"I understand," Chris murmured. "And you kept the cigar-case?"
"Yes, I rather liked it. And I could afford a luxury of that kind just then."
"Then why did you dispose of it to Rutter"s in Moreton Wells? And why Moreton Wells?"
Rawlins laughed as he lighted a fresh cigarette.
"I came to Moreton Wells knowing that Henson was at Littimer Castle," he explained. "I went there to borrow 200 from Henson. Unfortunately I found him in great need of money. Somebody who had promised him a large sum of money had disappointed him."
Chris smiled. She had heard all about Lady Littimer"s adventure with the ring, and her stubborn refusal to give Henson any further supplies.
"Presently I can tell you who disappointed Henson," she said. "But fancy you being short of--"
"Of ready money; I frequently am. One of your great millionaires told me lately that he was frequently hard up for a thousand pounds cash. I have frequently been hard up for five pounds. Hence the fact that I sold the cigar-case at Moreton Wells."
"Well, the ground is clear so far," said Chris. "Do you know Van Sneck?"
"I know Van Sneck very well," Rawlins said, without hesitation. "A wonderfully clever man."
"And a great scoundrel, I presume?"
"Well, on the whole, I should say not. Weak, rather than wicked. Van Sneck has been a tool and creature of Henson"s for years. If he could only keep away from the drink he might make a fortune. But what has Van Sneck got to do with it?"
"A great deal," Chris said, drily. "And now, please, follow carefully what I am going to say. A little time ago we poor, persecuted women put our heads together to get free from Reginald Henson. We agreed to ask Mr.
David Steel, the well-known novelist, to show us a way of escape.
Unhappily for us, Henson got to know of it."
Rawlins was really interested at last.
"Pardon me," he said, eagerly, "if I ask a question or two before you proceed. Is Mr. David Steel the gentleman who found a man half murdered in his house in Brighton?"
"The same. But don"t you know who the injured man was?"
"You don"t mean to say it was Van Sneck?" Rawlins cried.
Chris nodded gravely. Rawlins looked like a man who was groping about in a sudden dazzle of blinding light.
"I begin to understand," he muttered. "The scoundrel!"
"After that I will resume," Chris said. "You must understand that Mr.
Steel was a stranger to us. We hit upon the idea of interviewing him anonymously, so to speak, and we were going to give him a gun-metal cigar-case mounted in diamonds. A friend of mine purchased that cigar-case at Lockhart"s. Mind you, Reginald Henson knew all about this.
The same day Henson"s tool, Van Sneck, purchased a similar case from Walen"s--a case really procured for your approval--and later on in the day the case pa.s.sed from Van Sneck to Henson, who dexterously changed the cases."
"Complex," Rawlins muttered. "But I begin to see what is coming."
"The cases were changed, and the one from Walen"s in due course became Mr. Steel"s. Now note where Henson"s diabolical cunning comes in. The same night Van Sneck is found half murdered in Mr. Steel"s house, and in his pocket is the receipt for the very cigar-case that Mr. Steel claimed as his own property."
"Very awkward for Steel," Rawlins said, thoughtfully.
"Of course it was. And why was it done? So that we should be forced to come forward and exonerate Mr. Steel from blame. We should have had to tell the whole story, and then Henson would have learnt what steps we were taking to get rid of him."
Rawlins was quiet for some time. Admiration for the scheme was uppermost in his mind, but there was another thought that caused him to glance curiously at Chris.
"And that is all you know?" he asked.
"Not quite," Chris replied. "I know that on the day of the attempted murder Van Sneck quarrelled with Reginald Henson, who he said had treated him badly. Van Sneck had in some way found out that Reginald Henson meant mischief to Mr. Steel. Also he couldn"t get the money he wanted. Probably he had purchased that cigar-case at Walen"s, and Henson could not repay him for the purchase of it. Then he went off and wrote to Mr. Steel, asking the latter to see him, as he had threatened Henson he would do."
"Ah!" Rawlins exclaimed, suddenly. "Are you sure of this?"
"Certain. I heard it from a man who was with Van Sneck at the time, a man called Merritt."
"James Merritt. Really, you have been in choice company, Miss Lee. Your knowledge of the criminal cla.s.ses is getting extensive and peculiar."
"Merritt told me this. And an answer came back."
"An answer from Mr. Steel?"
"Purporting to be an answer from Mr. Steel. A very clever forgery, as a matter of fact. Of course that forgery was Henson"s work, because we know that Henson coolly ordered notepaper in Mr. Steel"s name. He forgot to pay the bill, and that is how the thing came out. Besides, the little wad of papers on which the forgery was written is in Mr. Steel"s hands. Now, what do you make of that?"
Rawlins turned the matter over thoughtfully in his mind.
"Did Henson know that Mr. Steel would be from home that night?" he asked.
"Of course. He probably also knew where our meeting with Mr. Steel was to take place."
"Then the matter is pretty obvious," said Rawlins. "Van Sneck, by some means or other, gets an inkling of what is going on. He wanted money from Henson, which he couldn"t get, Henson being very short lately, and then they quarrelled. Van Sneck was fool enough to threaten Henson with what he was going to do. Van Sneck"s note was dispatched by hand and intercepted by Henson with a reply. By the way, will you be good enough to give me the gist of the reply?"
"It was a short letter from Mr. Steel and signed with his initials, and saying in effect that he was at home every night and would see Van Sneck about twelve or some time like that. He was merely to knock quietly, as the household would be in bed, and Mr. Steel would let him in."
"And Mr. Steel never wrote that letter at all?"
"No; for the simple reason that he never had Van Sneck"s note."
"Which Henson intercepted, of course. Now, the mere fact of the reply coming on Mr. Steel"s paper is evidence that Henson had plotted some other or alternative scheme against Mr. Steel. How long before the cigar-case episode had you decided to consult the novelist?"
"We began to talk about it nine or ten days before."
"And Henson got to hear of it. Then a better idea occurred to Henson, and the first idea which necessitated getting hold of Mr. Steel"s notepaper was abandoned. Subsequently, as you have just told me, the note-paper came in useful after all. Henson knew that Steel would be out that night.
And, therefore, Van Sneck is deliberately lured to Steel"s house to be murdered there."
"I see," Chris said, faintly. "This had never occurred to me before.
Murdered, by whom?"
"By whom? Why, by Reginald Henson, of course."
Just for a moment Chris felt as if all the world was slipping away under her feet.
"But how could he do it?" she asked.