CHAPTER XXXIII

BATTLE EXPLAINS

Superintendent Battle settled to explain. He spoke comfortably and

cozily.

"I didn't suspect him myself for a long time. The first hint of it

I had was when I heard what Mr. Devereux's last words had been.

Naturally, you took them to mean that Mr. Devereux was trying to send

word to Mr. Thesiger that the Seven Dials had killed him. That's what

the words seemed to mean on their face value. But of course I knew

that that couldn't be so. It was the Seven Dials that Mr. Devereux

wanted told--and what he wanted them told was something about Mr. Jimmy

Thesiger.

"The thing seemed incredible, because Mr. Devereux and Mr. Thesiger

were close friends. But I remembered something else--that these thefts

must have been committed by someone who was absolutely in the know.

Someone who, if not in the Foreign Office himself, was in the way of

hearing all its chit-chat. And I found it very hard to find out where

Mr. Thesiger got his money. The income his father left him was a small

one, yet he was able to live at a most expensive rate. Where did the

money come from?

"I knew that Mr. Wade had been very excited by something that he had

found out. He was quite sure that he was on the right track. He didn't

confide in anyone about what he thought that track was, but he did say

something to Mr. Devereux about being on the point of making sure. That

was just before they both went down to Chimneys for that week-end.

As you know, Mr. Wade died there--apparently from an overdose of a

sleeping draught. It seemed straightforward enough, but Mr. Devereux

did not accept that explanation for a minute. He was convinced that

Mr. Wade had been very cleverly put out of the way and that someone in

the house must actually be the criminal we were all after. He came, I

think, very near confiding in Mr. Thesiger, for he certainly had no

suspicions of him at that moment. But something held him back.

"Then he did rather a curious thing. He arranged seven clocks upon the

mantelpiece, throwing away the eighth. It was meant as a symbol that

the Seven Dials would revenge the death of one of their members--and he

watched eagerly to see if anyone betrayed themselves or showed signs of

perturbation."

"And it was Jimmy Thesiger who poisoned Gerry Wade?"

"Yes, he slipped the stuff into a whisky and soda which Mr. Wade had

downstairs before retiring to bed. That's why he was already feeling

sleepy when he wrote that letter to Miss Wade."

"Then the footman, Bauer, hadn't anything to do with it?" asked Bundle.

"Bauer was one of our people, Lady Eileen. It was thought likely that

our crook would go for Herr Eberhard's invention and Bauer was got

into the house to watch events on our behalf. But he wasn't able to do

much. As I say, Mr. Thesiger administered the fatal dose easily enough.

Later, when everyone was asleep, a bottle, glass and empty chloral

bottle were placed by Mr. Wade's bedside by Mr. Thesiger. Mr. Wade was

unconscious then, and his fingers were probably pressed round the glass

and the bottle so that they should be found there if any questions

should arise. I don't know what effect the seven clocks on the

mantelpiece made on Mr. Thesiger. He certainly didn't let on anything

to Mr. Devereux. All the same, I think he had a bad five minutes now

and again thinking of them. And I think he kept a pretty wary eye on

Mr. Devereux after that.

"We don't know exactly what happened next. No one saw much of Mr.

Devereux after Mr. Wade's death. But it is clear that he worked along

the same lines that he knew Mr. Wade had been working on and reached

the same result--namely, that Mr. Thesiger was the man. I fancy, too,

that he was betrayed in the same way."

"You mean?"

"Through Miss Loraine Wade. Mr. Wade was devoted to her--I believe he

hoped to marry her--she wasn't really his sister, of course--and there

is no doubt that he told her more than he should have done. But Miss

Loraine Wade was devoted body and soul to Mr. Thesiger. She would do

anything he told her. She passed on the information to him. In the same

way, later, Mr. Devereux was attracted to her, and probably warned

her against Mr. Thesiger. So Mr. Devereux in turn was silenced--and

died trying to send word to the Seven Dials that his murderer was Mr.

Thesiger."

"How ghastly," cried Bundle. "If I had only known."

"Well, it didn't seem likely. In fact, I could hardly credit it myself.

But then we came to the affair at the Abbey. You will remember how

awkward it was--specially awkward for Mr. Eversleigh here. You and

Mr. Thesiger were hand in glove. Mr. Eversleigh had already been

embarrassed by your insisting on being brought to this place, and when

he found that you had actually overheard what went on at a meeting, he

was dumfounded."

The Superintendent paused and a twinkle came into his eye.

"So was I, Lady Eileen. I never dreamt of such a thing being possible.

You put one over on me there all right.

"Well, Mr. Eversleigh was in a dilemma. He couldn't let you into the

secret of the Seven Dials without letting Mr. Thesiger in also--and

that would never do. It all suited Mr. Thesiger very well, of course,

for it gave him a bona fide reason for getting himself asked to the

Abbey, which made things much easier for him.

"I may say that the Seven Dials had already sent a warning letter to

Mr. Lomax. That was to ensure his applying to me for assistance, so

that I should be able to be on the spot in a perfectly natural manner.

I made no secret of my presence, as you know."

And again the Superintendent's eyes twinkled.

"Well, ostensibly, Mr. Eversleigh and Mr. Thesiger were to divide the

night into two watches. Really, Mr. Eversleigh and Miss St. Maur did

so. She was on guard at the library window when she heard Mr. Thesiger

coming and had to dart behind the screen.

"And now comes the cleverness of Mr. Thesiger. Up to a point he told

a perfectly true story, and I must admit that with the fight and

everything, I was distinctly shaken--and began to wonder whether he had

had anything to do with the theft at all, or whether we were completely

on the wrong track. There were one or two suspicious circumstances that

pointed in an entirely different direction, and I can tell you I didn't

know what to make of things, when something turned up to clinch matters.

"I found the burnt glove in the fireplace with the teeth marks on

it--and then--well--I knew that I'd been right after all. But, upon my

word, he was a clever one."

"What actually happened?" said Bundle. "Who was the other man?"

"There wasn't any other man. Listen, and I'll show you how in the end

I reconstructed the whole story. To begin with, Mr. Thesiger and Miss

Wade are in this together. And they have a rendezvous for an exact

time. Miss Wade comes over in her car, climbs through the fence and

comes up to the house. She's got a perfectly good story if any one

stops her--the one she told eventually. But she arrived unmolested on

the terrace just after the clock had struck two.

"Now, I may say to begin with that she was seen coming in. My men saw

her, but they had orders to stop nobody coming in--only going out. I

wanted, you see, to find out as much as possible. Miss Wade arrives

on the terrace, and at that minute a parcel falls at her feet and she

picks it up. A man comes down the ivy and she starts to run. What

happens next? The struggle--and presently the revolver shots. What will

everyone do? Rush to the scene of the fight. And Miss Loraine Wade

could have left the grounds and driven off with the formula safely in

her possession.

"But things don't happen quite like that. Miss Wade runs straight into

my arms. And at that moment the game changes. It's no longer attack but

defence. Miss Wade tells her story. It is perfectly true and perfectly

sensible.

"And now we come to Mr. Thesiger. One thing struck me at once. The

bullet wound alone couldn't have caused him to faint. Either he

had fallen and hit his head--or--well, he hadn't fainted at all.

Later we had Miss St. Maur's story. It agreed perfectly with Mr.

Thesiger's--there was only one suggestive point. Miss St. Maur said

that after the lights were turned out and Mr. Thesiger went over to

the window, he was so still that she thought he must have left the

room and gone outside. Now, if any one is in the room, you can hardly

help hearing their breathing if you are listening for it. Supposing,

then, that Mr. Thesiger _had_ gone outside. Where next? Up the ivy to

Mr. O'Rourke's room--Mr. O'Rourke's whisky and soda having been doped

the night before. He gets the papers, throws them down to the girl,

climbs down the ivy again, and--starts the fight. That's easy enough

when you come to think of it. Knock the tables down, stagger about,

speak in your own voice and then in a hoarse half-whisper. And then,

the final touch, the two revolver shots. His own Colt automatic, bought

openly the day before, is fired at an imaginary assailant. Then, with

his left gloved hand, he takes from his pocket the small Mauser pistol

and shoots himself through the fleshy part of the right arm. He flings

the pistol through the window, tears off the glove with his teeth, and

throws it into the fire. When I arrive he is lying on the floor in a

faint."

Bundle drew a deep breath.

"You didn't realize all this at the time, Superintendent Battle?"

"No, that I didn't. I was taken in as much as anyone could be. It

wasn't till long afterwards that I pieced it all together. Finding

the glove was the beginning of it. Then I made Sir Oswald throw the

pistol through the window. It fell a good way farther on than it should

have done. But a man who is right-handed doesn't throw nearly as far

with the left hand. Even then it was only suspicion--and a very faint

suspicion at that.

"But there was one point struck me. The papers were obviously thrown

down for someone to pick up. If Miss Wade was there by accident, who

was the real person? Of course, for those who weren't in the know, that

question was answered easily enough--the Countess. But there I had the

pull over you. _I knew the Countess was all right._ So what follows?

Why, the idea that the papers had actually been picked up by the person

they were meant for. And the more I thought of it, the more it seemed

to me a very remarkable coincidence that Miss Wade should have arrived

at the exact moment she did."

"It must have been very difficult for you when I came to you full of

suspicion about the Countess."

"It was, Lady Eileen. I had to say something to put you off the scent.

And it was very difficult for Mr. Eversleigh here, with the lady coming

out of a dead faint and no knowing what she might say."

"I understand Bill's anxiety now," said Bundle. "And the way he kept

urging her to take time and not talk till she felt quite all right."

"Poor old Bill," said Miss St. Maur. "That poor baby had to be vamped

against his will--getting madder'n a hornet every minute."

"Well," said Superintendent Battle, "there it was. I suspected Mr.

Thesiger--but I couldn't get definite proof. On the other hand, Mr.

Thesiger himself was rattled. He realized more or less what he was up

against in the Seven Dials--but he wanted badly to know who No. 7 was.

He got himself asked to the Cootes under the impression that Sir Oswald

Coote was No. 7."

"I suspected Sir Oswald," said Bundle, "especially when he came in from

the garden that night."

"I never suspected him," said Battle. "But I don't mind telling you

that I _did_ have my suspicions of that young chap, his secretary."

"Pongo?" said Bill. "Not old Pongo?"

"Yes, Mr. Eversleigh, old Pongo as you call him. A very efficient

gentleman and one that could have put anything through if he'd a mind

to. I suspected him partly because he'd been the one to take the

clocks into Mr. Wade's room that night. It would have been easy for him

to put the bottle and glass by the bedside then. And then, for another

thing, he was left-handed. That glove pointed straight to him--if it

hadn't been for one thing--"

"What?"

"The teeth marks--only a man whose right hand was incapacitated would

have needed to tear off that glove with his teeth."

"So Pongo was cleared."

"So Pongo was cleared, as you say. I'm sure it would be a great

surprise to Mr. Bateman to know he was ever suspected."

"It would," agreed Bill. "A solemn card--a silly ass like Pongo. How

you could ever think--"

"Well, as far as that goes, Mr. Thesiger was what you might describe as

an empty-headed young ass of the most brainless description. One of the

two was playing a part. When I decided that it was Mr. Thesiger, I was

interested to get Mr. Bateman's opinion of him. All along, Mr. Bateman

had the gravest suspicions of Mr. Thesiger and frequently said as much

to Sir Oswald."

"It's curious," said Bill, "but Pongo always is right. It's maddening."

"Well, as I say," went on Superintendent Battle, "we got Mr. Thesiger

fairly on the run, badly rattled over this Seven Dials business and

uncertain just where the danger lay. That we got him in the end was

solely through Mr. Eversleigh. He knew what he was up against, and

he risked his life cheerfully. But he never dreamt that you would be

dragged into it, Lady Eileen."

"My God, no," said Bill with feeling.

"He went round to Mr. Thesiger's rooms with a cooked-up tale,"

continued Battle. "He was to pretend that certain papers of Mr.

Devereux's had come into his hands. Those papers were to suggest

a suspicion of Mr. Thesiger. Naturally, as the honest friend, Mr.

Eversleigh rushed round, sure that Mr. Thesiger would have an

explanation. We calculated that if we were right, Mr. Thesiger would

try and put Mr. Eversleigh out of the way, and we were fairly certain

as to the way he'd do it. Sure enough, Mr. Thesiger gave his guest a

whisky and soda. During the minute or two that his host was out of the

room, Mr. Eversleigh poured that into a jar on the mantelpiece, but he

had to pretend, of course, that the drug was taking effect. It would

be slow, he knew, not sudden. He began his story, and Mr. Thesiger at

first denied it all indignantly, but as soon as he saw (or thought he

saw) that the drug was taking effect, he admitted everything and told

Mr. Eversleigh that he was the third victim.

"When Mr. Eversleigh was nearly unconscious, Mr. Thesiger took him

down to the car and helped him in. The hood was up. He must already

have telephoned to you unknown to Mr. Eversleigh. He made a clever

suggestion to you. You were to say that you were taking Miss Wade home.

"You made no mention of a message from him. Later, when your body was

found here, Miss Wade would swear that you had driven her home and gone

up to London with the idea of penetrating into this house by yourself.

"Mr. Eversleigh continued to play his part, that of the unconscious

man. I may say that as soon as the two young men had left Jermyn

Street, one of my men gained admission and found the doctored whisky,

which contained enough hydrochloride of morphia to kill two men. Also

the car they were in was followed. Mr. Thesiger drove out of town to

a well-known golf course, where he showed himself for a few minutes,

speaking of playing a round. That, of course, was for an alibi, should

one be needed. He left the car with Mr. Eversleigh in it a little way

down the road. Then he drove back to town and to the Seven Dials Club.

As soon as he saw Alfred leave, he drove up to the door, spoke to Mr.

Eversleigh as he got out in case you might be listening and came into

the house and played his little comedy.

"When he pretended to go for a doctor, he really only slammed the

door and then crept quietly upstairs and hid behind the door of this

room, where Miss Wade would presently send you up on some excuse.

Mr. Eversleigh, of course, was horror struck when he saw you, but he

thought it best to keep up the part he was playing. He knew our people

were watching the house, and he imagined that there was no immediate

danger intended to you. He could always 'come to life' at any moment.

When Mr. Thesiger threw his revolver on the table and apparently left

the house it seemed safer than ever. As for the next bit--" He paused,

looking at Bill. "Perhaps you'd like to tell that, sir."

"I was still lying on that bally sofa," said Bill, "trying to look

done in and getting the fidgets worse and worse. Then I heard someone

run down the stairs, and Loraine got up and went to the door. I heard

Thesiger's voice, but not what he said. I heard Loraine say: 'That's

all right--it's gone splendidly.' Then he said: 'Help me carry him

up. It will be a bit of a job, but I want them both together there--a

nice little surprise for No. 7.' I didn't quite understand what they

were jawing about, but they hauled me up the stairs somehow or other.

It _was_ a bit of a job for them. I made myself a dead weight all

right. They heaved me in here, and then I heard Loraine say: 'You're

sure it's all right. She won't come round?' And Jimmy said--the damned

blackguard: 'No fear. I hit with all my might.'

"They went away and locked the door, and then I opened my eyes and saw

you. My God, Bundle, I shall never feel so perfectly awful again. I

thought you were dead."

"I suppose my hat saved me," said Bundle.

"Partly," said Superintendent Battle. "But partly it was Mr. Thesiger's

wounded arm. He didn't realize it himself--but it had only half its

usual strength. Still, that's all no credit to the Department. We

didn't take the care of you we ought to have done, Lady Eileen--and

it's a black blot on the whole business."

"I'm very tough," said Bundle. "And also rather lucky. What I can't get

over is Loraine being in it. She was such a gentle little thing."

"Ah!" said the Superintendent. "So was the Pentonville murderess that

killed five children. You can't go by that. She's got bad blood in

her--her father ought to have seen the inside of a prison more than

once."

"You've got her too?"

Superintendent Battle nodded.

"I daresay they won't hang her--juries are soft-hearted. But young

Thesiger will swing all right--and a good thing too--a more utterly

depraved and callous criminal I never met.

"And now," he added. "If your head isn't aching too badly, Lady Eileen.

What about a little celebration? There's a nice little restaurant round

the corner."

Bundle heartily agreed.

"I'm starving, Superintendent Battle. Besides," she looked round, "I've

got to get to know all my colleagues."

"The Seven Dials," said Bill. "Hurrah! Some fizz is what we need. Do

they run to fizz at this place, Battle?"

"You won't have anything to complain of, sir. You leave it to me."

"Superintendent Battle," said Bundle, "you are a wonderful man. I'm

sorry you're married already. As it is, I shall have to put up with

Bill."