They Found Him Dead Read online

  ‘What about the Mansells?’

  ‘Certainly not. The Mansells and James Kane must belong to the first angle – that both men were killed by the same person for the same motive. Retaining Clement, then, let’s put Dermott aside. We are left with Mr Kane, Ogle, and Lady Harte as suspects for the second murder. None of them very likely, but all of them possible. Now we’ll take a look at it from the third angle, that Silas Kane met his death by accident.’

  ‘That’s the worst of the lot,’ said the Sergeant. ‘It gives us the whole boiling to suspect.’

  ‘No, not quite. I think we must rule the Mansells out. If they didn’t murder Silas for standing in their way over a business deal, it isn’t very likely that they murdered Clement for doing so.’

  ‘Well, I suppose that’s something,’ said the Sergeant. ‘All the same, it doesn’t alter the stage much, does it? We’ve still got Jim Kane and his mother, Mrs Kane and her maid, Rosemary Kane and her fancy boy, and, for all we know, Terrible Timothy. I make that seven.’

  ‘I refuse to consider Timothy,’ retorted Hannasyde. ‘Six.’

  ‘Don’t know so much. What with these gangster films, and him being pretty well nuts on Crime, I wouldn’t say it wasn’t him. Still, I’ll call it six.’

  ‘There may be a seventh,’ said Hannasyde. ‘But that depends on whether someone really is trying to make away with James Kane or not.’

  The Sergeant blinked. ‘But that brings it round to the Mansells again, doesn’t it, Chief?’

  ‘Not quite conclusively. There’s the cousin alleged to be living in Australia,’ said Hannasyde. ‘To be on the safe side, I’ve cabled to the police at Sydney for any information they can give us.’

  Twelve

  Discussion, incessantly promoted by Mr Harte, on the probable cause of the Seamew’s end was put a stop to by his mother, who forbade him to mention the matter again in her hearing. She herself, disbelieving his story, had no particular objection to his exercising his imagination in speculating upon the possibility of his half-brother’s life having been threatened, but Emily Kane, overhearing one of his more lurid flights, demanded to be told the whole, and was so much disturbed by it that Patricia had considerable difficulty in soothing her alarms and coaxing her back to tolerably good humour.

  Agitation in Emily invariably made her short-tempered. She would have scorned to betray a feminine weakness, or to ask for reassurance. She reassured herself by denouncing the bare idea of Jim’s life being in danger as stuff and nonsense, and saying she had never heard anything to equal it, found fault with everyone who came near her, and supposed that Timothy got his silly notions from his mother.

  Norma took this in good part, laughing in genuine amusement, and saying: ‘Quite wrong, Aunt Emily; he got these particular notions from his friend Roberts. I think they’re ridiculous.’

  Emily’s mouth worked. She glared at Lady Harte, and said: ‘That man! What’s it got to do with him? Encroaching ways! I’ve no patience with him!’

  Jim came into the room in time to hear this familiar phrase, and said promptly: ‘Somebody been annoying you, aunt? You look horribly fierce.’

  From no one but Jim would Emily have tolerated such a teasing form of address, but since he could do no wrong in her eyes she merely nodded at him, and replied: ‘If you take my advice, you’ll send him about his business!’

  ‘Who?’ inquired Jim, beginning to fill his pipe.

  ‘That Roberts. Your cousin wouldn’t have anything to do with his flibberty-gibbet scheme. I don’t know what he wants here, treating the house as though it belonged to him!’

  Jim let this somewhat unfair accusation pass unchallenged. ‘I imagine he’s trying to unravel the mystery of Clement’s death. Sometimes I think he’s on to something the police haven’t discovered, but he doesn’t give away much.’

  Emily’s twisted hands gripped the handle of her ebony stick more tightly. ‘Impudence! Poking his nose into our affairs! I’d like to give him a piece of my mind!’

  ‘You probably will,’ said Jim, smiling down at her over the lighted match he was holding above the bowl of his pipe.

  ‘Serve him right!’ said Emily. ‘If people would mind their own business it would be a better thing for everyone.’

  ‘Well, I don’t know,’ replied Jim. ‘If Roberts can clear up the mystery, I’m all for it. I think we’ve had about enough of it, and the police don’t seem to be doing much, do they?’

  ‘They’re doing more than they’re wanted to!’ said Emily angrily. ‘Getting us into the papers, and digging up what’s best left alone! I don’t know what your great-uncle would say if he were alive to see it.’

  ‘It’s got to be dug up, aunt, whether we like it or not.’

  She made no reply to this, but folded her lips, and sat with her remote stare fixed on the space before her. Lady Harte said: ‘I don’t think the publicity matters at all. One gets used to that sort of thing. I’ve had so much of it I never think twice about it.’

  ‘I dare say,’ said Emily disagreeably. She transferred her gaze to Jim’s face. ‘What’s this pack of nonsense I hear about your being in danger?’

  ‘Just that,’ he answered. ‘A pack of nonsense.’

  ‘One of that Roberts’s tales. What next, I wonder! The sooner we see the back of him the better. Putting ideas into Timothy’s head!’

  ‘To do him justice, I don’t think he mentioned the matter to Timothy at all. He warned me. And though I personally think it’s rot, you must admit it was a kindly act on his part.’

  Emily gave a short laugh. ‘Trying to get round you to fall in with his scheme, I’ve no doubt. Don’t you go making any rash promises!’

  He smiled, and shook his head. Emily glared suspicion. ‘Have those Mansells been at you again?’ she demanded.

  ‘No. I met Joe Mansell in Portlaw today, and he said he wanted to talk things over with me. I’ve arranged to call and see him at the office tomorrow morning. I expect he’ll bring the question up then.’

  ‘What are you going to say?’

  ‘Nothing. I’ve been talking to Adrian about it –’

  ‘I should like to know what he thinks he knows about it!’ interjected Emily scornfully.

  ‘Oh, Adrian’s no fool!’ said Lady Harte.

  ‘As a matter of fact, he doesn’t think he knows anything about it,’ said Jim. ‘His advice is that I should go up and lay the proposition before Everard and Dawson – which I propose to do as soon as things have straightened themselves out a bit here.’

  Emily was unable to find fault with this, so she relapsed into silence.

  ‘Does Patricia know you’re going to see Joe tomorrow?’ asked Lady Harte.

  ‘No. I haven’t said anything to her about it.’

  ‘Then don’t. She’ll only start imagining things.’

  ‘I’m not going to. You two – and Adrian, of course – are the only people I’ve told. Not that I think the most jumpy person, which Pat isn’t, could possibly expect any harm to overtake me. Even if the Mansells were out for my blood, they’d hardly try to bump me off in their own offices. However, Pat’s a trifle worked up over the whole show, so there’s no point in saying anything about it to her.’

  Lady Harte looked at him consideringly. ‘The whole idea’s absurd. All the same, there’s no harm in being prepared. Do you carry a gun?’

  He laughed. ‘No, my dear, I don’t.’

  ‘I should, if I were you. Whenever I change my camp I make it a rule to set up a line of bottles, and have a little revolver practice in full sight of the village. I’ve never had a bit of trouble. Never even been robbed.’

  ‘You’re a turn in yourself, mother,’ said Jim appreciatively. ‘But this isn’t Darkest Africa, and I doubt whether anyone would be impressed by my marksmanship.’

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