The Poisoned Pen(Fiscle Part-3) - Arthur B. Reeve (best detective novels of all time TXT) 📗

Gone," He Repeated,  Looking At

Us,  Startled.

 

"What Was It About?" Asked Craig.

 

"It Was A Note From An Artist,  Thurston,  Who Gave The Address Of

Mrs. Boncour's Bungalow--Ah,  I See You Have Heard Of Him. He Asked

Dixon's Recommendation Of A Certain Patent Headache Medicine. I

Thought It Possibly Evidential,  And I Asked Dixon About It. He

Explained It By Saying That He Did Not Have A Copy Of His Reply,

But As Near As He Could Recall,  He Wrote That The Compound Would

Not Cure A Headache Except At The Expense Of Reducing Heart Action

Dangerously. He Says He Sent No Prescription. Indeed,  He Thought

It A Scheme To Extract Advice Without Incurring The Charge For An

Office Call And Answered It Only Because He Thought Vera Had

Become Reconciled To Thurston Again. I Can't Find That Letter Of

Thurston's. It Is Gone."

 

We Looked At Each Other In Amazement.

 

"Why,  If Dixon Contemplated Anything Against Miss Lytton,  Should

He Preserve This Letter From Her?" Mused Kennedy. "Why Didn't He

Destroy It?"

 

"That's What Puzzles Me," Remarked Leland. "Do You Suppose Some

One Has Broken In And Substituted This Lytton Letter For The

Thurston Letter?"

 

Kennedy Was Scrutinising The Letter,  Saying Nothing. "I May Keep

It?" He Asked At Length. Leland Was Quite Willing And Even

Undertook To Obtain Some Specimens Of The Writing Of Vera Lytton.

With These And The Letter Kennedy Was Working Far Into The Night

And Long After I Had Passed Into A Land Troubled With Many Wild

Dreams Of Deadly Poisons And Secret Intrigues Of Artists.

 

The Next Morning A Message From Our Old Friend First Deputy

O'connor In New York Told Briefly Of Locating The Rooms Of An

Artist Named Thurston In One Of The Co-Operative Studio

Apartments. Thurston Himself Had Not Been There For Several Days

And Was Reported To Have Gone To Maine To Sketch. He Had Had A

Number Of Debts,  But Before He Left They Had All Been Paid--

Strange To Say,  By A Notorious Firm Of Shyster Lawyers,  Kerr &

Kimmel. Kennedy Wired Back To Find Out The Facts From Kerr &

Kimmel And To Locate Thurston At Any Cost.

 

Even The Discovery Of The New Letter Did Not Shake The Wonderful

Self-Possession Of Dr. Dixon. He Denied Ever Having Received It

And Repeated His Story Of A Letter From Thurston To Which He Had

Replied By Sending An Answer,  Care Of Mrs. Boncour,  As Requested.

He Insisted That The Engagement Between Miss Lytton And Himself

Had Been Broken Before The Announcement Of His Engagement With

Miss Willard. As For Thurston,  He Said The Man Was Little More

Than A Name To Him. He Had Known Perfectly All The Circumstances

Of The Divorce,  But Had Had No Dealings With Thurston And No Fear

Of Him. Again And Again He Denied Ever Receiving The Letter From

Vera Lytton.

 

Kennedy Did Not Tell The Willards Of The New Letter. The Strain

Had Begun To Tell On Alma,  And Her Father Had Had Her Quietly

Taken To A Farm Of His Up In The Country. To Escape The Curious

Eyes Of Reporters,  Halsey Post Had Driven Up One Night In His

Closed Car. She Had Entered It Quickly With Her Father,  And The

Journey Had Been Made In The Car,  While Halsey Post Had Quietly

Dropped Off On The Outskirts Of The Town,  Where Another Car Was

Waiting To Take Him Back. It Was Evident That The Willard Family

Relied Implicitly On Halsey,  And His Assistance To Them Was Most

Considerate. While He Never Forced Himself Forward,  He Kept In

Part 3 Chapter 1 (The Poisoned Pen) Pg 7

Close Touch With The Progress Of The Case,  And Now That Alma Was

Away His Watchfulness Increased Proportionately,  And Twice A Day

He Wrote A Long Report Which Was Sent To Her.

 

Kennedy Was Now Bending Every Effort To Locate The Missing Artist.

When He Left Danbridge,  He Seemed To Have Dropped Out Of Sight

Completely. However,  With O'connor's Aid,  The Police Of All New

England Were On The Lookout.

 

The Thurstons Had Been Friends Of Halsey's Before Vera Lytton Had

Ever Met Dr. Dixon,  We Discovered From The Danbridge Gossips,  And

I,  At Least,  Jumped To The Conclusion That Halsey Was Shielding

The Artist,  Perhaps Through A Sense Of Friendship When He Found

That Kennedy Was Interested In Thurston's Movement. I Must Say I

Rather Liked Halsey,  For He Seemed Very Thoughtful Of The

Willards,  And Was Never Too Busy To Give An Hour Or So To Any

Commission They Wished Carried Out Without Publicity.

 

Two Days Passed With Not A Word From Thurston. Kennedy Was

Obviously Getting Impatient. One Day A Rumour Was Received That He

Was In Bar Harbour; The Next It Was A Report From Nova Scotia. At

Last,  However,  Came The Welcome News That He Had Been Located In

New Hampshire,  Arrested,  And Might Be Expected The Next Day.

 

At Once Kennedy Became All Energy. He Arranged For A Secret

Conference In Senator Willard's House,  The Moment The Artist Was

To Arrive. The Senator And His Daughter Made A Flying Trip Back To

Town. Nothing Was Said To Any One About Thurston,  But Kennedy

Quietly Arranged With The District Attorney To Be Present With The

Note And The Jar Of Ammonia Properly Safeguarded. Leland Of Course

Came,  Although His Client Could Not. Halsey Post Seemed Only Too

Glad To Be With Miss Willard,  Though He Seemed To Have Lost

Interest In The Case As Soon As The Willards Returned To Look

After It Themselves. Mrs. Boncour Was Well Enough To Attend,  And

Even Dr. Waterworth Insisted On Coming In A Private Ambulance

Which Drove Over From A Near-By City Especially For Him. The Time

Was Fixed Just Before The Arrival Of The Train That Was To Bring

Thurston.

 

It Was An Anxious Gathering Of Friends And Foes Of Dr. Dixon Who

Sat Impatiently Waiting For Kennedy To Begin This Momentous

Exposition That Was To Establish The Guilt Or Innocence Of The

Calm Young Physician Who Sat Impassively In The Jail Not Half A

Mile From The Room Where His Life And Death Were Being Debated.

 

"In Many Respects This Is The Most Remarkable Case That It Has

Ever Been My Lot To Handle," Began Kennedy. "Never Before Have I

Felt So Keenly My Sense Of Responsibility. Therefore,  Though This

Is A Somewhat Irregular Proceeding,  Let Me Begin By Setting Forth

The Facts As I See Them.

 

"First,  Let Us Consider The Dead Woman. The Question That Arises

Here Is,  Was She Murdered Or Did She Commit Suicide? I Think You

Will Discover The Answer As I Proceed. Miss Lytton,  As You Know,

Was,  Two Years Ago,  Mrs. Burgess Thurston. The Thurstons Had

Temperament,  And Temperament Is Quite Often The Highway To The

Divorce Court. It Was So In This Case. Mrs. Thurston Discovered

That Her Husband Was Paying Much Attention To Other Women. She

Sued For Divorce In New York,  And He Accepted Service In The

South,  Where He Happened To Be. At Least It Was So Testified By

Mrs. Thurston's Lawyer.

 

"Now Here Comes The Remarkable Feature Of The Case. The Law Firm

Of Kerr & Kimmel,  I Find,  Not Long Ago Began To Investigate The

Legality Of This Divorce. Before A Notary Thurston Made An

Affidavit That He Had Never Been Served By The Lawyer For Miss

Lytton,  As She Was Now Known. Her Lawyer Is Dead,  But His

Representative In The South Who Served The Papers Is Alive. He Was

Brought To New York And Asserted Squarely That He Had Served The

Papers Properly.

 

"Here Is Where The Shrewdness Of Mose Kimmel,  The Shyster Lawyer,

Came In. He Arranged To Have The Southern Attorney Identify The

Man He Had Served The Papers On. For This Purpose He Was Engaged

In Conversation With One Of His Own Clerks When The Lawyer Was Due

To Appear. Kimmel Appeared To Act Confused,  As If He Had Been

Caught Napping. The Southern Lawyer,  Who Had Seen Thurston Only

Once,  Fell Squarely Into The Trap And Identified The Clerk As

Thurston. There Were Plenty Of Witnesses To It,  And It Was Point

Number Two For The Great Mose Kimmel. Papers Were Drawn Up To Set

Aside The Divorce Decree.

 

"In The Meantime,  Miss Lytton,  Or Mrs. Thurston,  Had Become

Acquainted With A Young Doctor In A New York Hospital,  And Had

Become Engaged To Him. It Matters Not That The Engagement Was

Later Broken. The Fact Remains That If The Divorce Were Set Aside

An Action Would Lie Against Dr. Dixon For Alienating Mrs.

Thurston's Affections,  And A Grave Scandal Would Result. I Need

Not Add That In This Quiet Little Town Of Danbridge The Most Could

Be Made Of Such A Suit."

 

Kennedy Was Unfolding A Piece Of Paper. As He Laid It Down,

Leland,  Who Was Sitting Next To Me,  Exclaimed Under His Breath:

 

"My God,  He's Going To Let The Prosecutor Know About That Letter.

Can't You Stop Him?"

 

It Was Too Late. Kennedy Had Already Begun To Read Vera's Letter.

It Was Damning To Dixon,  Added To The Other Note Found In The

Ammonia-Jar.

 

When He Had Finished Reading,  You Could Almost Hear The Hearts

Throbbing In The Room. A Scowl Overspread Senator Willard's

Features. Alma Willard Was Pale And Staring Wildly At Kennedy.

Halsey Post,  Ever Solicitous For Her,  Handed Her A Glass Of Water

From The Table. Dr. Waterworth Had Forgotten His Pain In His

Intense Attention,  And Mrs. Boncour Seemed Stunned With

Astonishment. The Prosecuting Attorney Was Eagerly Taking Notes.

 

"In Some Way," Pursued Kennedy In An Even Voice,  "This Letter Was

Either Overlooked In The Original Correspondence Of Dr. Dixon Or

It Was Added To It Later. I Shall Come Back To That Presently. My

Next Point Is That Dr. Dixon Says He Received A Letter From

Thurston On The Day The Artist Visited The Boncour Bungalow. It

Asked About A Certain Headache Compound,  And His Reply Was Brief

And,  As Nearly As I Can Find Out,  Read,  'This Compound Will Not

Cure Your Headache Except At The Expense Of Reducing Heart Action

Dangerously.'

 

"Next Comes The Tragedy. On The Evening Of The Day That Thurston

Left,  After Presumably Telling Miss Lytton About What Kerr &

Kimmel Had Discovered,  Miss Lytton Is Found Dying With A Bottle

Containing Cyanide And Sublimate Beside Her. You Are All Familiar

With The Circumstances And With The Note Discovered In The Jar Of

Ammonia. Now,  If The Prosecutor Will Be So Kind As To Let Me See

That Note--Thank You,  Sir. This Is The Identical Note. You Have

All Heard The Various Theories Of The Jar And Have Read The Note.

Here It Is In Plain,  Cold Black And White--In Dr. Dixon's Own

Handwriting,  As You Know,  And Reads: 'This Will Cure Your

Headache. Dr. Dixon.'"

 

Alma Willard Seemed As One Paralysed. Was Kennedy,  Who Had Been

Engaged By Her Father To Defend Her Fiance,  About To Convict Him?

 

"Before We Draw The Final Conclusion," Continued Kennedy Gravely,

"There Are One Or Two Points I Wish To Elaborate. Walter,  Will You

Open That Door Into The Main Hall?"

 

I Did So,  And Two Policemen Stepped In With A Prisoner. It Was

Thurston,  But Changed Almost Beyond Recognition. His Clothes Were

Worn,  His Beard Shaved Off,  And He Had A Generally Hunted

Appearance.

Part 3 Chapter 1 (The Poisoned Pen) Pg 8

 

Thurston Was Visibly Nervous. Apparently He Had Heard All That

Kennedy Had Said And Intended He Should Hear,  For As He Entered He

Almost Broke Away From The