The directness of the question took James aback. After the fraction of a second"s hesitation he spoke. "If I did I wouldn"t be going to lunch with you."
Jack cut in. Excitement had banished his usual almost insolent indolence. His dark eyes burned with a consuming fire. "Let"s put our cards on the table. We think you"re the man the police are looking for--the one described in the papers."
"What makes you think that?"
"You told us you were going to see him as soon as he got back from the Springs. The description fits you to a T. You can"t get away with an alibi so far as I"m concerned."
"All right," said the rough rider, his low, even voice unruffled by excitement. "If I can"t, I can"t. We"ll say I"m the man who came down the fire escape. What then?"
James was watching his cousin steadily. The pupils of his eyes narrowed. He took the answer out of his brother"s mouth. "Then we think you probably know something about this mystery that you"ll want to tell us. You must have been on the spot very soon after the murderer escaped. Perhaps you saw him."
Kirby told the story of his night"s adventure, omitting any reference whatever to Wild Rose or to anybody else in the apartment when he entered.
After he had finished, James made his comment. "You"ve been very frank, Kirby. I accept your story. A guilty man would have denied being in the apartment, or he would have left town and disappeared."
The range rider smiled sardonically. "I"m not so sure of that. You"ve got the goods on me. I can"t deny I"m the man the police are lookin"
for. Mrs. Hull would identify me. So would this reporter Ellis. All you would have to do would be to hand my name to the nearest officer.
An" I can"t run away without confessin" guilt. Even if I had killed Uncle James, I couldn"t do much else except tell some story like the one I"ve told you."
"It wouldn"t go far in a court-room," Jack said.
"Not far," admitted Kirby. "By the way, you haven"t expressed an opinion, Jack. Do you think I shot Uncle James?"
Jack looked at him, almost sullenly, and looked away. He poked at the corner of the desk with the ferrule of his cane. "I don"t know who shot him. You had quarreled with him, and you went to have another row with him. A cop told me that some one who knew how to tie ropes fastened the knots around his arms and throat. You beat it from the room by the fire escape. A jury would hang you high as Haman on that evidence. d.a.m.n it, there"s a bad bruise on your chin wasn"t there when we saw you yesterday. For all I know he may have done it before you put him out."
"I struck against a corner in the darkness," Kirby said.
"That"s what _you_ say. You"ve got to explain it somehow. I think your story"s fishy, if you ask me."
"Then you"d better call up the police," suggested Lane.
"I didn"t say I was going to call the cops," retorted Jack sulkily.
James looked at his cousin. Kirby Lane was strong. You could not deny his strength, audacious yet patient. He was a forty-horsepower man with the smile of a boy. Moreover, his face was a certificate of manhood. It was a recommendation more effective than words.
"I think you"re wrong, Jack," the older brother said. "Kirby had no more to do with this than I had."
"Thanks," Kirby nodded.
"Let"s investigate this man Hull. What Kirby says fits in with what you saw a couple of evenings ago, Jack. I"m a.s.suming he"s the same man Uncle flung downstairs. Uncle told you he was a black-mailer.
_There"s_ one lead. Let"s follow it."
Reluctantly Kirby broached one angle of the subject that must be faced.
"What about this girl in Uncle"s office--the one in trouble? Are we goin" to bring her into this?"
There was a moment"s silence. Jack"s black eyes slid from Lane to his brother. It struck Kirby that he was waiting tensely for the decision of James, though the reason for his anxiety was not apparent.
James gave the matter consideration, then spoke judicially. "Better leave her out of it. No need to smirch Uncle"s reputation unless it"s absolutely necessary. We don"t want the newspapers gloating over any more scandals than they need."
The cattleman breathed freer. He had an odd feeling that Jack, too, was relieved. Had the young man, after all, a warmer feeling for his dead uncle"s reputation than he had given him credit for?
As the three cousins stepped out of the Equitable Building to Stout Street a newsboy was calling an extra.
"A-l-l "bout Cunn"n"ham myst"ry. Huxtry! Huxtry!"
Kirby bought a paper. A streamer headline in red flashed at him.
HORIKAWA; VALET OF CUNNINGHAM, DISAPPEARS
The lead of the story below was to the effect that Cunningham had drawn two thousand dollars in large bills from the bank the day of his death.
Horikawa could not be found, and the police had a theory that he had killed and robbed his master for this money.
CHAPTER XI
THE CORONER"S INQUEST
If Kirby had been playing his own hand only he would have gone to the police and told them he was the man who had been seen leaving the Paradox Apartments by the fire escape. But he could not do this without running the risk of implicating Wild Rose. Awkward questions would be fired at him that he could not answer. He decided not to run away from arrest, but not to surrender himself. If the police rounded him up, he could not help it; if they did not, so much the better.
He made two more attempts to see Wild Rose during the day, but he could not find her at home. When he at last did see her it was at the inquest, where he had gone to learn all that he could of the circ.u.mstances surrounding the murder.
There was a risk in attending. He recognized that. But he was moved by an imperative urge to find out all that was possible of the affair.
The force that drove him was the need in his heart to exonerate his friend. Though he recognized the weight of evidence against her, he could not believe her guilty. Under tremendous provocation it might be in character for her to have shot his uncle in self-defense or while in extreme anger. But all his knowledge of her cried out that she could never have chloroformed him, tied him up, then taken his life while he was helpless. She was too fine and loyal to her code, too good a sportsman, far too tender-hearted, for such a thing.
Yet the evidence a.s.saulted this conviction of his soul. If the Wild Rose in the dingy court-room had been his friend of the outdoor s.p.a.ces, he would have rejected as absurd the possibility that she had killed his uncle. But his heart sank when he looked at this wan-faced woman who came late and slipped inconspicuously into a back seat, whose eyes avoided his, who was so plainly keyed up to a tremendously high pitch.
She was dressed in a dark-blue tailored serge and a black sailor hat, beneath the rim of which the shadows on her face were dark.
The room was jammed with people. Every aisle was packed and hundreds were turned away. In the audience was a scattering of fashionably dressed women, for it was possible the inquest might develop a sensation.
The coroner was a short, fat, little man with a highly developed sense of his importance. It was his hour, and he made the most of it. His methods were his own. The young a.s.sistant district attorney lounging by the table played second fiddle.
The first witnesses developed the movements of Cunningham during the evening of the twenty-third. He had dined at the City Club, and had left there after dinner to go to his apartment. To a club member dining with him he had mentioned an appointment at his rooms with a lady.
A rustling wave of excitement swept the benches. Those who had come to seek sensations had found their first thrill. Kirby drew in his breath sharply. He leaned forward, not to miss a word.
"Did he mention the name of the lady, Mr. Blanton?" asked the coroner, washing the backs of his hands with the palms.
"No."
"Or his business with her?"
"No. But he seemed to be annoyed." Mr. Blanton also seemed to be annoyed. He had considered not mentioning this appointment, but his conscience would not let him hide it. None the less he resented the need of giving the public more scandal about a fellow club member who was dead. He added an explanation. "My feeling was that it was some business matter being forced on him. He had been at Colorado Springs during the day and probably had been unable to see the lady earlier."
"Did he say so?"
"No-o, not exactly."