The Middle Temple Murder by J. S. Fletcher (top books to read txt) š
- Author: J. S. Fletcher
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Between them they managed to get Cardlestone to his bed, and Spargo, with a happy thought, boiled water on the rusty stove and put hot bottles to his feet. When that was done they persuaded Elphick to lie down in the inner room. Presently both old men fell asleep, and then Breton and Spargo suddenly realized that they themselves were hungry and wet and weary.
āThere ought to be food in the cupboard,ā said Breton, beginning to rummage. āTheyāve generally had a good stock of tinned things. Here we are, Spargoāthese are tongues and sardines. Make some hot coffee while I open one of these tins.ā
The prisoner watched the preparations for a rough and ready breakfast with eyes that eventually began to glisten.
āI may remind you that Iām hungry, too,ā he said as Spargo set the coffee on the table. āAnd youāve no right to starve me, even if youāve the physical ability to keep me tied up. Give me something to eat, if you please.ā
āYou shanāt starve,ā said Breton, carelessly. He cut an ample supply of bread and meat, filled a cup with coffee and placed cup and plate before Myerst. āUntie his right arm, Spargo,ā he continued. āI think we can give him that liberty. Weāve got his revolver, anyhow.ā
For a while the three men ate and drank in silence. At last Myerst pushed his plate away. He looked scrutinizingly at his two captors. āLook here!ā he said. āYou think you know a lot about all this affair, Spargo, but thereās only one person who knows all about it. Thatās me!ā
āWeāre taking that for granted,ā said Spargo. āWe guessed as much when we found you here. Youāll have ample opportunity for explanation, you know, later on.ā
āIāll explain now, if you care to hear,ā said Myerst with another of his cynical laughs. āAnd if I do, Iāll tell you the truth. I know youāve got an idea in your heads that isnāt favourable to me, but youāre utterly wrong, whatever you may think. Look here!āIāll make you a fair offer. There are some cigars in my case thereāgive me one, and mix me a drink of that whiskyāa good āunāand Iāll tell you what I know about this matter. Come on!āanythingās better than sitting here doing nothing.ā
The two young men looked at each other. Then Breton nodded. āLet him talk if he likes,ā he said. āWeāre not bound to believe him. And we may hear something thatās true. Give him his cigar and his drink.ā
Myerst took a stiff pull at the contents of the tumbler which Spargo presently set before him. He laughed as he inhaled the first fumes of his cigar.
āAs it happens, youāll hear nothing but the truth,ā he observed. āNow that things are as they are, thereās no reason why I shouldnāt tell the truth. The fact is, Iāve nothing to fear. You canāt give me in charge, for it so happens that Iāve got a power of attorney from these two old chaps inside there to act for them in regard to the money they entrusted me with. Itās in an inside pocket of that letter-case, and if you look at it, Breton, youāll see itās in order. Iām not even going to dare you to interfere with or destroy itāyouāre a barrister, and youāll respect the law. But thatās a factāand if anybodyās got a case against anybody, I have against you two for assault and illegal detention. But Iām not a vindictive man, andāāā
Breton took up Myerstās letter-case and examined its contents. And presently he turned to Spargo.
āHeās right!ā he whispered. āThis is quite in order.ā He turned to Myerst. āAll the same,ā he said, addressing him, āwe shanāt release you, because we believe youāre concerned in the murder of John Marbury. Weāre justified in holding you on that account.ā
āAll right, my young friend,ā said Myerst. āHave your own stupid way. But I said Iād tell you the plain truth. Well, the plain truth is that I know no more of the absolute murder of your father than I know of what is going on in Timbuctoo at this moment! I do not know who killed John Maitland. Thatās a fact! It may have been the old man in there whoās already at his own last gasp, or it maynāt. I tell you I donāt knowāthough, like you, Spargo, Iāve tried hard to find out. Thatās the truthāI do not know.ā
āYou expect us to believe that?ā exclaimed Breton incredulously.
āBelieve it or not, as you likeāitās the truth,ā answered Myerst. āNow, look hereāI said nobody knew as much of this affair as I know, and thatās true also. And hereās the truth of what I know. The old man in that room, whom you know as Nicholas Cardlestone, is in reality Chamberlayne, the stockbroker, of Market Milcaster, whose name was so freely mentioned when your father was tried there. Thatās another fact!ā
āHow,ā asked Breton, sternly, ācan you prove it? How do you know it?ā
āBecause,ā replied Myerst, with a cunning grin, āI helped to carry out his mock death and burialāI was a solicitor in those days, and my name wasāsomething else. There were three of us at it: Chamberlayneās nephew; a doctor of no reputation; and myself. We carried it out very cleverly, and Chamberlayne gave us five thousand pounds apiece for our trouble. It was not the first time that I had helped him and been well paid for my help. The first time was in connection with the Cloudhampton Hearth and Home Mutual Benefit Society affairāAylmore, or Ainsworth, was as innocent as a child in that!āChamberlayne was the man at the back. But, unfortunately, Chamberlayne didnāt profitāhe lost all he got by it, pretty quick. That was why be transferred his abilities to Market Milcaster.ā
āYou can prove all this, I suppose?ā remarked Spargo.
āEvery wordāevery letter! But about the Market Milcaster affair: Your father, Breton, was right in what he said about Chamberlayne having all the money that was got from the bank. He hadāand he engineered that mock death and funeral so that he could disappear, and he paid us who helped him generously, as Iāve told you. The thing couldnāt have been better done. When it was done, the nephew disappeared; the doctor disappeared; Chamberlayne disappeared. I had bad luckāto tell you the truth, I was struck off the rolls for a technical offence. So I changed my name and became Mr. Myerst, and eventually what I am now. And it was not until three years ago that I found Chamberlayne. I found him in this way: After I became secretary to the Safe Deposit Company, I took chambers in the Temple, above Cardlestoneās. And I speedily found out who he was. Instead of going abroad, the old foxāthough he was a comparatively young āun, then!āhad shaved off his beard, settled down in the Temple and given himself up to his two hobbies, collecting curiosities and stamps. There heād lived quietly all these years, and nobody had ever recognized or suspected him. Indeed, I donāt see how they could; he lived such a quiet, secluded life, with his collections, his old port, and his little whims and fads. ButāI knew him!ā
āAnd you doubtless profited by your recognition,ā suggested Breton.
āI certainly did. He was glad to pay me a nice sum every quarter to hold my tongue,ā replied Myerst, āand I was glad to take it and, naturally, I gained a considerable knowledge of him. He had only one friendāMr. Elphick, in there. Now, Iāll tell you about him.ā
āOnly if you are going to speak respectfully of him,ā said Breton sternly.
āIāve no reason to do otherwise. Elphick is the man who ought to have married your mother. When things turned out as they did, Elphick took you and brought you up as he has done, so that you should never know of your fatherās disgrace. Elphick never knew until last night that Cardlestone is Chamberlayne. Even the biggest scoundrels have friendsāElphickās very fond of Cardlestone. Heāāā
Spargo turned sharply on Myerst.
āYou say Elphick didnāt know until last night!ā he exclaimed. āWhy, then, this running away? What were they running from?ā
āI have no more notion than you have, Spargo,ā replied Myerst. āI tell you one or other of them knows something that I donāt. Elphick, I gather, took fright from you, and went to Cardlestoneāthen they both vanished. It may be that Cardlestone did kill MaitlandāI donāt know. But Iāll tell you what I know about the actual murderāfor I do know a good deal about it, though, as I say, I donāt know who killed Maitland. Now, first, you know all that about Maitlandās having papers and valuables and gold on him? Very wellāIāve got all that. The whole lot is locked upāsafelyāand Iām willing to hand it over to you, Breton, when we go back to town, and the necessary proof is givenāas it will beāthat youāre Maitlandās son.ā
Myerst paused to see the effect of this announcement, and laughed when he saw the blank astonishment which stole over his hearersā faces.
āAnd still more,ā he continued, āIāve got all the contents of that leather box which Maitland deposited with meāthatās safely locked up, too, and at your disposal. I took possession of that the day after the murder. Then, for purposes of my own, I went to Scotland Yard, as Spargo there is aware. You see, I was playing a gameāand it required some ingenuity.ā
āA game!ā exclaimed Breton. āGood heavensāwhat game?ā
āI never knew until I had possession of all these things that Marbury was Maitland of Market Milcaster,ā answered Myerst. āWhen I did know then I began to put things together and to pursue my own line, independent of everybody. I tell you I had all Maitlandās papers and possessions, by that timeāexcept one thing. That packet of Australian stamps. AndāI found out that those stamps were in the hands ofāCardlestone!ā
THE FINAL TELEGRAM
Myerst paused, to take a pull at his glass, and to look at the two amazed listeners with a smile of conscious triumph.
āIn the hands of Cardlestone,ā he repeated. āNow, what did I argue from that? Why, of course, that Maitland had been to Cardlestoneās rooms that night. Wasnāt he found lying dead at the foot of Cardlestoneās stairs? Ayeābut who found him? Not the porterānot the policeānot you, Master Spargo, with all your cleverness. The man who found Maitland lying dead there that night wasāI!ā
In the silence that followed, Spargo, who had been making notes of what Myerst said, suddenly dropped his pencil and thrusting his hands in his pockets sat bolt upright with a look which Breton, who was watching him seriously, could not make out. It was the look of a man whose ideas and conceptions are being rudely upset. And Myerst, too, saw it and he laughed, more sneeringly than ever.
āThatās one for you, Spargo!ā he said. āThat surprises youāthat makes you think. Now what do you think?āif one may ask.ā
āI think,ā said Spargo, āthat you are either a consummate liar, or that this mystery is bigger than before.ā
āI can lie when itās necessary,ā retorted Myerst. āJust now it isnāt necessary. Iām telling you the plain truth: thereās no reason why I shouldnāt. As Iāve said before, although you two young bullies have tied me up in this fashion, you canāt do anything against me. Iāve a power of attorney from those two old men in there, and thatās enough to satisfy anybody as to my possession of their cheques and securities. Iāve the whip hand of you, my sons, in all ways. And thatās why Iām telling you the truthāto amuse myself during this period of waiting. The plain truth, my sons!ā
āIn pursuance of which,ā observed Breton, drily, āI think you mentioned that you were the first person to find my father lying dead?ā
āI was. That isāas far as I can gather. Iāll tell you all about it. As I said, I live over Cardlestone. That night I came home very lateāit was well past one oāclock. There was nobody aboutāas a matter of fact, no one has residential chambers in that building but Cardlestone and myself. I found the body of a man lying in the entry. I struck a match and immediately recognized my visitor of the afternoonāJohn Marbury. Now, although I was so late in going home, I was as sober as a man can be, and I think pretty quickly at all times. I thought at double extra speed just then. And the first thing I did was to strip the body of every article it had on itāmoney, papers, everything. All these things are safely locked upātheyāve never been tracked. Next day, using my facilities as secretary to the Safe Deposit Company, I secured the
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