarles's close investigation with some amusement. The
shirt front came in for a lot of attention, and the collar was examined
right round to the back of the neck. It was a long time before Quarles
stood erect and put the lens in his pocket. I got the impression that he
had prolonged the investigation for the purpose of impressing the doctor.

"It would be virulent poison which would kill a man so quickly and while
he sat in his chair," Quarles said reflectively.

"It would, indeed," the doctor returned.

"You have formed no idea what the poison was?"

"Not yet."

"No hypodermic syringe has been found, I suppose?" said Quarles,
turning to me.

"No."

"You see, doctor," he went on, "if the glasses there show no evidence of
poison, and nothing has been moved, and you decide that poison was the
cause of death, one might jump to the conclusion that it had been
self-administered with a syringe; that is why I ask about a syringe."

"There are such things as tablets," said the doctor, "or the poison may
have been in the food he has eaten to-night."

"Exactly," Quarles snapped irritably.

The doctor smiled; he had certainly scored a point and was
evidently pleased.

"Besides, Professor, you are a little previous with your questions. This
isn't the inquest, you know; we haven't got through the post-mortem yet."

"I generally form an opinion before the inquest," said Quarles as he
looked at each glass in turn and stirred the contents of the ash-tray
with a match.

"You must often make mistakes," remarked the doctor. "I propose having
the body moved to the bedroom; there is nothing else you would like to
look at before I do so?"

"Thanks, doctor, nothing," said Quarles with a smile which showed that he
had recovered his lost temper.

After the removal of the body the doctor departed, fully convinced, I
believe, that the professor was a much overrated person.

"Well, Wigan, shall I tell you what the result of the post-mortem is
likely to be?" said Quarles.

"If you can. Remember you have not heard what I have to say yet."

"No sign of poison will be found. No sign of violence will be discovered
anywhere upon the body. Sudden heart failure--that will be apparent. The
cause obscure. Organs seemingly healthy; no discernible disease. Muscular
failure. Death from natural causes. A case interesting to the medical
world, perhaps, but with no suggestion of foul play about it. Now let me
have your tale."

"But surely you--"

"I assure you I have formed no definite theory yet. How can I until I
have your story!"

I repeated what Masini had told me, and I told him about the
telephone message.

"It was a woman. You are quite sure it was a woman?"

"Quite certain."

He went to the telephone.

"There is a directory here, I see; did you touch it?"

"No."

"It wasn't open?"

"It was just as you see it now."

He took a piece of paper and made one or two notes.

"I imagine that particular call would be difficult to trace," he said.
"Duke's Mansions has a number, and from the office in the building the
particular flat required is switched on. There must have been scores of
calls during the evening. I don't remember anything particular about
Arthur Bridwell's parliamentary career, do you?"

"No, beyond the fact that he is Member for one of the divisions
of Sussex."

Quarles looked slowly round the room.

"A bag," he mused; "one of those small chain or leather affairs which
women carry, I suppose; a purse in it, a handkerchief, perhaps a letter
or two. Bridwell would see it in all probability after the lady had
left, and he would--he would put it on a side table or slip it into a
drawer out of the way. Shall we just have Masini in and ask him a
question or two?"

Instead of questioning the Italian the professor got him to repeat the
story as he had told it to me. It was exactly the same account.

"You know nothing about these two visitors?"

"Nothing, signore. I had never seen them before, but I should know
them again."

"No names were mentioned in your presence?"

"No."

"Have you ever taken parcels to this Mr. Fisher before?" asked Quarles.

"Never."

"Was the parcel hard; something of metal or leather?"

"Oh, no, signore; it was papers only."

"And you saw Mr. Fisher?"

"Yes."

"What was he like? Was he English?"

Masini said he was, and gave a description which might have fitted any
ten men out of the first dozen encountered in the street. He also
described the two visitors, but the portraits drawn were not startling.

"What did Mr. Fisher say when you gave him the packet? What were his
exact words, I mean?"

"He said: 'All right, tell Mr. Bridwell I shall start at once'."

"How long have you been in Mr. Bridwell's service?"

"Three years," was the answer. "He was traveling in Italy, and I
was a waiter in an hotel at Pisa. He liked me and made me an offer,
and I became his servant. I have traveled much with him in all
parts of Europe."

"Are you sure you never saw either of the men who dined here to-night
while you were traveling with your master in Italy?"

"I am sure, but on oath--it would be difficult to take an oath. His
friends were of a different kind. My master was writing a book on Italy;
he is still at work on it. Ah, signore, I should say he was at work on
it. Shall I show you his papers in the other room?"

The voluminous manuscripts proved that Bridwell was engaged upon a
monumental work dealing with the Italian Renaissance.

"Most interesting," said Quarles. "I should like to sit down at once and
spend hours with it. This is valuable. Mr. Bridwell's business man ought
to take charge of these papers. Do you know the name of his solicitors?"

"Mr. Standish, in Hanover Square," Masini answered.

The Italian declared he knew nothing about a lady's bag, and we searched
for it in vain. Then Quarles and I interviewed the hall porter. He knew
that Bridwell had had two gentlemen to dine with him that evening, but he
had not taken any particular notice of them. They left soon after eight,
he said. He corroborated the Italian's statement that he had gone out at
seven, and had returned just before nine.

"You didn't see a lady go up to Mr. Bridwell's flat?"

"No, sir, but I was not in the entrance hall at the time from eight to
nine. It is usually a slack time with me."

"I did not mean then," said Quarles. "I meant at any time during the
day."

"I do not remember a lady calling on Mr. Bridwell at anytime."

It was early morning when the professor and I left Duke's Mansions.

"There are two obvious things to do, Wigan," said Quarles. "First, we
must know something of this man Fisher. I think you should go to Harrow
as soon as possible. Then we want to know something of Bridwell's
parliamentary record. You might get an interview with one or two of his
colleagues, and ask their opinion of him as a public man and as a private
individual. Come to Chelsea to-night. You will probably have raked up a
good many facts by then, and we may find the right road to pursue. I will
also make an inquiry or two. At present I confess to being puzzled."

"You told the doctor that you usually formed an opinion before the
inquest," I reminded him with a smile.

"And he immediately talked of tablets and poisoned foods, and looked
horribly superior. He is a young man, and I knew his father, who once did
me a good turn. I shall have to repay the debt and prevent the son making
a fool of himself."

"You have no doubt that it was murder?" I asked.

"Why, you told me it was yourself when you rang me up on the 'phone,"
he answered.

As had often happened before, Quarles's manner of shutting me up annoyed
me, but when you have to deal with an eccentric it is no use expecting
him to travel in an ordinary orbit.

To obviate unnecessary repetition I shall give the result of my
inquiries as I related it to Quarles and Zena when I went to Chelsea
that night.

"You look satisfied and successful, Wigan," said the professor.

"I am both," I answered. "Whether we shall catch the actual criminal is
another matter. We may at least lay our hands on one of his accomplices.
Will it surprise you to learn that I am having the Italian Masini
carefully watched?"

"It is a wise precaution."

"I am inclined to adopt the method you do sometimes, professor, and begin
at the end," I went on. "First, as regards Mr. Bridwell's parliamentary
friends and acquaintances, and his political career. Although he is a
Member whose voice is not often heard in the House, his intimate
knowledge of Europe, its general history and politics, gives him
importance. He is constantly consulted by the Government, and his opinion
is always considered valuable. His colleagues are unanimous on this
point, and generally he seems to be respected."

"But the respect is not unanimous, you mean?"

"It is not."

"And in his private life?"

"I have not found any one who was intimate with him in private."

"I see; kept politics and his private life entirely separate,"
said Quarles.

"I am not prepared to say that," I answered. "I have not had time to hunt
up anybody on the private side yet, and I do not think it will be
necessary. One of the men I saw was Reynolds, of the War Office. I was
advised to go and see him, as he was supposed to know Bridwell well. He
did not have much good to say about him. It seems that for some time past
there has been a leakage of War Office secrets, that in some
unaccountable way foreign powers have obtained information, and suspicion
has pointed to Bridwell being concerned. So far as I can gather, nothing
has been actually proved against him, and I pointed out that his intimate
knowledge of European affairs made him rather a marked man. Reynolds,
however, was very definite in his opinion, spoke as if he possessed
knowledge which he could not impart to me. He was not surprised to hear
of Bridwell's death. When I spoke of murder he was rather skeptical,
remarked that in that case Bridwell must have been double-dealing with
his paymasters, and had paid the penalty; but it was far more likely to
be suicide, he thought, and said it was the best thing, the only thing,
in fact, which Bridwell could do. I have no doubt Reynolds knew that some
action had been taken which could not fail to show Bridwell that he was
suspected."

Quarles nodded, evidently much interested.

"This view receives confirmation from the movements of Fisher," I went
on. "He left Harrow last night--must have gone almost directly after he
received the packet. He only occupies furnished rooms in Harrow, and the
landlady tells me that during the year he has had them he has often been
away for days and even weeks at a time. Announcing his return, or giving
her some instructions, she has received letters from him from Berlin,
Madrid, Rome, and Vienna. That is significant, Professor."

"It is. Did she happen to mention any places in England from which she
has heard from him?"

"Yes, several--York, Oakham, Oxford, and also from Edinburgh."

"She did not mention any place in Sussex?"

"No, I think not."

"It would appear then that Fisher could have had nothing to do with
Bridwell's legitimate political business or he would certainly have
spent some time in the constituency. Well, Wigan, what do you make of
the case?"

"I think it is fairly clear in its main points," I answered. "Bridwell
has been selling information to foreign powers, and would naturally deal
with the highest bidders. Fisher is a foreign agent, and having received
valuable information yesterday, left England with it at once. The two men
who came to dinner represented some other power, came no doubt by
appointment to receive information, but probably knew that their host was
dealing doubly with them. Bridwell's commercial ingenuity in the matter
has been his undoing, hence his death. Whether Masini was attached to
Fisher, or to the schemes of the other two, it is impossible to say, but
I believe he was an accomplice on one side or the other."

"I built up a similar theory, Wigan; not with the completeness you have,
of course, because I knew nothing of the suspicions concerning Bridwell,
but when I had made it as complete as I could, I began to pick it to
pieces. It fell into ruins rather easily, and you do not help me to build
it again."

"It seems to me the main facts cannot be got away from," I said.

"Zena assisted in the ruining process by saying, 'Cherchez la femme.'"

"You see, Murray, you do not account for the woman and the bag,"
said Zena.

"They are extraneous incidents belonging to his private life. It is
remarkable how distinct he kept his private from his political life."

"Very remarkable," Quarles said. "Yet the woman is also a fact, and she
seems to me of the utmost importance. We must account for her, and your
explanation brings me no sense of satisfaction. Let me tell you how I
began to demolish my theory, Wigan. I started with Masini. Now, he seemed
honest to me. He was very ready to repeat Fisher's exact words, and the
very fact of my asking for them would have made him suspicious and put
him on his guard had he possessed any guilty knowledge, whether it
concerned Fisher or the two visitors. Further, had he been in league with
the two visitors and knew they had murdered his master, he would hardly
have been so ready to block suspicion in other directions. He would not
have said his master's visitors came chiefly from his constituency, and
he certainly would not have scouted the idea of a woman caller. He would
have welcomed such a suggestion, fully appreciating how valuable a woman
would be in starting an inquiry on a false trail."

"But you mustn't attribute to an Italian servant all the subtlety you
might use under similar circumstances," I said.

"I am showing you how I picked my own theory to pieces," he answered. "I
next considered the visitors. I assumed they were there for an unlawful
purpose--your facts go to show that my assumption was right--and I asked
myself why and how they had murdered Bridwell. If he were a schemer with
them, there would be no need to murder him, no need to silence him; were
he to talk afterwards he would only injure himself, not them. If they
were there to force papers from their host, it seems unlikely that he
would be so unsuspicious of them that he would have asked them to dinner,
and, even if he were, a moment must have come during, or after dinner,
when they must have shown their hand. A man who deals in this kind of
commerce does not easily trust people. Bridwell's suspicions would
certainly have been aroused; he would in some measure, at any rate, have
been prepared, and we should have found some signs of a struggle."

"I admit the soundness of the argument," I answered. "For my part I
incline to Reynolds' opinion that it was suicide after all."

"Oh, no; it was murder," said Quarles.

"A tablet--" I began.

"I know it was murder," returned the professor sharply, "and the manner
of it has presented the chief difficulty I have found in demolishing my
theory altogether. Bridwell was poisoned by an injection. The hypodermic
needle was inserted under the hair at the back of the head, here in the
soft part of the base of the skull, the hair concealing the small mark it
made. I believe the secret of the poison used is forgotten, but you may
read of it in books relating to the Vatican of old days and concerning
the old families of Italy. I might mention the Borgias particularly. So
you see my difficulty, Wigan. The crime literally reeked of Italy, and we
had two Italians amongst our dramatis personæ."

"A significant fact," I said.

"Of course I am letting the doctor know of my discovery; that is the good
turn I shall do him. He will be considered quite smart over this affair.
Now consider this point. It would surely have been very difficult, once
the host's suspicions had been aroused, to make the injection without a
struggle on the victim's part."

"No suspicion may have been aroused," I said. "Masini has told us of a
map. The murderer might have been leaning over his victim examining it."

"That is true. You pick out the weak point," said Quarles.

"Even then there would have been some sort of struggle, surely," said
Zena. "The poison can hardly act instantaneously."

"Practically it does," Quarles answered. "I have read of it, of the
different methods of its administration, and of its results, and no doubt
any one acquainted with old Italian manuscripts would be able to get more
detailed information than I have; but it produces almost instant
paralysis, acts on the nerve centers, and stops the heart's action,
leaving no trace behind it. What straggle there was could be overcome by
the pressure of a man's hand upon the victim's chest, to keep him from
rising from his seat, for instance. I found signs of such a detaining
hand on Bridwell's shirt front. Of course, Wigan, while pulling my theory
to pieces I knew nothing of your facts about Bridwell, but now that I do
know them, the theory is not saved from ruin. Have you ever watched
trains rushing through a great junction--say Clapham Junction?"

"Yes; often."

"And haven't you noticed how the lines, crossing and recrossing one
another, seem to be alive, seem to be trying to draw the train to run
upon them, to deviate it from its course, until you almost wonder whether
the train will be able to keep its right road? There seems to be great
confusion; yet we know this is not so. We know those many lines are
mathematically correct. If you want to keep your eye on the main line,
you mustn't be misled by the lines which touch and cross it, which seem
to belong to it, until they suddenly sweep off in another direction. In
this Bridwell affair we have to be careful not to be misled by cross
lines, and I grant there are many. You say the woman is an extraneous
episode; but is she? She left a bag, which is not to be found. Had Masini
known of her existence I do not think he would have denied all knowledge
of her, for the reasons I have already given, and I argue that her visit
to the flat was timed to occur when the servant was out, so that he
should know nothing about her. The hall porter knew nothing; about a lady
visiting the flat at any time, so we must assume the woman was not a
constant visitor. Moreover, we know that she had something to hide, some
secret, or she would not have ceased speaking directly she found she was
addressing a stranger. She probably belonged to Bridwell's private life.
Now Zena says, 'Cherchez la femme,' but there is no need to look for her;
she forces herself upon our notice. We know that Bridwell was alive at
seven o'clock: we know his visitors did not leave him until eight. It is
hardly conceivable that the woman came to the flat after that to commit a
crime, impossible to believe that she would leave her bag there to be
evidence against her, and then telephone about it to a man she knew to be
dead. We may dismiss from our minds any idea that she committed murder."

"I can see a possibility of immense subtlety on her part," I said.

"That is to be deceived by a crossing line, which ought not to deceive
you, which leads only into a siding," said Quarles. "We have to remember
that there was a bag, and that it has disappeared"

"She may have made a mistake and left it somewhere else," said Zena.

"I think we may be sure it was left there, because she states distinctly
where it was left--on the Chesterfield. There was something in her mind
to fix the place. Moreover, she says, 'Better not send it.' Very
significant, that. Bridwell is to keep it until she comes again.
Therefore there was some person she would not have know of her visit to
the flat, some person who might possibly find out if the bag were
returned. I suggest that person was her husband."

"I think you have struck the side line," I remarked.

"Let me continue to build on the private life of Mr. Bridwell," Quarles
went on. "I find a foundation in his literary work--no mean work,
absorbing a great part of his life. There would be constant need to refer
to libraries, to pictures and other works of art, some of them in private
collections. A great deal of this work could be done by an assistant.
Shall we say the name of this assistant was Fisher? I observe you do not
think it likely."

"I certainly do not."

"But a secret agent engaged in stealing Government information would
hardly advertise his movements to his landlady; he would surely have been
more secret than that. On the other hand, the places Fisher mentions have
famous libraries and picture galleries. What would a secret agent want at
Oxford? A man bent on research would be going to the Bodleian. Country
seats with famous works of art in their galleries would account for
Fisher's presence in other places mentioned by the landlady."

"Is it not strange the Italian servant knew nothing about this wonderful
assistant?" I said.

"No doubt Bridwell usually saw him in town, at his club, or elsewhere, or
communicated with him through the post; but on this occasion Masini was
purposely sent to be out of the way when the lady came. We know there
was some need for secrecy, and I suggest that Bridwell was in love with
another man's wife. In passing, I would point out that the answer Fisher
sent back bears out my idea of the assistantship."

"It may," I answered.

"Now Bridwell's work on the Italian Renaissance no doubt has much
information concerning the Vatican, and much to say about the prominent
Italian families. As a student, Bridwell would be likely to know all
about the romances of poisoned bouquets, gloves, prepared sweetmeats, and
the rest of the diabolical cunning which existed."

"But we know that he didn't kill himself," I said.

"Exactly. We have to find some one who shared the knowledge with him. Let
me go back to the missing bag for a moment. Since it was on the
Chesterfield, Bridwell must have seen it. What would he do with it? What
would you have done with it, Wigan? I think you would have just put it on
a side table or in a handy drawer; yet it had gone. The fact of its
disappearance stuck in my mind from the first, although I did not at once
see the full significance of it. On the cover of the telephone directory
there were two or three numbers scribbled in pencil; I made a note of
them with the idea that the woman might be traced that way. However,
arguing that a man would be likely to know the telephone number of a
woman he was in love with, and have no necessity to write it down, I took
no trouble in this direction. I went to see Bridwell's solicitor instead.
I led him to suppose that I was interested in the study of the
Renaissance, and asked him if Bridwell had had a companion during his
wanderings in Italy three years ago. For part of the time, at any rate,
he had--a partner rather than a companion, a man named Ormrod--Peter
Ormrod. I knew the name at once, because Ormrod has written many
articles for the reviews, and all of them have been about Italy in the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Ormrod's telephone number is 0054
Croydon, and he is married, and I think it was his wife who spoke to you
over the telephone. My theory is that Ormrod had discovered that his wife
was in love with his friend, and used his knowledge of this poisoning
method, which could not be detected, remember, to be revenged. I think he
came to the flat that evening after Bridwell's guests had gone, perhaps
he expected to find his wife there. I do not think he quarreled with his
false friend. I think he showed great friendliness, talked a little of
the past perhaps; and then, in examining some book or paper, leant over
his friend as he sat at the table, and the deed was done. If the bag was
lying on a side table he saw it and took it away; if it was lying in a
drawer no doubt he found it while he was looking for letters from his
wife to Bridwell, or for her photograph--anything which would connect her
name with Bridwell. Somehow, he found it and took it away. There is no
one else who would be likely to take it."

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