They Found Him Dead Read online

  They fell easily into conversation, Oscar Roberts being apparently amused by so much obvious admiration, and having the tact neither to disclaim American citizenship nor to correct Timothy’s ideas of American life. A polite reference to Silas Kane’s death opened the flood-gates of Timothy’s confidence. He reiterated his belief that Silas had been bumped off, and although Mr Roberts looked rather startled for a moment, he did not make any snubbing remarks, but on the contrary listened to Timothy’s various theories with perfect gravity, and even allowed himself to be led off to inspect the scene of the accident. Appealed to, he agreed that no doubt some evil-minded person might have pushed Silas off the cliff.

  ‘Well, don’t you think that’s probably what did happen, sir?’ said Timothy, bent on acquiring an ally.

  Oscar Roberts stroked his pointed beard, and suggested mildly that the possible murderer must have taken a big chance on Silas’s choosing to walk along the cliff that night.

  ‘No, because everyone knew that Uncle Silas took a walk along there every night!’ said Timothy, triumphantly disposing of this objection.

  ‘Is that so?’ said Roberts. ‘Kind of a habit with him, maybe?’

  ‘Yes, because of not being able to sleep.’

  ‘Well,’ replied Roberts, shaking his head, ‘I’ll say that certainly looks as though you might be right, son.’

  Timothy looked up at him with glistening eyes, and in a burst of gratitude invited him to come back to the house for tea.

  Oscar Roberts declined the invitation, but on the way to the drive across the gardens they encountered Miss Allison, who had come out in search of Timothy, and Timothy immediately begged her to add her persuasion to his. Oscar Roberts, however, intervened before she could speak, and countered with an invitation to Timothy to accompany him back to Portlaw for tea at his hotel.

  Patricia could not but feel grateful to anyone who offered to relieve her of Mr Harte’s company on this very trying day, and as Timothy seemed anxious to go with his new friend she gave permission, only qualifying it by insisting on his first washing his hands and brushing his hair.

  He went off to do this, leaving her to stroll towards the drive with Roberts. She said: ‘It’s really most awfully kind of you. Are you sure he won’t be a nuisance?’

  He replied with his slow smile: ‘Why, no, Miss Allison. I’ve got a kind of fondness for kids of his age. I’m at a loose end just now, and I’ll be mighty glad of his company.’ His smile grew. ‘Guess he hopes I’m one of those gunmen he sees on the movies.’

  She laughed, but said with some misgiving: ‘He’s a dreadfully bloodthirsty child. I do hope he hasn’t favoured you with his “theories” about Mr Kane’s death? I’ve done all I can to squash him, but without much success.’

  ‘I shouldn’t worry,’ he answered. ‘Kids just naturally get those ideas.’

  She felt impelled to say: ‘Of course, there’s nothing in it. It was an accident. I don’t want you to get a false impression from Timothy.’

  He looked down at her with a twinkle in his eyes. ‘Any impression I get won’t come from Timothy, Miss Allison,’ he said deliberately.

  Four

  Greatly to Timothy’s disgust, the inquest on Silas Kane’s death contained no thrills. A verdict of death by misadventure was returned, a post-mortem examination having established the fact that Silas must have had a heart attack. His own doctor gave some highly technical evidence, and annoyed Timothy by agreeing that, although an attack was unexpected, he would not go so far as to say that he was surprised that Silas should have had one. The excitement of his birthday party, coupled with over-fatigue, might well have produced it.

  Joseph Mansell and his son both corroborated the statement that Silas had been in the habit of working too hard, Joseph adding that in his opinion Silas’s powers had been declining for the past few months.

  Clement was a still more disappointing witness. Questioned, he would not say that his cousin had been in failing health. He had not been a young man; things had certainly tired him. He had not discussed Silas’s health with him; he had not noticed any particular signs of weariness or excitement in him on the night of his death.

  No persuasions had availed to keep Timothy away from the inquest, but he professed himself disgusted with the result. When it was over Oscar Roberts took him and Miss Allison, who had been present in obedience to Emily’s command, to refresh themselves with lemonade and ices before returning to Cliff House. He seemed to be considerably amused by Timothy. He allowed the boy to air his views, recommending him to get it off his chest once and for all, advice which Timothy followed, bitterly announcing his dissatisfaction with the methods of the Portlaw police.

  ‘They jolly well ought to have found out what everybody was doing when Uncle Silas was killed,’ he said.

  ‘They did,’ replied Patricia. ‘You know perfectly well they made all the proper inquiries.’

  Timothy snorted. ‘I don’t call it making proper inquiries just to ask people where they were, and not to try to prove they weren’t there at all. Why, they didn’t even ask Jim, and he was at the party.’

  ‘You unnatural viper!’ said Patricia calmly. ‘Besides, what had Jim – I mean, your half-brother – to gain by murdering his cousin?’

  ‘I know, but –’

  ‘The fact of the matter is, son, that you can’t have a murder without motive,’ said Roberts.

  ‘There were motives!’ replied Timothy instantly. ‘Look at Clement! He’s getting simply pots of money out of it.’

  Patricia removed the lemonade-straw from her mouth to expostulate. ‘You definitely must not go about saying your Cousin Clement had a motive for murdering Mr Kane!’

  ‘He isn’t my cousin. I’m a Harte,’ said Timothy loftily. ‘I’ll bet Mr Roberts thinks he had a pretty good motive.’

  ‘Sure I think it,’ agreed Roberts. ‘But I’ve a notion that if I were Mr Clement Kane, I wouldn’t run the risk of bumping off an old man who had a valvular disease of the heart. Guess I’d wait a piece for Nature to do its work.’

  Timothy shook his head. ‘Not if you wanted his money absolutely at once.’

  ‘He didn’t,’ said Patricia. ‘The Clement Kanes are quite well off.’

  Timothy was silenced for the moment, but the consumption of a large strawberry ice inspired him afresh. ‘Well, what about the Mansells?’ he demanded.

  Patricia glanced round the tea-shop apprehensively. ‘For heaven’s sake shut up!’ she begged.

  ‘Yes, but they had a motive. I know all about the Australian show. I’ll bet Mr Roberts –’

  ‘No, no, sonny, you won’t drag me into that!’ interposed Roberts. ‘Next you’ll be telling me I’ve got a motive. See here, now! This kind of talk isn’t going big with Miss Allison at all. What do you say we drop it?’

  Patricia looked at him. ‘I believe you’re as bad as he is,’ she said.

  ‘No, no,’ he assured her. ‘But when a man falls off a cliff edge, Miss Allison, folks just naturally get to wondering about it. You can’t blame Timothy. It’s kind of inevitable.’

  ‘But surely you don’t think –’

  ‘I don’t know enough about the family to think anything,’ he said with a shade of reserve in his voice.

  When Emily heard about the proceedings at the inquest she smiled grimly, and said she had expected nothing else. Something in her tone impelled Clement, who had driven Patricia and Timothy back to Cliff House, to inquire a little sharply what she meant.

  ‘If you don’t know what I mean it won’t hurt you,’ replied Emily.

  Clement reddened. ‘Well, I certainly don’t, aunt. I should have thought it was obvious that Cousin Silas’s death was due to the fog, coupled with one of his heart attacks.’

  She fixed him with one of her blank stares. ‘Pray, who said it