The Charing Cross Mystery - J. S. Fletcher (ereader with android .txt) š
- Author: J. S. Fletcher
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āAnd, I suppose, in view of the evidence supplied by Macpherson, set up a search for Ambrose?ā suggested Hetherwick.
āTo be sure! Weāll get out a ātracked by the policeā notice, describing him to the best of our power,ā replied Matherfield. āBut Iāll tell youā āin my opinion itāll be a stiff job getting hold of him. If you want my opinion, as a private individual, heās probably got that secret invention of Hannafordās and gone off across the Atlantic with itā āto turn it into money.ā
āThatās very likely,ā assented Hetherwick. āBut what about Baseverie?ā
āIām not so much concerned about him now,ā said Matherfield. āAmbrose seems to be the man I wantā āfirst, anyway. But I shall do what I can to get hold of Baseverie. If these Penteney and Blenkinsop people had only come to us instead of laying plans of their own, some good would have been done. I shouldnāt have let the man got away!ā
āMy belief,ā observed Hetherwick, āis that Baseverie and Ambrose are partners in this affair. Andā āhow do we know that they didnāt meet at Dover, and that they havenāt gone off together?ā
Still wondering about this, Hetherwick next morning went round to Lincolnās Inn Fields and asked to see one of the partners. He was shown into the room in which he and Matherfield had had their interview on the previous day. But he found Major Penteney alone. Blenkinsop, remarked the junior partner, had business in the Courts that morning.
āI called,ā explained Hetherwick, āto ask if you had any more information about Baseverieās disappearance at Dover.ā
Penteney made a wry face.
āMore vexed than ever about that!ā he answered. āMost inexcusably stupid conduct on the part of our manā āman weāve always found so reliable previously. He came back yesterday afternoon, crestfallen, told us all about it, and got a jolly good wigging. Heād done well at first. Tracked his man from Riversreade Court to Dorking, and thence to Redhill, and thence to Dover, after one or two changes. Baseverie put up at some hotelā āI forget whichā ānear the harbour; our man, certain that Baseverie was quite unconscious that he was being followed, put up there, too. Nothing happened. He saw Baseverie at dinner that night, saw him in the smoking-room after; in fact, he had a game of billiards with him, and saw him retire to bed; their rooms were adjacent. He felt sure of seeing him at breakfast, but when he went down he found that the bird had flownā āflown, said the night porter, before six oāclock; he didnāt know where. Nor could our man trace him at station or pier, or anywhere.ā
āCareless sort of watching,ā said Hetherwick.
āWorse than careless!ā agreed Penteney. āAs I said, he caught it hot. But nowā āā
The telephone bell on Blenkinsopās desk rang. With a word of excuse Penteney turned to it. A moment later a smothered ejaculation of surprise came from him, followed by a sharp interrogation on his part. Suddenly he turned on Hetherwick.
āGood heavens!ā he exclaimed. āWhatās all this? This is Lady Riversreade speaking. She says her sister, who came yesterday, and Miss Featherstone have been kidnapped! Kidnappedā āthis morning!ā
Hetherwick leapt to his feet with a sharp exclamationā āhalf amazed, half incredulous. But already his thoughts were with Rhona; he saw the dangers of the situation for her as Penteney could not see them.
āImpossible!ā he said. āKidnapped! in broad daylight? Andā āfrom there?ā
But Penteney was still busy at the telephone, giving and receiving rapid answers.
āYes, yes!ā he was saying. āTo be sure!ā āpoliceā āyes! Iām coming straight there nowā ācarā ātell the police to get busy.ā
He turned sharply to Hetherwick as he laid down the instrument.
āFear thereās no impossibility about it!ā he said. āLady Riversreade says they were carried off as they crossed from the Court to the Homeā āsheās heard something of a big car with strange men in it. Iām going down there at onceā āthereās more in this affair than one sees at first.ā
āIāll come with you,ā said Hetherwick. āWhere can we get a carā āa fast one?ā
āGarage close by, in Kingsway,ā answered Penteney, hurriedly seizing on one of several greatcoats that hung in a recess. āHere!ā āget into one of theseā āyouāre about my height, and the airās still nippy, motoring. Now come onā āweāll be there in under the hour. You know,ā he continued, as they left the office and hastened towards Kingsway, āI think I see through something of this already, Hetherwick. These fellows probably believed they were kidnapping Lady Riversreade!ā āand got her sister in mistake for her. Ransom, you know! The blackmailing dodge failedā ānow theyāre trying this. A desperate and daredevil lot, evidently!ā
Hetherwick nodded a silent assent. He was wondering whether or not to tell Penteney that the Miss Featherstone of whom he had just spoken was in reality the granddaughter of the man whose mysterious murder appeared to be the starting-point of the more recent, equally mysterious events. That fact, it seemed to him, would have to come out sooner or laterā āand there might be possible complications, perhaps unpleasantness, when Lady Riversreade discovered that Rhona had gone to her as a spy. Might it not be well to take Penteney into his confidence and explain matters? But, on reflection, he decided to wait until they knew the exact situation at Riversreade Court; so far, in spite of Lady Riversreadeās news he felt it difficult to believe that two women, one of them, to his knowledge, a girl of character and resource, and the other a woman of the world, used to travelling and to adventure, could be carried off in broad daylight in immediate prospect of two large housesā āthe thing seemed impossible.
XIX The London RoadSome fifty minutes later, the big, powerful car, which Penteney had commissioned in Kingsway, dashed up to Riversreade Court. Hetherwick found that there had been no exaggeration in Lady Riversreadeās telephone message. She herself came hurrying out to meet them; there were men standing about the terrace outside and others visible in the park; a couple of uniformed policemen followed Lady
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