The Charing Cross Mystery - J. S. Fletcher (ereader with android .txt) š
- Author: J. S. Fletcher
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āThereās something in that, Matherfield,ā admitted Hetherwick. āYesā ādecidedly something.ā
āThere may be a good deal,ā affirmed Matherfield. āYou see, weāve let those newspaper chaps have a lot of information. Iām a believer in making use of the Press; itās a valuable aid sometimes, perhaps generally, but there are other times when you can do too much of it: itās a sort of giving valuable aid to the enemy. I donāt know whether we havenāt let those reporters know too much in this case. Weāve let āem know, for instance, about the portrait found in Hannafordās pocketbook, and about the sealed packet in which, we believe, was the secret of his patent: all thatās been in the papers, though, to be sure, they didnāt make much copy out of it. Still, there was enough for anybody who followed the case closely. Now, supposing that Baseverie was Mrs. Whittinghamās accomplice ten years ago, and that heād read all this and seen the reproduction of the portrait, wouldnāt he see that she was in some danger and warn her? I think it likely, and I wish we hadnāt been quite so free with our news for those paper chaps. Iām glad, anyhow, that thereās one thing I havenāt told āem ofā āthat medicine bottle found at Granettās! Thereās nobody but me, you, and the medical men know of that, so far.ā
āYou think this womanā āLady Riversreade as she is, Mrs. Whittingham as she used to beā āwas making off to Southampton, and possibly farther, on a hint from Baseverie?ā said Hetherwick ruminatively.
āPut it this way,ā replied Matherfield. āOf course, youāve got to assume a lot, but we canāt do without assuming things in this business. Lady Riversreade was formerly Mrs. Whittingham. Mrs. Whittingham did a clever bit of fraud at Sellithwaite, and got away with the swag. Baseverie was her accomplice. Now then, ten years later Mrs. Whittingham has become my Lady Riversreade, a very wealthy woman. Sheās suddenly visited by Baseverie at Riversreade Court, and is obviously upset by his first visit. He comes again. Three nights later sheās seen to come out of a club which he frequents. She spends most of the night in a flat in a quiet part of London, and next morning slopes off as early as five oāclock to a portā āSouthampton. What inference is to be drawn? That her visit to Southampton has certainly something to do with Baseverieās visits to her and her visit to Vivianās!ā
āI think thereās something in that, too,ā said Hetherwick, āButā āweāre on the way to Southampton. Go on!ā
āVery good train, that,ā continued Matherfield. āWe got to Southampton just before eightā āa minute or two late. I was wanting something to eat and drink by that time, and I was glad to see my lady turn into the refreshment-room as soon as she left her carriage. So did I. I knew sheād never suspect a quiet, ordinary man like me; if she deigned to give me a glanceā āsheās a very haughty-looking woman, I observedā āsheād only take me for a commercial traveller. And we were not so far off each other in that room; she sat at a little table, having some tea and so on: I was at the counter. Of course, I never showed that I was taking any notice of herā ābut I got in two or three good, comprehensive inspections. Very good-looking, no doubt of it, Mr. Hetherwickā āa woman thatās worn well! But of course youāve seen that for yourself.ā
āYou must remember that Iāve only seen her twice,ā remarked Hetherwick, with a laugh. āOnce at Victoria, when Miss Hannaford pointed her out; once night before last, when it was by a poorish gaslight. But Iāll take your word, Matherfield. Well, and what happened next?ā
āOh, she took her time over her tea and toast,ā continued Matherfield. āVery leisured in all her movements, I assure you. At last she moved offā āof course I followed, casually and carelessly. Now, as you may be aware, Southampton West, where the train set us down, is a bit out of the town, and I expected her to take a cab. But she didnāt; she walked away from the station. So did Iā ātwenty or thirty yards in the rear. She took her time; it seemed to me she was purposely loitering. It struck me at last whyā āshe was waiting until the business offices were open. I was right in that: as soon as the town clocks struck nine she quickened her pace and made a beeline for her objective. And what do you think that was?ā
āNo idea,ā said Hetherwick.
āWhite Star offices!ā answered Matherfield. āWent straight there, and walked straight in! Of course, I waited outside, where she wouldnāt see me when she came out again. She was in there about twenty minutes. When she came out she turned to another part of the town. And near that old gateway, or bar, or whatever it is that stands across the street, I lost herā āaltogether!ā
āSome exceptional reason, I should think, Matherfield,ā remarked Hetherwick. āHow was it?ā
āMy own stupid fault!ā growled Matherfield. āTook my eye off her in a particularly crowded partā āthe town was beginning to get very busy. I just happened to let my attention be divertedā āand she was gone! At first I made certain sheād gone into some shop. I looked into severalā ārisky as that wasā ābut I couldnāt find her. I hung about; no good. Then I came to the conclusion that sheād turned down one of the side streets or alleys or passagesā āthere were several about thereā āand got clean away. And after hanging around a bit, and going up one street and down anotherā āa poor job in our business at the best of times and all dependent on mere luck!ā āI decided to make a bold stroke and be sure of at any rate something.ā
āWhat? How?ā asked Hetherwick.
āI thought Iād find out what sheād gone to the White Star offices
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