The Master Detective.
by Percy James Brebner.
CHAPTER I
THE STRANGE CASE OF SIR GRENVILLE RUSHOLM
Sir Grenville Rusholm, Baronet, was dead. The blinds were down at the Lodge, Queen"s Square. For the last few days lengthy obituary notices had appeared in all the papers, innumerable wreaths and crosses had arrived at the house, and letters of sympathy and condolence had poured in upon Lady Rusholm. The dead man had filled a considerable s.p.a.ce in the social world, although politically he had counted for little. Politics were not his metier, he had said. He had consistently refused to stand for parliament, his wealth had supported neither party, and perhaps his social success was due more to his wife"s charm than to his own importance.
To-day the funeral was to take place. By his own desire his body was not being taken to Moorlands, the family seat in Gloucestershire, but was to be buried at Woking. The family chapel did not appeal to him. Indeed, he had never spent much of his time at Moorlands, preferring his yacht or the Continent when he was not at Queen"s Square.
Last night the coffin had been brought downstairs and placed in the large drawing-room, the scene of many a brilliant function, although by day it was a somewhat dreary apartment. The presence of the coffin there added to the depression, and the scent of the flowers was almost overpowering.
Many of the mourners were going direct to Woking, but there was a large number of guests at the house who were received by the young baronet.
Naturally, Sir Arthur was of a sunny disposition, and his personality and expectations had made him a favorite in society since he had left Cambridge a year ago. To-day his face was more than grave. It was drawn as if he were in physical pain, and it was evident how keenly he felt his father"s death. Lady Rusholm did not appear until the undertakers entered the house. She came down the wide stairs, a pathetic figure in her deep mourning, heavier than present-day fashion has made customary. She spoke to no one, but went straight to the drawing-room and, standing just inside the doorway, watched the men whose business is with death, as if she feared some indignity might be offered to her dear one. In a few moments her husband must pa.s.s out of that room for ever, and it was hardly wonderful if she visualized for an instant the many occasions on which he had been a central figure there.
The bearers stooped to lift the coffin from the trestles on to their shoulders, then they straightened themselves under their burden, but they did not move, at least only to start slightly, while their faces changed from gravity to horror. Lady Rusholm uttered a short cry, and there was consternation in the faces of the guests in the hall. There could be no mistake; the sound, though dull and m.u.f.fled, was too loud for that. It was a knock from inside the coffin.
The man in charge whispered to the bearers. No, none of them had inadvertently caused the sound. The coffin was replaced on the trestles, and for a moment there was silence. No one moved; every one was waiting for that knock again. It did not come.
The chief man stood looking at the coffin, then at the carpet, and, after some hesitation, he crossed the room to Sir Arthur, who stood in the doorway beside his mother.
"Was--was anything put into the coffin?" he whispered. "Something which Sir Grenville wished buried with him, something which may have slipped?"
"No."
"I think--I think the coffin should be opened," whispered Dr. Coles, the family physician.
"But he is dead! You know he is dead, doctor!"
"A trance--sometimes a mistake may happen, Sir Arthur. It was a distinct knock. The coffin should certainly be opened."
"And quickly--quickly!"
It was Lady Rusholm who spoke, in a strained and unnatural voice.
Sir Arthur tried to persuade his mother to leave the room while this was done, but she would not go. With a great effort she calmed herself and remained with her son, the doctor, and two or three guests while the coffin was unscrewed. The lid was lifted off, and for a moment no one spoke.
"Empty!" the doctor cried.
As he spoke Lady Rusholm swayed backwards, and would have fallen had not her son caught her.
There were two ma.s.ses of lead in the coffin. There was no body.
Sir Arthur Rusholm immediately communicated with Scotland Yard, and the utter confusion which followed this gruesome discovery had only partially subsided when I, Murray Wigan, entered the house to enquire into a mystery which was certainly amongst the most remarkable I have ever had to investigate.
Some of those invited to the funeral had left the house before I arrived, but the more personal friends were still there, and the story as I have set it down was corroborated by different people with a wealth of detail which seemed to leave nothing unsaid. Besides interviewing Sir Arthur and the doctor, I saw Lady Rusholm for a few moments. She was exceedingly agitated, as was natural, and I only asked her one or two questions of a quite unimportant nature, but I was glad to see her. I like to get into personal touch with the various people connected with my cases as soon as possible.
I was in the house two hours or more, questioning servants, examining doors and windows, and, to be candid, my investigations told me little.
When I left Queen"s Square I knew I had a complex affair to deal with, and it was natural my thoughts should fly to the one man who might help me. If I could only interest Christopher Quarles in the case!
I remember speaking casually of a well-known person once and being met with the question: Who is he? It may be that some of you have never heard of Christopher Quarles, professor of philosophy, and one of the most astute crime investigators of this or any other time. It has been my privilege to chronicle some of our adventures together, and his help has been of infinite benefit to me. Without it, not only should I have failed to elucidate some of those mysteries the solving of which have made me a power in the detective force, but I should never have seen his granddaughter, Zena, who is shortly to become my wife.
For some months past the professor had given me no a.s.sistance at all.
He would not be interested in my cases, and would not enter the empty room in his house in Chelsea where we had had so many discussions. It was a fad of his that he could think more clearly in this room, which had only three chairs and an old writing table in it, yet perhaps I ought not to call it a fad, remembering the results of some of our consultations there.
Months ago we had investigated a curious case in which jewels had been concealed in a wooden leg. The solution had brought us a considerable reward, and upon receiving the money Quarles had declared he would investigate no more crimes. He had kept his word, had locked up the empty room, and although I think I had sorely tempted him to break his vow on more than one occasion, I had never quite succeeded.
As I got into a taxi I considered how very seldom it is that the ruling pa.s.sion ever dies. The Queen"s Square mystery ought to shake Quarles"s resolution if anything could.
Zena was out when I got to Chelsea, but the professor seemed pleased to see me.
"Are you out of work, Wigan?" he asked, looking at the clock.
I did not want him to think I had come with any deliberate intention, so I answered casually:
"No. As a fact I am rather busy. I came out to Chelsea to think. Chelsea air is rather good for thinking, you know."
"It used to be," he answered. "I"m glad I have given up criminal hunting, Wigan."
"I still find excitement in it," I answered carelessly, "and really I think criminals have grown cleverer since your time."
He looked at me sharply. I thought the remark would pique his curiosity.
"That means you have had some failures lately."
"On the contrary, I have been remarkably successful."
"Glad to hear it," he returned. "What makes you say criminals are more clever then?"
"The Queen"s Square Mystery."
"I don"t read the papers as carefully as I did," he remarked.
"It only happened this morning," I answered. "I daresay you noticed that Sir Grenville Rusholm died the other day. Some one has stolen his body, that is all."
"Stolen his--"
"Yes, it is rather a curious case, but we won"t talk about it. I know that sort of thing doesn"t interest you now."
I talked of other things--anything and everything--but I noted that he was restless and uninterested.
"What did Sir Grenville die of?" he asked suddenly.
"A sudden and most unexpected collapse after influenza."
"And the body has been stolen?"