The Charing Cross Mystery - J. S. Fletcher (ereader with android .txt) š
- Author: J. S. Fletcher
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āAh!ā exclaimed Hetherwick. āWhat made you think that?ā
āFrom his conversationā āfrom the remarks he made about the bottle. He didnāt take it up; he said my client was too late and was wrongly informed into the bargain: there was such a thing, and a superior one, already on the market. He went away then, and, as I say, I never heard his name, and Iāve never seen him since.ā
āThatās the man we want!ā said Hetherwick. āIf Matherfield can only lay hands on him! But we shall know more by midnight.ā
Outside, he turned to Lord Morradale with a shake of the head.
āWeāre no nearer to any knowledge of where the two women are!ā he exclaimed.
āOh, I donāt know!ā responded Lord Morradale. āI think we are, you know. You see, if Matherfield nabs those chaps, or even one of them, he or they will see that the gameās up, and will give in and say where their captives are. Odd business, Hetherwick, that people can be kidnapped and imprisoned in broad daylight in London!ā
āI donāt think anythingās impossible or oddā āin London,ā answered Hetherwick dryly. āIf one had only the least idea as to which quarter of the town that car was driven, one might be doing something!ā
āLots of subsections in every quarter, and subsections again in each of those,ā replied Lord Morradale with equal dryness. āTake some time to comb out this town! No! I think we must trust to Matherfield. Nothing else to trust to, in fact.ā
But Hetherwick suddenly thought of Mapperley. He began to wonder what the clerk was after, what his notion had been. Then he remembered Mapperleyās admonition to look out for a message about that time, and excusing himself from Lord Morradale, he jumped on a bus and went along to the Temple. There, in the letter-box, he found a telegram:
Meet me Victoria three oāclock.
Mapperley.
Hetherwick set off for Victoria there and then. But it was only a quarter-past two when he got there, and as he had had no lunch, he turned into the restaurant. There, when he was halfway through a chop, Mapperley found him, and slipped into a chair close by before Hetherwick noticed his presence.
āThought I might find you in here, sir,ā said Mapperley. They were alone in a quiet corner, but the clerk lowered his voice to a whisper. āWell,ā he continued, bending across the table, āIāve done a bit, anyhow.ā
āIn what way?ā asked Hetherwick.
Mapperley produced from his breast pocket some papers, and from amongst them selected an envelopeā āthe azure-tinted envelope which he had picked up from the caretakerās supper table at St. Maryās Mansions.
āYou recognise this?ā he said, with a sly smile. āYou know where I got it. This is the envelope which Baseverie took to the caretaker, with the order to enter Madame Listorelleās flat. You knew that I carried it off, from under the manās nose, last night. But you didnāt know why. I only laughed when you asked me.ā
āWell, why, then?ā inquired Hetherwick.
āThis reason,ā replied Mapperley. āWe both noticed that the sheet of paper on which the order had been written by Madame had been shortenedā āthere was no doubt that a printed or embossed address had been trimmed off, rather roughly, too. We noticed that, I say, both of us. But I donāt think you noticed something far more importantā āfar, far more importantā āfor our purposes.ā
āNo,ā admitted Hetherwick. āI didnāt. What?ā
āThis,ā said Mapperley, turning back the broken flap of the envelope. āYou didnāt notice that here, on the envelope, is the name and address of the stationer who supplied this stuff! There you areā āW. H. Calkin, 85, Broadway, Westminster. You never saw that, Mr. Hetherwick. But I did!ā
Hetherwick began to comprehend. He smiledā āgratefully.
āSmart of you, Mapperley!ā he exclaimed. āI see! Andā āyouāve been there?ā
āIāve been there,ā answered Mapperley. āI saw a chance of tracking these men down. I couldnāt get hold of Calkin till nearly noon, but I got on like a house afire when I did get him. You see,ā he went on, āthat paper is, to start with, of an unusual tint, in colour. Secondly, itās of very superior quality, though very thinā āintended chiefly for foreign correspondence. Thirdly, itās expensive. Now, I felt certain its use would be limited, and what I wanted to find out from the stationer wasā āto whom heād supplied it. That was easy. He recognised the paper and envelope at once. Of the handwriting on the paper, he knew nothing whateverā āMadameās writing, you knowā āthat heād never seen before. But he said at once that heād only supplied that particular make of paper and envelopes to three people, and for each person heād prepared a die, to emboss the addresses. The embossing had been done at his shop, and he showed me specimens of each. One was for the Dowager Lady Markentree, 120, Grosvenor Gardens. That was
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