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

Ordinary Marks Of Identification Have

Been Obliterated. It Will Take Time To Identify Her At The Best,

Part 3 Chapter 9 (The Unofficial Spy) Pg 99

And In The Meantime,  If A Crime Has Been Committed,  The Guilty

Person May Escape. What I Want Now,  Right Away,  Is Action."

 

"Has Nothing In Her Actions About The Hotel Offered Any Clue,  No

Matter How Slight?" Asked Kennedy.

 

"Plenty Of Things,  Replied Mcbride Quickly. "For One Thing,  She

Didn't Speak Very Much English And Her Maid Seemed To Do All The

Talking For Her,  Even To Ordering Her Meals,  Which Were Always

Served Here. I Did Notice Madame A Few Times About The Hotel,

Though She Spent Most Of Her Time In Her Rooms. She Was Attractive

As The Deuce,  And The Men All Looked At Her Whenever She Stirred

Out. She Never Even Noticed Them. But She Was Evidently Expecting

Some One,  For Her Maid Had Left Word At The Desk That If A Mr.

Gonzales Called,  She Was At Home; If Any One Else,  She Was Out.

For The First Day Or Two She Kept Herself Closely Confined,  Except

That At The End Of The Second Day She Took A Short Spin Through

The Park In A Taxicab--Closed,  Even In This Hot Weather. Where She

Went I Cannot Say,  But When They Returned The Maid Seemed Rather

Agitated. At Least She Was A Few Minutes Later When She Came All

The Way Downstairs To Telephone From A Booth,  Instead Of Using The

Room Telephone. At Various Times The Maid Was Sent Out To Execute

Certain Errands,  But Always Returned Promptly. Madame De Nevers

Was A Genuine Woman Of Mystery,  But As Long As She Was A Quiet

Mystery,  I Thought It No Business Of Ours To Pry Into The Affairs

Of Madame."

 

"Did She Have Any Visitors? Did This Mr. Gonzales Call?" Asked

Kennedy At Length.

 

"She Had One Visitor,  A Woman Who Called And Asked If A Madame De

Nevers Was Stopping At The Hotel," Answered Mcbride. "That Was

What The Clerk Was Telling Me When I Happened To Catch Sight Of

You. He Says That,  Obedient To The Orders From The Maid,  He Told

The Visitor That Madame Was Not At Home."

 

"Who Was This Visitor,  Do You Suppose?" Asked Craig. "Did She

Leave Any Card Or Message? Is There Any Clue To Her?"

 

The Detective Looked At Him Earnestly For A Time As If He

Hesitated To Retail What Might Be Merely Pure Gossip.

 

"The Clerk Does Not Know This Absolutely,  But From His

Acquaintance With Society News And The Illustrated Papers He Is

Sure That He Recognised Her. He Says That He Feels Positive That

It Was Miss Catharine Lovelace."

 

"The Southern Heiress," Exclaimed Kennedy. "Why,  The Papers Say

That She Is Engaged---"

 

"Exactly," Cut In Mcbride,  "The Heiress Who Is Rumoured To Be

Engaged To The Duc De Chateaurouge."

 

Kennedy And I Exchanged Glances. "Yes," I Added,  Recollecting A

Remark I Had Heard A Few Days Before From Our Society Reporter On

The Star,  "I Believe It Has Been Said That Chateaurouge Is In This

Country,  Incognito."

 

"A Pretty Slender Thread On Which To Hang An Identification,"

Mcbride Hastened To Remark. "Newspaper Photographs Are Not The

Best Means Of Recognising Anybody. Whatever There May Be In It,

The Fact Remains That Madame De Nevers,  Supposing That To Be Her

Real Name,  Has Been Dead For At Least A Day Or Two. The First

Thing To Be Determined Is Whether This Is A Death From Natural

Causes,  A Suicide,  Or A Murder. After We Have Determined That We

Shall Be In A Position To Run Down This Lovelace Clue."

 

Kennedy Said Nothing And I Could Not Gather Whether He Placed

Greater Or Less Value On The Suspicion Of The Hotel Clerk. He Had

Been Making A Casual Examination Of The Body On The Bed,  And

Finding Nothing He Looked Intently About The Room As If Seeking

Part 3 Chapter 9 (The Unofficial Spy) Pg 100

Some Evidence Of How The Crime Had Been Committed.

 

To Me The Thing Seemed Incomprehensible,  That Without An Outcry

Being Overheard By Any Of The Guests A Murder Could Have Been Done

In A Crowded Hotel In Which The Rooms On Every Side Had Been

Occupied And People Had Been Passing Through The Halls At All

Hours. Had It Indeed Been A Suicide,  In Spite Of Mcbride's Evident

Conviction To The Contrary?

 

A Low Exclamation From Kennedy Attracted Our Attention. Caught In

The Filmy Lace Folds Of The Woman's Dress He Had Found A Few Small

And Thin Pieces Of Glass. He Was Regarding Them With An Interest

That Was Oblivious To Everything Else. As He Turned Them Over And

Over And Tried To Fit Them Together They Seemed To Form At Least A

Part Of What Had Once Been A Hollow Globe Of Very Thin Glass,

Perhaps A Quarter Of An Inch Or So In Diameter.

 

"How Was The Body Discovered?" Asked Craig At Length,  Looking Up

At Mcbride Quickly.

 

"Day Before Yesterday Madame's Maid Went To The Cashier," Repeated

The Detective Slowly As If Rehearsing The Case As Much For His Own

Information As Ours,  "And Said That Madame Had Asked Her To Say To

Him That She Was Going Away For A Few Days And That Under No

Circumstances Was Her Room To Be Disturbed In Her Absence. The

Maid Was Commissioned To Pay The Bill,  Not Only For The Time They

Had Been Here,  But Also For The Remainder Of The Week,  When Madame

Would Most Likely Return,  If Not Earlier. The Bill Was Made Out

And Paid.

 

"Since Then Only The Chambermaid Has Entered This Suite. The Key

To That Closet Over In The Corner Was Gone,  And It Might Have

Hidden Its Secret Until The End Of The Week Or Perhaps A Day Or

Two Longer,  If The Chambermaid Hadn't Been A Bit Curious. She

Hunted Till She Found Another Key That Fitted,  And Opened The

Closet Door,  Apparently To See What Madame Had Been So Particular

To Lock Up In Her Absence. There Lay The Body Of Madame,  Fully

Dressed,  Wedged Into The Narrow Space And Huddled Up In A Corner.

The Chambermaid Screamed And The Secret Was Out."

 

"And Madame De Nevers's Maid? What Has Become Of Her?" Asked

Kennedy Eagerly.

 

"She Has Disappeared," Replied Mcbride. "From The Moment When The

Bill Was Paid No One About The Hotel Has Seen Her."

 

"But You Have A Pretty Good Description Of Her,  One That You Could

Send Out In Order To Find Her If Necessary?"

 

"Yes,  I Think I Could Give A Pretty Good Description."

 

Kennedy's Eye Encountered The Curious Gaze Of Mcbride. "This May

Prove To Be A Most Unusual Case," He Remarked In Answer To The

Implied Inquiry Of The Detective. "I Suppose You Have Heard Of The

'Endormeurs' Of Paris?"

 

Mcbride Shook His Head In The Negative.

 

"It Is A French Word Signifying A Person Who Puts Another To

Sleep,  The Sleep Makers," Explained Kennedy. "They Are The Latest

Scientific School Of Criminals Who Use The Most Potent,  Quickest-

Acting Stupefying Drugs. Some Of Their Exploits Surpass Anything

Hitherto Even Imagined By The European Police. The American Police

Have Been Officially Warned Of The Existence Of The Endormeurs And

Full Descriptions Of Their Methods And Photographs Of Their

Paraphernalia Have Been Sent Over Here.

 

"There Is Nothing In Their Repertoire So Crude As Chloral Or

Knock-Out Drops. All The Derivatives Of Opium Such As Morphine,

Codeine,  Heroine,  Dionine,  Narceine,  And Narcotine,  To Say Nothing

Of Bromure D'etyle,  Bromoform,  Nitrite D'amyle,  And Amyline Are

Part 3 Chapter 9 (The Unofficial Spy) Pg 101

Known To Be Utilised By The Endormeurs To Put Their Victims To

Sleep,  And The Skill Which They Have Acquired In The Use Of These

Powerful Drugs Establishes Them As One Of The Most Dangerous

Groups Of Criminals In Existence. The Men Are All Of Superior

Intelligence And Daring; The Chief Requisite Of The Women Is

Extreme Beauty As Well As Unscrupulousness.

 

"They Will Take A Little Thin Glass Ball Of One Of These Liquids,

For Instance,  Hold It In A Pocket Handkerchief,  Crush It,  Shove It

Under The Nose Of Their Victim,  And--Whiff!--The Victim Is

Unconscious. But Ordinarily The Endormeur Does Not Kill. He Is

Usually Satisfied To Stupefy,  Rob,  And Then Leave His Victim.

There Is Something More To This Case Than A Mere Suicide Or

Murder,  Mcbride. Of Course She May Have Committed Suicide With The

Drugs Of The Endormeurs; Then Again She May Merely Have Been

Rendered Unconscious By Those Drugs And Some Other Poison May Have

Been Administered. Depend On It,  There Is Something More Back Of

This Affair Than Appears On The Surface. Even As Far As I Have

Gone I Do Not Hesitate To Say That We Have Run Across The Work Of

One Or Perhaps A Band Of The Most Up-To-Date And Scientific

Criminals."

 

Kennedy Had Scarcely Finished When Mcbride Brought His Right Fist

Down With A Resounding Smack Into The Palm Of His Left Hand.

 

"Say," He Cried In Great Excitement,  "Here's Another Thing Which

May Or May Not Have Some Connection With The Case. The Evening

After Madame Arrived,  I Happened To Be Walking Through The Cafe,

Where I Saw A Face That Looked Familiar To Me. It Was That Of A

Dark-Haired,  Olive-Skinned Man,  A Fascinating Face,  But A Face To

Be Afraid Of. I Remembered Him,  I Thought,  From My Police

Experience,  As A Notorious Crook Who Had Not Been Seen In New York

For Years,  A Man Who In The Old Days Used To Gamble With Death In

South American Revolutions,  A Soldier Of Fortune.

 

"Well,  I Gave The Waiter,  Charley,  The Wink And He Met Me In The

Rear Of The Cafe,  Around A Corner. You Know We Have A Regular

System In The Hotel By Which I Can Turn All The Help Into Amateur

Sleuths. I Told Him To Be Very Careful About The Dark-Faced Man

And The Younger Man Who Was With Him,  To Be Particular To Wait On

Them Well,  And To Pick Up Any Scraps Of Conversation He Could.

 

"Charley Knows His Business,  And The Barest Perceptible Sign From

Me Makes Him An Obsequious Waiter. Of Course The Dark Man Didn't

Notice It At The Time,  But If He Had Been More Observant He Would

Have Seen That Three Times During His Chat With His Companion

Charley Had Wiped Off His Table With Lingering Hand. Twice He Had

Put Fresh Seltzer In His Drink. Like A Good Waiter Always Working

For A Big Tip He Had Hovered Near,  His Face Blank And His Eyes

Unobservant. But That Waiter Was An Important Link