They Found Him Dead Read online

‘Yes, I do,’ replied Jim. ‘Lurid and absurd. But you can’t get away from the fact that, whether because they disliked the Australian scheme or for some other reason, Cousin Silas and Clement are both dead.’

  ‘Are you feeling nervous, Jim?’

  ‘No, not exactly nervous. I’m not sitting about by open windows much.’

  ‘Well, I see no harm in that, if you feel there might be danger in it,’ said Sir Adrian. ‘But I find that my mind is quite unable to accept the possibility of a third murder taking place while the police are investigating the first and the second.’

  ‘Highly improbable,’ agreed Jim. His eyes narrowed at the corners in a rueful smile. ‘If you’re apparently the third victim, it’s surprising how much improbability you can swallow.’

  ‘Yes, I have no doubt it obscures your judgment,’ said Sir Adrian.

  Jim laughed. ‘If ever I get badly rattled, I shall come and hold your hand, Adrian. You’re the most tranquillising person I know. With you about the place, even the first two murders seem a bit far-fetched. If you stay long enough, we shall begin to doubt whether they ever really happened. I’m sure you never had any murders in your family, did you?’

  ‘No, we have always contrived to keep out of the penny Press,’ replied Sir Adrian, looking through his stud-box for a pair of cuff-links.

  Jim shook his head. ‘You must loathe being mixed up with a vulgar lot like us,’ he said solemnly.

  ‘Don’t be absurd, my dear boy.’

  Jim strolled towards the door. ‘I’ll go and change. Oh, Adrian, can you bear it? I’ve gone into Trade – at least, it looks as though I probably shall.’

  ‘I can bear it; but I doubt whether your mother will like it. She will think it very unenterprising of you.’

  ‘Oh, mother will want me to finance an expedition to the North Pole, I expect!’ grinned Jim.

  ‘You are quite wrong. Unless my memory is at fault, your mother wishes to make Central China her next objective,’ said Sir Adrian, busy with his tie.

  Later that evening Miss Allison, finding herself alone with him for a few minutes, broached the same subject to him. ‘Mr Roberts told me he had warned Jim to take no risks,’ she said. ‘Do you think it possible that the Mansells could – could really contemplate murder just to get their own way over this business deal?’

  ‘No, I do not,’ replied Sir Adrian. ‘It is of course a temptation to believe an ill-conditioned young man like the younger Mansell to be capable of almost any crime, but one should guard against allowing mere prejudice to colour one’s judgment.’

  ‘I have told myself that,’ said Miss Allison. ‘I expect I’m being stupidly anxious; but, you see, it means rather a lot to me. When you care for a person your reason gets rather swamped.’

  ‘I hope you are not implying that I am the callous stepfather of legend!’ said Sir Adrian, looking quizzically down at her.

  She smiled. ‘Of course not. But he’s not like your own son, or – or your fiancé, is he?’

  ‘Certainly not in the least like my fiancé. And, I am happy to say, not much like my own son either. Though I have no doubt that Timothy will improve as he grows older.’

  ‘You are an unnatural parent, Sir Adrian.’

  ‘I am afraid I must be.’

  ‘And you don’t think that any danger threatens Jim?’

  ‘Extremely unlikely, I should imagine. From what I have heard of it – but I am lamentably ignorant on such matters – it does not seem to me that the proposed expansion of the business in Australia is of sufficient moment to provide a motive for three murders. There is, however, another possibility that occurs to me.’

  ‘Yes? Please tell me what it is!’

  ‘No, I don’t think I will do that,’ he replied. ‘It is a mere supposition which a very little investigation may easily disprove. I will have a talk with the Superintendent from Scotland Yard tomorrow. That reminds me: I must request the butler to ring up the police-station the first thing in the morning.’

  ‘If you’ll give me the message I’ll pass it on to Pritchard, Sir Adrian. That’s part of my job, you know.’

  ‘That would be very kind of you. If you would tell the butler to inform the station-sergeant that I should be obliged if Superintendent – I do not know his name, but perhaps you can supply that – would call at Cliff House some time during the course of the day, I should be most grateful.’

  She could not help laughing. ‘I will, of course; but when I think how terrified most of us are of these grim policemen, it seems positively asking for trouble calmly to summon them here!’

  ‘Oh, no, I hardly think so!’ he replied gently.

  ‘Well, anyway, it’s a superb gesture,’ she said. ‘The rest of us, if we wanted to see the Superintendent, would probably crawl humbly down to the police-station, and beg an audience.’

  He looked rather surprised. Miss Allison confided later to Jim Kane that intercourse with his stepfather made her feel that Clement’s murder and her own fears were social solecisms.

  ‘Oh, he thinks they are!’ said Jim. ‘The whole thing is in very bad taste.’

  ‘Are you fond of him, Jim?’

  ‘Very.’

  ‘Does he like you?’

  ‘I think so. Why?’

  ‘I only wondered. He seems such a withdrawn person. Still, it was nice of him to come down. What do you suppose he wants to see the Superintendent for?’

  ‘I haven’t a notion. However, I’m all for it. He definitely adds tone to the proceedings. Obviously no member of his entourage would be vulgar enough to commit a murder.’

  ‘If the Superintendent has a grain of sense, it won’t be necessary for him to see your stepfather to realise that you couldn’t possibly have done it,’ said Miss Allison stoutly.

  Whatever the Superintendent felt about it, Sergeant Hemingway quite agreed with her. ‘You’ve got to take psychology into account, Chief,’ he said. ‘To my way of thinking, a nice young fellow like James Kane doesn’t waltz about murdering his relations.’

  ‘I agree; but there’s also the question of motive to be taken into account. He had more than anyone else.’

  ‘Too much,’ said the Sergeant briskly. ‘He’s what I might call dripping with motive. I’ve a strong idea, myself, that what we want to look for is something a bit more recherché. This isn’t one of your clumsy, hit-you-in-the-eye murders. It’s got class. Who’s this Sir Adrian What’s-his-name that wants to see you?’

  ‘Your young friend’s father, I imagine.’

  ‘What, Terrible Timothy? You don’t say! Well, if he’s half the turn his son is, you ought to have a lively morning of it, Super.’

  Superintendent Hannasyde, however, was unable to detect much resemblance between Timothy and his father. He went up to Cliff House shortly after eleven o’clock, and encountered Timothy in the porch. He bade him a pleasant good morning, but received a gloomy, though civil, response. ‘You don’t look very cheerful,’ he remarked. ‘I hope you haven’t mislaid a clue?’

  Timothy acknowledged this poor jest with a perfunctory smile, and replied with cold dignity that no one could be expected to look cheerful with people simply being rottenly selfish the whole time.

  ‘No, it certainly must be very difficult for you,’ agreed Hannasyde.

  ‘It isn’t that I care two hoots, because actually I don’t particularly want to go out in any rotten motor-boat,’ said Timothy bitterly. ‘Only, considering I asked first, I think it’s pretty mean of Jim to take Patricia, that’s all.’

  Superintendent Hannasyde, who had a mind trained to grapple with elusive problems, was able fairly accurately to guess the cause of Mr Harte’s discontent. He replied suitably; but said that in his opinion jaunts upon the sea for one engaged in solving a mystery would be a waste of time. ‘Is your brother out now