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

Our Surprise In The Morning At Being Waited On By The

Coroner Himself,  Who In A Few Words Explained That He Was Far From

Satisfied With The Progress His Own Office Was Making With The

Case.

 

"You Understand," He Concluded After A Lengthy Statement Of

Confession And Avoidance,  "We Have No Very Good Laboratory

Facilities Of Our Own To Carry Out The Necessary Chemical,

Pathological,  And Bacteriological Investigations In Cases Of

Homicide And Suicide. We Are Often Forced To Resort To Private

Laboratories,  As You Know In The Past When I Have Had To Appeal To

You. Now,  Professor Kennedy,  If We Might Turn Over That Research

Part Of The Case To You,  Sir,  I Will Engage To See That A

Reasonable Bill For Your Professional Services Goes Through The

Office Of My Friend The City Comptroller Promptly."

 

Craig Snapped At The Opportunity,  Though He Did Not Allow The

Coroner To Gain That Impression.

 

"Very Well," Agreed That Official,  "I Shall See That All The

Necessary Organs For A Thorough Test As To The Cause Of The Death

Of This Woman Are Sent Up To The Chemistry Building Right Away."

 

The Coroner Was As Good As His Word,  And We Had Scarcely

Breakfasted And Arrived At Craig's Scientific Workshop Before That

Official Appeared,  Accompanied By A Man Who Carried In Uncanny

Jars The Necessary Materials For An Investigation Following An

Autopsy.

 

Kennedy Was Now In His Element. The Case Had Taken An Unexpected

Turn Which Made Him A Leading Factor In Its Solution. Whatever

Suspicions He May Have Entertained Unofficially The Night Before

He Could Now Openly And Quickly Verify.

 

He Took A Little Piece Of Lung Tissue And With A Sharp Sterilised

Knife Cut It Up. Then He Made It Slightly Alkaline With A Little

Sodium Carbonate,  Talking Half To Us And Half To Himself As He

Worked. The Next Step Was To Place The Matter In A Glass Flask In

A Water Bath Where It Was Heated. From The Flask A Bohemian Glass

Tube Led Into A Cool Jar And On A Part Of The Tube A Flame Was

Playing Which Heated It To Redness For Two Or Three Inches.

Part 3 Chapter 9 (The Unofficial Spy) Pg 105

 

Several Minutes We Waited In Silence. Finally When The Process Had

Gone Far Enough,  Kennedy Took A Piece Of Paper Which Had Been

Treated With Iodised Starch,  As He Later Explained. He Plunged The

Paper Into The Cool Jar. Slowly It Turned A Strong Blue Tint.

 

Craig Said Nothing,  But It Was Evident That He Was More Than

Gratified By What Had Happened. He Quickly Reached For A Bottle On

The Shelves Before Him,  And I Could See From The Label On The

Brown Glass That It Was Nitrate Of Silver. As He Plunged A Little

In A Test-Tube Into The Jar A Strong Precipitate Was Gradually

Formed.

 

"It Is The Decided Reaction For Chloroform," He Exclaimed Simply

In Reply To Our Unspoken Questions.

 

"Chloroform," Repeated The Coroner,  Rather Doubtfully,  And It Was

Evident That He Had Expected A Poison And Had Not Anticipated Any

Result Whatever From An Examination Of The Lungs Instead Of The

Stomach To Which He Had Confined His Own Work So Far. "Could

Chloroform Be Discovered In The Lungs Or Viscera After So Many

Days? There Was One Famous Chloroform Case For Which A Man Is Now

Serving A Life Term In Sing Sing Which I Have Understood There Was

Grave Doubt In The Minds Of The Experts. Mind,  I Am Not Trying To

Question The Results Of Your Work Except As They Might Naturally

Be Questioned In Court. It Seems To Me That The Volatility Of

Chloroform Might Very Possibly Preclude Its Discovery After A

Short Time. Then Again,  Might Not Other Substances Be Generated In

A Dead Body Which Would Give A Reaction Very Much Like Chloroform?

We Must Consider All These Questions Before We Abandon The Poison

Theory,  Sir. Remember,  This Is The Summer Time Too,  And Chloroform

Would Evaporate Very Much More Rapidly Now Than In Winter."

 

Kennedy Smiled,  But His Confidence Remained Unshaken.

 

"I Am In A Position To Meet All Of Your Objections," He Explained

Simply. "I Think I Could Lay It Down As A Rule That By Proper

Methods Chloroform May Be Discovered In The Viscera Much Longer

After Death Than Is Commonly Supposed--In Summer From Six Days To

Three Weeks,  With A Practical Working Range Of Say Twelve Days,

While In Winter It May Be Found Even After Several Months--By The

Right Method. Certainly This Case Comes Within The Average Length

Of Time. More Than That,  No Substance Is Generated By The Process

Of Decomposition Which Will Vitiate The Test For Chloroform Which

I Have Just Made. Chloroform Has An Affinity For Water And Is Also

A Preservative,  And Hence From All These Facts I Think It Safe To

Conclude That Sometimes Traces Of It May Be Found For Two Weeks

After Its Administration,  Certainly For A Few Days."

 

"And Madame De Nevers?" Queried The Coroner,  As If The Turn Of

Events Was Necessitating A Complete Reconstruction Of His Theory

Of The Case.

 

"Was Murdered," Completed Kennedy In A Tone That Left Nothing More

To Be Said On The Subject.

 

"But," Persisted The Coroner,  "If She Was Murdered By The Use Of

Chloroform,  How Do You Account For The Fact That It Was Done

Without A Struggle? There Were No Marks Of Violence And I,  For

One,  Do Not Believe That Under Ordinary Circumstances Any One Will

Passively Submit To Such An Administration Without A Hard Fight."

 

From His Pocket Kennedy Drew A Small Pasteboard Box Filled With

Tiny Globes,  Some Bonbons And Lozenges,  A Small Hypodermic

Syringe,  And A Few Cigars And Cigarettes. He Held It Out In The

Palm Of His Hand So That We Could See It.

 

"This," He Remarked,  "Is The Standard Equipment Of The Endormeur.

Whoever Obtained Admittance To Madame's Rooms,  Either As A Matter

Of Course Or Secretly,  Must Have Engaged Her In Conversation,

Disarmed Suspicion,  And Then Suddenly She Must Have Found A Pocket

Handkerchief Unde

Part 3 Chapter 9 (The Unofficial Spy) Pg 106

Under Her Nose. The Criminal Crushed A Globe Of

Liquid In The Handkerchief,  The Victim Lost Consciousness,  The

Chloroform Was Administered Without A Struggle,  All Marks Of

Identification Were Obliterated,  The Body Was Placed In The

Closet,  And The Maid--Either As Principal Or Accessory--Took The

Most Likely Means Of Postponing Discovery By Paying The Bill In

Advance At The Office,  And Then Disappeared."

 

Kennedy Slipped The Box Back Into His Pocket. The Coroner Had,  I

Think,  Been Expecting Craig's Verdict,  Although He Was Loath To

Abandon His Own Suicide Theory And Had Held It To The Last

Possible Moment. At Any Rate,  So Far He Had Said Little,

Apparently Preferring To Keep His Own Counsel As To His Course Of

Action And To Set His Own Machinery In Motion.

 

He Drew A Note From His Pocket,  However. "I Suppose," He Began

Tentatively,  Shaking The Note As He Glanced Doubtfully From It To

Us,  "That You Have Heard That Among The Callers On This

Unfortunate Woman Was A Lady Of High Social Position In This

City?"

 

"I Have Heard A Rumour To That Effect," Replied Kennedy As He

Busied Himself Cleaning Up The Apparatus He Had Just Used. There

Was Nothing In His Manner Even To Hint At The Fact That We Had

Gone Further And Interviewed The Young Lady In Question.

 

"Well," Resumed The Coroner,  "In View Of What You Have Just

Discovered I Don't Mind Telling You That I Believe It Was More

Than A Rumour. I Have Had A Man Watching The Woman And This Is A

Report I Received Just Before I Came Up Here."

 

We Read The Note Which He Now Handed To Us. It Was Just A Hasty

Line: "Miss Lovelace Left Hurriedly For Washington This Morning."

 

What Was The Meaning Of It? Clearly,  As We Probed Deeper Into The

Case,  Its Ramifications Grew Wider Than Anything We Had Yet

Expected. Why Had Miss Lovelace Gone To Washington,  Of All Places,

At This Torrid Season Of The Year?

 

The Coroner Had Scarcely Left Us,  More Mystified Than Ever,  When A

Telephone Message Came From Mcbride Saying That He Had Some

Important News For Us If We Would Meet Him At The St. Cenis Hotel

Within An Hour. He Would Say Nothing About It Over The Wire.

 

As Kennedy Hung Up The Receiver He Quietly Took A Pistol From A

Drawer Of His Desk,  Broke It Quickly,  And Looked Thoughtfully At

The Cartridges In The Cylinder. Then He Snapped It Shut And Stuck

It Into His Pocket.

 

"There's No Telling What We May Run Up Against Before We Get Back

To The Laboratory," He Remarked And We Rode Down To Meet Mcbride.

 

The Description Which The House Man Had Sent Out To The Other

Hotel Detectives The Night Before Had Already Produced A Result.

Within The Past Two Days A Man Answering The Description Of The

Younger Man Whom Mcbride Had Seen In The Cafe And A Woman Who

Might Very Possibly Have Been Madame's Maid Had Come To The St.

Cenis As M. And Mme. Duval. Their Baggage Was Light,  But They Had

Been At Pains To Impress Upon The Hotel That They Were Persons Of

Some Position And That It Was Going Direct From The Railroad To

The Steamer,  After Their Tour Of America. They Had,  As A Matter Of

Fact,  Done Nothing To Excite Suspicion Until The General Request

For Information Had Been Received.

 

The House Man Of The St. Cenis Welcomed Us Cordially Upon

Mcbride's Introduction And Agreed To Take Us Up To The Rooms Of

The Strange Couple If They Were Not In. As It Happened It Was The

Lunch Hour And They Were Not In The Room. Still,  Kennedy Dared Not

Be Too Particular In His Search Of Their Effects,  For He Did Not

Wish To Arouse Suspicion Upon Their Return,  At Least Not Yet.

 

Part 3 Chapter 9 (The Unofficial Spy) Pg 107

It Seems To Me,  Craig," I Suggested After We Had Nosed About For

A Few Minutes,  Finding Nothing,  "That This Is Pre-Eminently A Case

In Which To Use The Dictograph As You Did In That Black Hand

Case."

 

He Shook His Head Doubtfully,  Although I Could See That The Idea

Appealed To Him. "The Dictograph Has Been Getting Too Much

Publicity Lately," He Said. "I'm Afraid They Would Discover It,

That Is,  If They Are At All The Clever People I Think Them.

Besides,  I Would Have To Send Up To The Laboratory To Get One And

By The Time The Messenger Returned They Might Be Back From Lunch.

No,  We've Got To