The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie (top e book reader .TXT) đ
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- Author: Agatha Christie
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In the moment of victory, Tuppence betrayed a somewhat unsportsmanlike triumph.
âNow whoâs on top and whoâs underneath?â she crowed.
The otherâs face was convulsed with rage. For a minute Tuppence thought she was going to spring upon her, which would have placed the girl in an unpleasant dilemma, since she meant to draw the line at actually letting off the revolver. However, with an effort Mrs. Vandemeyer controlled herself, and at last a slow evil smile crept over her face.
âNot a fool, then, after all! You did that well, girl. But you shall pay for itâoh, yes, you shall pay for it! I have a long memory!â
âIâm surprised you should have been gulled so easily,â said Tuppence scornfully. âDid you really think I was the kind of girl to roll about on the floor and whine for mercy?â
âYou may doâsome day!â said the other significantly.
The cold malignity of her manner sent an unpleasant chill down Tuppenceâs spine, but she was not going to give in to it.
âSupposing we sit down,â she said pleasantly. âOur present attitude is a little melodramatic. Noânot on the bed. Draw a chair up to the table, thatâs right. Now Iâll sit opposite you with the revolver in front of meâjust in case of accidents. Splendid. Now, letâs talk.â
âWhat about?â said Mrs. Vandemeyer sullenly.
Tuppence eyed her thoughtfully for a minute. She was remembering several things. Borisâs words, âI believe you would sellâ us!â and her answer, âThe price would have to be enormous,â given lightly, it was true, yet might not there be a substratum of truth in it? Long ago, had not Whittington asked: âWhoâs been blabbing? Rita?â Would Rita Vandemeyer prove to be the weak spot in the armour of Mr. Brown?
Keeping her eyes fixed steadily on the otherâs face, Tuppence replied quietly:
âMoneyâââ
Mrs. Vandemeyer started. Clearly, the reply was unexpected.
âWhat do you mean?â
âIâll tell you. You said just now that you had a long memory. A long memory isnât half as useful as a long purse! I dare say it relieves your feelings a good deal to plan out all sorts of dreadful things to do to me, but is that practical? Revenge is very unsatisfactory. Every one always says so. But moneyââTuppence warmed to her pet creedââwell, thereâs nothing unsatisfactory about money, is there?â
âDo you think,â said Mrs. Vandemeyer scornfully, âthat I am the kind of woman to sell my friends?â
âYes,â said Tuppence promptly. âIf the price was big enough.â
âA paltry hundred pounds or so!â
âNo,â said Tuppence. âI should suggestâa hundred thousand!â
Her economical spirit did not permit her to mention the whole million dollars suggested by Julius.
A flush crept over Mrs. Vandemeyerâs face.
âWhat did you say?â she asked, her fingers playing nervously with a brooch on her breast. In that moment Tuppence knew that the fish was hooked, and for the first time she felt a horror of her own money-loving spirit. It gave her a dreadful sense of kinship to the woman fronting her.
âA hundred thousand pounds,â repeated Tuppence.
The light died out of Mrs. Vandemeyerâs eyes. She leaned back in her chair.
âBah!â she said. âYou havenât got it.â
âNo,â admitted Tuppence, âI havenâtâbut I know some one who has.â
âWho?â
âA friend of mine.â
âMust be a millionaire,â remarked Mrs. Vandemeyer unbelievingly.
âAs a matter of fact he is. Heâs an American. Heâll pay you that without a murmur. You can take it from me that itâs a perfectly genuine proposition.â
Mrs. Vandemeyer sat up again.
âIâm inclined to believe you,â she said slowly.
There was silence between them for some time, then Mrs. Vandemeyer looked up.
âWhat does he want to know, this friend of yours?â
Tuppence went through a momentary struggle, but it was Juliusâs money, and his interests must come first.
âHe wants to know where Jane Finn is,â she said boldly.
Mrs. Vandemeyer showed no surprise.
âIâm not sure where she is at the present moment,â she replied.
âBut you could find out?â
âOh, yes,â returned Mrs. Vandemeyer carelessly. âThere would be no difficulty about that.â
âThenââTuppenceâs voice shook a littleââthereâs a boy, a friend of mine. Iâm afraid somethingâs happened to him, through your pal Boris.â
âWhatâs his name?â
âTommy Beresford.â
âNever heard of him. But Iâll ask Boris. Heâll tell me anything he knows.â
âThank you.â Tuppence felt a terrific rise in her spirits. It impelled her to more audacious efforts. âThereâs one thing more.â
âWell?â
Tuppence leaned forward and lowered her voice.
âWho is Mr. Brown?â
Her quick eyes saw the sudden paling of the beautiful face. With an effort Mrs. Vandemeyer pulled herself together and tried to resume her former manner. But the attempt was a mere parody.
She shrugged her shoulders.
âYou canât have learnt much about us if you donât know that nobody knows who Mr. Brown is....â
âYou do,â said Tuppence quietly.
Again the colour deserted the otherâs face.
âWhat makes you think that?â
âI donât know,â said the girl truthfully. âBut Iâm sure.â
Mrs. Vandemeyer stared in front of her for a long time.
âYes,â she said hoarsely, at last, âI know. I was beautiful, you seeâvery beautifulâââ
âYou are still,â said Tuppence with admiration.
Mrs. Vandemeyer shook her head. There was a strange gleam in her electric-blue eyes.
âNot beautiful enough,â she said in a soft dangerous voice. âNotâbeautifulâenough! And sometimes, lately, Iâve been afraid.... Itâs dangerous to know too much!â She leaned forward across the table. âSwear that my name shanât be brought into itâthat no one shall ever know.â
âI swear it. And, onceâs he caught, youâll be out of danger.â
A terrified look swept across Mrs. Vandemeyerâs face.
âShall I? Shall I ever be?â She clutched Tuppenceâs arm. âYouâre sure about the money?â
âQuite sure.â
âWhen shall I have it? There must be no delay.â
âThis friend of mine will be here presently. He may have to send cables, or something like that. But there wonât be any delayâheâs a terrific hustler.â
A resolute look settled on Mrs. Vandemeyerâs face.
âIâll do it. Itâs a great sum of money, and besidesââshe gave a curious smileââit is notâwise to throw over a woman like me!â
For a moment or two, she remained smiling, and lightly tapping her fingers on the table. Suddenly she started, and her face blanched.
âWhat was that?â
âI heard nothing.â
Mrs. Vandemeyer gazed round her fearfully.
âIf there should be some one listeningâââ
âNonsense. Who could there be?â
âEven the walls might have ears,â whispered the other. âI tell you Iâm frightened. You donât know him!â
âThink of the hundred thousand pounds,â said Tuppence soothingly.
Mrs. Vandemeyer passed her tongue over her dried lips.
âYou donât know him,â she reiterated hoarsely. âHeâsâah!â
With a shriek of terror she sprang to her feet. Her outstretched hand pointed over Tuppenceâs head. Then she swayed to the ground in a dead faint.
Tuppence looked round to see what had startled her.
In the doorway were Sir James Peel Edgerton and Julius Hersheimmer.
CHAPTER XIII. THE VIGIL
SIR James brushed past Julius and hurriedly bent over the fallen woman.
âHeart,â he said sharply. âSeeing us so suddenly must have given her a shock. Brandyâand quickly, or sheâll slip through our fingers.â
Julius hurried to the washstand.
âNot there,â said Tuppence over her shoulder. âIn the tantalus in the dining-room. Second door down the passage.â
Between them Sir James and Tuppence lifted Mrs. Vandemeyer and carried her to the bed. There they dashed water on her face, but with no result. The lawyer fingered her pulse.
âTouch and go,â he muttered. âI wish that young fellow would hurry up with the brandy.â
At that moment Julius re-entered the room, carrying a glass half full of the spirit which he handed to Sir James. While Tuppence lifted her head the lawyer tried to force a little of the spirit between her closed lips. Finally the woman opened her eyes feebly. Tuppence held the glass to her lips.
âDrink this.â
Mrs. Vandemeyer complied. The brandy brought the colour back to her white cheeks, and revived her in a marvellous fashion. She tried to sit upâthen fell back with a groan, her hand to her side.
âItâs my heart,â she whispered. âI mustnât talk.â
She lay back with closed eyes.
Sir James kept his finger on her wrist a minute longer, then withdrew it with a nod.
âSheâll do now.â
All three moved away, and stood together talking in low voices. One and all were conscious of a certain feeling of anticlimax. Clearly any scheme for cross-questioning the lady was out of the question for the moment. For the time being they were baffled, and could do nothing.
Tuppence related how Mrs. Vandemeyer had declared herself willing to disclose the identity of Mr. Brown, and how she had consented to discover and reveal to them the whereabouts of Jane Finn. Julius was congratulatory.
âThatâs all right, Miss Tuppence. Splendid! I guess that hundred thousand pounds will look just as good in the morning to the lady as it did over night. Thereâs nothing to worry over. She wonât speak without the cash anyway, you bet!â
There was certainly a good deal of common sense in this, and Tuppence felt a little comforted.
âWhat you say is true,â said Sir James meditatively. âI must confess, however, that I cannot help wishing we had not interrupted at the minute we did. Still, it cannot be helped, it is only a matter of waiting until the morning.â
He looked across at the inert figure on the bed. Mrs. Vandemeyer lay perfectly passive with closed eyes. He shook his head.
âWell,â said Tuppence, with an attempt at cheerfulness, âwe must wait until the morning, thatâs all. But I donât think we ought to leave the flat.â
âWhat about leaving that bright boy of yours on guard?â
âAlbert? And suppose she came round again and hooked it. Albert couldnât stop her.â
âI guess she wonât want to make tracks away from the dollars.â
âShe might. She seemed very frightened of âMr. Brown.ââ
âWhat? Real plumb scared of him?â
âYes. She looked round and said even walls had ears.â
âMaybe she meant a dictaphone,â said Julius with interest.
âMiss Tuppence is right,â said Sir James quietly. âWe must not leave the flatâif only for Mrs. Vandemeyerâs sake.â
Julius stared at him.
âYou think heâd get after her? Between now and to-morrow morning. How could he know, even?â
âYou forget your own suggestion of a dictaphone,â said Sir James dryly. âWe have a very formidable adversary. I believe, if we exercise all due care, that there is a very good chance of his being delivered into our hands. But we must neglect no precaution. We have an important witness, but she must be safeguarded. I would suggest that Miss Tuppence should go to bed, and that you and I, Mr. Hersheimmer, should share the vigil.â
Tuppence was about to protest, but happening to glance at the bed she saw Mrs. Vandemeyer, her eyes half-open, with such an expression of mingled fear and malevolence on her face that it quite froze the words on her lips.
For a moment she wondered whether the faint and the heart attack had been a gigantic sham, but remembering the deadly pallor she could hardly credit the supposition. As she looked the expression disappeared as by magic, and Mrs. Vandemeyer lay inert and motionless as before. For a moment the girl fancied she must have dreamt it. But she determined nevertheless to be on the alert.
âWell,â said Julius, âI guess weâd better make a move out of here any way.â
The others fell in with his suggestion. Sir James again felt Mrs. Vandemeyerâs pulse.
âPerfectly satisfactory,â he said in a low voice to Tuppence. âSheâll be absolutely all right after a nightâs rest.â
The girl hesitated a moment by the bed. The intensity of the expression she had surprised had impressed her powerfully. Mrs. Vandemeyer lifted her lids. She seemed to be struggling to speak. Tuppence bent over her.
âDonâtâleaveâââ she seemed unable to proceed, murmuring something that sounded like âsleepy.â Then she tried again.
Tuppence bent lower still. It was only
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