Mr. Merritt now whipped out a magnifying glass and searched everything anew; but if he discovered any clue he kept the knowledge of it discreetly to himself. After going over every inch of the floor and examining the window he peered out.
So you live there, Doctor, he remarked, with a glance opposite.
No, I replied, my house is further north; my office faces the other set of apartments.
Being curious to see if we were anywhere near either of the apartments I had watched during the night, I, too, leaned out and looked hastily in the direction of my roof. We were exactly on a level with it, and consequently the adjoining suite must be the one in which I had noticed the dark-haired woman and the man whose ill-timed hunt had puzzled me so much. Their behavior had certainly been very peculiar. Had they anything to do with this murder, I wondered. I was startled by a soft voice at my elbow, remarking quietly: You seem struck by something. As I was not anxious, at least not yet, to tell him of my experiences of the night before, I tried to say in the most natural tone in the world: Oh, I was only noticing that we are exactly on a level with my roof. I had already observed that, he said. After a slight pause, he continued: We must now find out who saw the deceased enter the building, for in a place so guarded by bell-boys, elevator-boys and night-watchmen as this is, it seems hardly possible that he could have come in unperceived.
On entering the next room we found the Coroner deep in conversation with the foreman. He turned abruptly to me:
This man tells me that you uttered an exclamation of surprise on seeing the corpse. What made you do so?
That unlucky ejaculation! I hesitated a moment, rather at a loss to know what to reply. Every one turned towards me, and I felt myself actually blushing. I was at first struck by a fancied resemblance, I at last managed to stammer, but on looking closer I saw I had been completely mistaken.
Humph, grunted the Coroner, and I was aware that every one in the room eyed me with suspicion. Well, he continued, still looking at me severely, can you tell us what the man died of? Yes, I answered; he met his death by being stabbed to the heart by a very small weapon, possibly a stiletto, but a sharp knitting-needle, or even a hat pin, could have caused the wound. The crime was committed while he was unconscious, or at least semi-conscious, either from some drug or alcohol; or he may have been asleep. He made no resistance, and in all probability never knew he had been hurt.
There was profound silence.
It is, then, impossible that this wound was self-inflicted, inquired the Coroner.
Quite impossible, I rejoined.
So that he was presumably murdered the night before last and smuggled into this apartment some time between six oclock last evening and seven oclock this morning? continued the Coroner. Then, turning to the little red-headed manager, he asked:
Now, Mr. McGorry, how is it possible for this corpse to have been brought here? The foreman testifies that he himself locked the door in the presence of several workmen; you tell me that the key remained in your safe all night. Now, please explain how this body got here?
Lord-a-mercy, sor, you dont think as I did it! shrieked McGorry. Why, sor, I never saw the man before in my life; besides, I have got a alibi, sor; yes, sor, a alibi.
Stop, Mr. McGorry; dont get so excited; nobody is accusing you of anything. But if this place was locked up last night, how came the body here this morning? The lock has not been tampered with. Was there a duplicate key?
Yis, sor; but the other key was also in my safe, replied McGorry.
Have either of these keys ever been missing?
Shure and they havent been out of my keeping since the apartment was vacated last May, until three days ago when the painters begun work here. Since then they have had one of the keys during the day, but have always returned it before leaving.
Now, tell me, continued the Coroner, turning to the foreman, has the key been missing since you had it?
Not that I know of; we leave it sticking in the door all day, and only take it out when we leave.
So that it is possible that a person might have come to the door, taken the key, and kept it for some hours without your noticing it?
Yes, sir, its possible, but it aint likely; I havent seen anyone pass since Ive been working here.
Could the corpse have been brought in here any other way than through the front door?
No, Mr. Coroner, a quiet voice at my side replied; I have just examined the fire-escape and all the windows. The fastenings have not been tampered with, and the dust on the fire-escape shows no signs of recent disturbance. Mr. Merritt had gone on his search so unobtrusively that I had not noticed his absence till he reappeared, a good deal less immaculate than before.
Is it possible to enter this building unperceived? the Coroner resumed.
I should have said not, replied McGorry; but now everything seems possible. Even the Coroner had to smile at his despondent tone.
The front door is opened at seven oclock and closed at eleven, unless theres something special going on, McGorry continued, and during those hours there are always one or two boys in the hall, and often three. After eleven the watchman opens the front door and takes the people up in the elevaytor. No one but meself has the key to this outside door.
Does the watchman never leave the front hall except to take people up in the elevator?
Well, I dont say niver, sor, but hes niver far off.
Then I gather that it would be just possible for a person to get out of this house unperceived between eleven P.M. and seven A.M., but impossible, or nearly so, for him to enter?
Yes, thats so, thats what I think, sor.
Well, what about the back door? I asked.
Well, the back door is opened at six and closed at tin, replied McGorry.
The back door is not guarded during the day, is it? I went on, forgetting the Coroner in my eagerness.
Doctor, broke in the latter, allow me to conduct this inquiry. Yes, McGorry, who watches over that?
Well, sor, at present no one; theres a back elevaytor, but it dont run in summer, as the house is almost empty.
Then, as I understand it, any one can enter or leave the building by the back stairs, at any time during the day, unseen, or at any rate unnoticed; but after ten oclock they would require the assistance of some one in the house to let them in?
Thats so, sor.
Now, you are sure that the deceased was not a temporary inmate of this building; that he wasnt staying with any of the parties who are still here?
Certain, sor.
And no one has the slightest clue to his identity?
No one has seen him except these genlmen and Jim. Hes the elevaytor boy who went for you, Doc, and he didnt say nothing about knowing him.
The Coroner paused a moment.
What families have you at present in the building?
Well, sor, most of our people are out of town, having houses at Newport, or Lenox, and thereabouts, McGorry answered, with a vague sweep of his hand, which seemed to include all those favored regions which lie so close together in fashionable geography. Just now there are only two parties in the house.
Yes, and who are they?
Well, sor, theres Mr. C. H. Stuart, who occupies the ground floor right; and Mr. and Mrs. Atkins, who have the apartments above this, only at the other end of the building. I pricked up my ears. Atkins, then, must be the name of the golden-haired lady and her assailant.
Yes, and who are they?
Well, sor, theres Mr. C. H. Stuart, who occupies the ground floor right; and Mr. and Mrs. Atkins, who have the apartments above this, only at the other end of the building. I pricked up my ears. Atkins, then, must be the name of the golden-haired lady and her assailant.
Have these people been here long?
Mr. Stuart has been with us seven years. He is a bachelor. Mr. and Mrs. Atkins have only been here since May; they are a newly-married couple, I am told. And not a word of the mysterious pair I had seen in the adjoining apartment! Was McGorry holding something back, or was he really ignorant of their presence in the building?
Are you sure, Mr. McGorry, that there is no one else in the house? I interrupted again.
Yes, sor. Then a light broke over his face: No, sor; you are quite right (I hadnt said anything). Miss Derwent has been two nights here, but shes off again this morning. Mr. Merritt here whispered something to the Coroner, whereupon the latter turned to McGorry and said: Please see that no one leaves this building till I have seen them. I dont wish them to be told that a murder has been committed, unless they have heard it already, which is most probable. Just inform them that there has been an accident, do you hear?
Oh, Mr. Coroner, exclaimed McGorry, turning almost as red as his hair in his excitement; shure and you wouldnt mix Miss Derwent up in this! Lord, she aint used to such scenes; shed faint, and then her mother would never forgive me!
Every one, Miss Derwent included, must view the corpse, he replied, sternly.
Oh, sor, but
Silence! thundered the Coroner; the law must be obeyed.
So the manager went reluctantly out to give the desired order. On his return, the Coroner resumed:
Who is Miss Derwent?
Why Miss May Derwent, exclaimed McGorry; shes just Miss May Derwent. So it was the fashionable beauty I had been watching so far into the night. Strange, and stranger!
Miss May Derwent, McGorry continued, taking pity on our ignorance, is the only daughter of Mrs. Mortimer Derwent. She arrived here unexpectedly on Tuesday. She had missed her train, she said, and came here to pass the night.
Did she come alone?
Yis, sor.
Without even a maid?
Yis, sor.
Surely that is an unusual thing for a rich young lady to do?
Yis, sor, replied McGorry, apologetically; she has never done it before. Maybe the maid was taken on by the train.
Did Miss Derwent bring any luggage?
Nothing but a hand-bag, sor.
And yet she stayed two nights! Do you know any reason for her staying here so long?
No, sor, unless it was she had some shopping to do. A good many parcels come for her yistidy afternoon.
Have you a key to her apartment?
Yis, sor; when families goes away for the summer they leaves one key with me and takes the other with them.
Did you let Miss Derwent into her apartment, or did she have the key?
I let her in.
Did anyone wait on the young lady while she was here?
What do you mean by that? inquired McGorry, cautiously.
Why, did anyone go into her place to get her meals and tidy up, etc?
No, sor, not that I know of.
Doesnt it strike you as peculiar that a young lady, reared in the lap of luxury and unaccustomed to doing the least thing for herself should go to an apartment in which dust and dirt had been accumulating for several months and voluntarily spend two nights there, without even a servant to perform the necessary chores for her, mind you?
She went out for her meals, McGorry put in, anxiously, and young ladies, especially the rich ones, think roughing it a lark.
There was a slight pause.
What servants are there in the building besides your employees, Mr. McGorry?
Mr. Stuart, he keeps a man and his wifeFrench people they are; and Mrs. Atkins, she keeps two girls.
The Coroner now rose, and, followed by Mr. Merritt, proceeded towards the room where the dead man lay.
Send up your employees, one by one, McGorry.
Yis, sor.
On the threshold the detective paused a moment, and to my astonishment and delight requested me to accompany them. The Coroner frowned, evidently considering me a very unnecessary addition to the party, but his displeasure made no difference to me; I was only too happy to be given this opportunity of watching the drama unfold itself.
CHAPTER III
A CORONERS INQUEST
WE took our places at the foot of the corpse, with our backs to the light and silently awaited developments. In a few minutes McGorry returned, followed by the electrician, and during the rest of the time remained in the room checking off the men as they came in. It is needless for me to repeat all the testimony, as a great deal of it was perfectly irrelevant; suffice it to say that the electrician, engineer, and janitress all passed the ordeal without adding an iota to our information. The watchman when called persisted, after the severest cross-questioning, in his first assertion that neither on Wednesday night nor last night had he seen or heard anything suspicious. The only person he had admitted on either night was Mr. Atkins, who had returned at about half-past one that very morning; he was sure that he had seen no stranger leave the building.
At last Jim, the elevator boy, was called in. He appeared still very much frightened, and only looked at the corpse with the greatest reluctance.
Have you ever seen this man before? demanded the Coroner.
No, sah, answered Jim, in a shaking voice.
Now, my lad, take another look at him. Are you still so sure that you have never seen him before, gently insisted Mr. Merritt; for, you see, we have reason to believe that you have. Jim began to tremble violently, as he cast another glance at the dead man.
Lord-a-massy, sah; praps I did, praps I did; I dunno, he looks some likenot zactly
Do you know his name?
No, sah.
When did you see him last?
Tuesday ebenin, sah. Here the boy glanced apprehensively at McGorry.
Come, come, my lad, the Coroner exclaimed, impatiently; tell us all you know about the man. The truth, now, and the whole truth, mind you; and dont you look at any one to see how they are going to like what you say, either.
No, sah. Jim hesitated a moment, then burst out: I do think as hes the same gemman as come to see Miss Derwent last winter, and he come to call on her about half-past six on Tuesday.
Miss Derwent exclaimed McGorry, taking a step forward.
McGorry, said the Coroner, severely, dont try to interfere with justice and intimidate witnesses. Now, my boy, tell us how long did the gentleman stay with Miss Derwent.
Dey went out togedder most immedjutely, and den dey come back togedder.
At what time did they return?
Must have been bout eight, sah.
Did he go upstairs with the young lady?
Yes, sah.
When did he leave?
I cant say, sah; I didnt see him leave.
How was that?
Well, you see, sah, in de summer, when de house is mos empty, wes not so particlar as we are in de winter, and we takes turn and turn about oftener, specially in de ebenin.
I see, said the Coroner.
An so dat ebenin I goes off at half-past eight and Joe he run de elevator till eleben.