No, Vance returned, with a sad wag of the head; no man has so little vanity that he would delibrately reveal himself to the world as a creature with no perceptible powers of human reasoningas he does in all these morning journalsfor the mere sake of bringing one murderer to justice. That would be martyrdom gone mad.
Markham, at any rate, may know or suspect something that hasnt been revealed, I said.
Vance pondered a moment.
Thats not impossible, he admitted. He has kept himself modestly in the background in all this journalistic palaver. Suppose we look into the matter more thoroughlyeh, what?
Going to the telephone he called the District Attorneys office, and I heard him make an appointment with Markham for lunch at the Stuyvesant Club.
What about that Nadelmann statuette at Stieglitzs, I asked, remembering the reason for my presence at Vances that morning.
I aint[42] in the mood for Greek simplifications to-day, he answered, turning again to his newspapers.
To say that I was surprised at his attitude is to express it mildly. In all my association with him I had never known him to forgo his enthusiasm for art in favor of any other divertisement; and heretofore anything pertaining to the law and its operations had failed to interest him. I realized, therefore, that something of an unusual nature was at work in his brain, and I refrained from further comment.
Markham was a little late for the appointment at the Club, and Vance and I were already at our favorite corner table when he arrived.
Well, my good Lycurgus, Vance greeted him, aside from the fact that several new and significant clues have been unearthed and that the public may expect important developments in the very near future, and all that sort of tosh, how are things really going?
Markham smiled.
I see you have been reading the newspapers. What do you think of the accounts?
Typical, no doubt, replied Vance. They carefully and painstakingly omit nothing but the essentials.
Indeed? Markhams tone was jocular. And what, may I ask, do you regard as the essentials of the case?
In my foolish amateur way, said Vance, I looked upon dear Alvins toupee as a rather conspicuous essential, dont y know.
Benson, at any rate, regarded it in that light, I imagine. Anything else?
Well, there was the collar and the tie on the chiffonier.
And, added Markham chaffingly, dont overlook the false teeth in the tumbler.
Youre postively coruscatin! Vance exclaimed. Yes, they, too, were an essential of the situation. And Ill warrant the incomprable Heath didnt even notice them. But the other Aristotles present were equally sketchy in their observations.
You werent particularly impressed by the investigation yesterday, I take it, said Markham.
On the contrary, Vance assured him. I was impressed to the point of stupefaction. The whole proceedings constituted a masterpiece of absurdity. Everything relevant was sublimely ignored. There were at least a dozen points de départ[43], all leading in the same direction, but not one of them apparently was even noticed by any of the officiating pourparleurs[44]. Everybody was too busy at such silly occupations as looking for cigarette-ends and inspecting the ironwork at the windows.Those grilles, by the way, were rather attractiveFlorentine design.
Markham was both amused and ruffled.
Ones pretty safe with the police, Vance, he said. They get there eventually.
I simply adore your trusting nature, murmured Vance. But confide in me: what do you know regarding Bensons murderer?
Markham hesitated.
This is, of course, in confidence, he said at length; but this morning, right after you phoned, one of the men I had put to work on the amatory end of Bensons life, reported that he had found the woman who left her hand-bag and gloves at the house that night,the initials on the handkerchief gave him the clue. And he dug up some interesting facts about her. As I suspected, she was Bensons dinner companion that evening. Shes an actressmusical comedy, I believe. Muriel St. Clair by name.
Most unfortunate, breathed Vance. I was hoping, y know, your myrmidons wouldnt discover the lady. I havent the pleasure of her acquaintance, or Id send her a note of commiseration Now, I presume, youll play the juge dinstruction[45] and chivvy her most horribly, what?
I shall certainly question her, if thats what you mean.
Markhams manner was preoccupied, and during the rest of the lunch we spoke but little.
As we sat in the Clubs lounge-room later having our smoke, Major Benson, who had been standing dejectedly at a window close by, caught sight of Markham and came over to us. He was a full-faced man of about fifty, with grave kindly features and a sturdy, erect body.
He greeted Vance and me with a casual bow, and turned at once to the District Attorney.
Markham, Ive been thinking things over constantly since our lunch yesterday, he said, and theres one other suggestion I think I might make. Theres a man named Leander Pfyfe who was very close to Alvin; and its possible he could give you some helpful information. His name didnt occur to me yesterday, for he doesnt live in the city; hes on Long Island somewherePort Washington, I think.Its just an idea. The truth is, I cant seem to figure out anything that makes sense in this terrible affair.
He drew a quick, resolute breath, as if to check some involuntary sign of emotion. It was evident that the man, for all his habitual passivity of nature, was deeply moved.
Thats a good suggestion, Major, Markham said, making a notation on the back of a letter. Ill get after it immediately.
Vance, who, during this brief interchange, had been gazing unconcernedly out of the window, turned and addressed himself to the Major.
How about Colonel Ostrander? Ive seen him several times in the company of your brother.
Major Benson made a slight gesture of deprecation.
Only an acquaintance. Hed be of no value.
Then he turned to Markham.
I dont imagine its time even to hope that youve run across anything.
Markham took his cigar from his mouth, and turning it about in his fingers, contemplated it thoughtfully.
I wouldnt say that, he remarked, after a moment. Ive managed to find out whom your brother dined with Thursday night; and I know that this person returned home with him shortly after midnight. He paused as if deliberating the wisdom of saying more. Then: The fact is, I dont need a great deal more evidence than Ive got already to go before the Grand Jury and ask for an indictment.
A look of surprised admiration flashed in the Majors sombre face.
Thank God for that, Markham! he said. Then, setting his heavy jaw, he placed his hand on the District Attorneys shoulder. Go the limitfor my sake! he urged. If you want me for anything, Ill be here at the Club till late.
With this he turned and walked from the room.
It seems a bit cold-blooded to bother the Major with questions so soon after his brothers death, commented Markham. Still, the world has got to go on.
Vance stifled a yawn.
Whyin Heavens name? he murmured listlessly.
Chapter VI. Vance Offers an Opinion
(Saturday, June 15; 2 p.m.)
We sat for a while smoking in silence, Vance gazing lazily out into Madison Square, Markham frowning deeply at the faded oil portrait of old Peter Stuyvesant that hung over the fireplace.
Presently Vance turned and contemplated the District Attorney with a faintly sardonic smile.
I say, Markham, he drawled; it has always been a source of amazement to me how easily you investigators of crime are misled by what you call clues. You find a footprint, or a parked automobile, or a monogrammed handkerchief, and then dash off on a wild chase with your eternal Ecce signum![46] Pon my word, its as if you chaps were all under the spell of shillin shockers. Wont you ever learn that crimes cant be solved by deductions based merely on material clues and circumstntial evidence?
I think Markham was as much surprised as I at this sudden criticism; yet we both knew Vance well enough to realize that, despite his placid and almost flippant tone, there was a serious purpose behind his words.
Would you advocate ignoring all the tangible evidence of a crime? asked Markham, a bit patronizingly.
Most emphatically, Vance declared calmly. Its not only worthless but dangerous. The great trouble with you chaps, d ye see, is that you approach every crime with a fixed and unshakable assumption that the criminal is either half-witted or a colossal bungler. I say, has it never by any chance occurred to you that if a detective could see a clue, the criminal would also have seen it, and would either have concealed it or disguised it, if he had not wanted it found? And have you never paused to consider that anyone clever enough to plan and execute a successful crime these days, is, ipso facto[47], clever enough to manufacture whatever clues suit his purpose? Your detective seems wholly unwilling to admit that the surface appearance of a crime may be delibrately deceptive, or that the clues may have been planted for the defnite purpose of misleading him.
Im afraid, Markham pointed out, with an air of indulgent irony, that wed convict very few criminals if we were to ignore all indicatory evidence, cogent circumstances and irresistible inferences. As a rule, you know, crimes are not witnessed by outsiders.
Thats your fundamental error, dont y know, Vance observed impassively. Every crime is witnessed by outsiders, just as is every work of art. The fact that no one sees the criminal, or the artist, actully at work, is wholly inconsquential. The modern investigator of crime would doubtless refuse to believe that Rubens painted the Descent from the Cross[48] in the Cathedral at Antwerp if there was sufficient circumstntial evidence to indicate that he had been away on diplomatic business, for instance, at the time it was painted. And yet, my dear fellow, such a conclusion would be prepostrous. Even if the infrences to the contrry were so irresistible as to be legally overpowering, the picture itself would prove conclusively that Rubens did paint it. Why? For the simple reason, d ye see, that no one but Rubens could have painted it. It bears the indelible imprint of his personality and geniusand his alone.
Im not an aesthetician, Markham reminded him, a trifle testily. Im merely a practical lawyer, and when it comes to determining the authorship of a crime, I prefer tangible evidence to metaphysical hypotheses.
Your prefrence, my dear fellow, Vance returned blandly, will inevtably involve you in all manner of embarrassing errors.
He slowly lit another cigarette, and blew a wreath of smoke toward the ceiling.
Consider, for example, your conclusions in the present murder case, he went on, in his emotionless drawl. You are laboring under the grave misconception that you know the person who probbly killed the unspeakable Benson. You admitted as much to the Major; and you told him you had nearly enough evidence to ask for an indictment. No doubt, you do possess a number of what the learned Solons of to-day regard as convincing clues. But the truth is, dont y know, you havent your eye on the guilty person at all. Youre about to bedevil some poor girl who had nothing whatever to do with the crime.
Markham swung about sharply.
So! he retorted. Im about to bedevil an innocent person, eh? Since my assistants and I are the only ones who happen to know what evidence we hold against her, perhaps you will explain by what occult process you acquired your knowledge of this persons innocence.
Its quite simple, y know, Vance replied, with a quizzical twitch of the lips. You havent your eye on the murderer for the reason that the person who committed this particular crime was sufficiently shrewd and perspicacious to see to it that no evidence which you or the police were likely to find, would even remotely indicate his guilt.
He had spoken with the easy assurance of one who enunciates an obvious facta fact which permits of no argument.
Markham gave a disdainful laugh.
No law-breaker, he asserted oracularly, is shrewd enough to see all contingencies. Even the most trivial event has so many intimately related and serrated points of contact with other events which precede and follow, that it is a known fact that every criminalhowever long and carefully he may planleaves some loose end to his preparations, which in the end betrays him.
A known fact? Vance repeated. No, my dear fellowmerely a conventional superstition, based on the childish idea of an implacable, avenging Nemesis. I can see how this esoteric notion of the inevtability of divine punishment would appeal to the popular imagination, like fortune-telling and Ouija boards, dont y know; butmy word!it desolates me to think that you, old chap, would give credence to such mystical moonshine.
Dont let it spoil your entire day, said Markham acridly.
Regard the unsolved, or successful, crimes that are taking place every day, Vance continued, disregarding the others irony, crimes which completely baffle the best detectives in the business, what? The fact is, the only crimes that are ever solved are those planned by stupid people. Thats why, whenever a man of even modrate sagacity decides to commit a crime, he accomplishes it with but little diffculty, and fortified with the postive assurance of his immunity to discovery.
Undetected crimes, scornfully submitted Markham, result, in the main, from official bad lucknot from superior criminal cleverness.
Bad luckVances voice was almost dulcetis merely a defensive and self-consoling synonym for inefficiency. A man with ingenuity and brains is not harassed by bad luck. No, Markham old dear; unsolved crimes are simply crimes which have been intelligently planned and executed. And, d ye see, it happens that the Benson murder falls into that categry. Therefore, when, after a few hours investigation, you say youre pretty sure who committed it, you must pardon me if I take issue with you.
He paused and took a few meditative puffs on his cigarette.
The factitious and casuistic methods of deduction you chaps pursue are apt to lead almost anywhere. In proof of which assertion I point triumphantly to the unfortunate young lady whose liberty you are now plotting to take away.
Markham, who had been hiding his resentment behind a smile of tolerant contempt, now turned on Vance and fairly glowered.
It so happensand Im speaking ex cathedra[49] he proclaimed defiantly, that I come pretty near having the goods on your unfortunate young lady.
Vance was unmoved.
And yet, y know, he observed drily, no woman could possibly have done it.
I could see that Markham was furious. When he spoke he almost spluttered.
A woman couldnt have done it, ehno matter what the evidence?
Quite so, Vance rejoined placidly: not if she herself swore to it and produced a tome of what you scions of the law term, rather pompously, incontrovertible evidence.
Ah! There was no mistaking the sarcasm of Markhams tone. I am to understand then that you even regard confessions as valueless?
Yes, my dear Justinian, the other responded, with an air of complacency; I would have you understand precisely that. Indeed, they are worse than valuelesstheyre downright misleading. The fact that occasionally they may prove to be correctlike womans prepostrously overrated intuitionrenders them just so much more unreliable.