The Middle Temple Murder J. S. Fletcher (the reading strategies book .txt) đ
- Author: J. S. Fletcher
Book online «The Middle Temple Murder J. S. Fletcher (the reading strategies book .txt) đ». Author J. S. Fletcher
âThatâs one for you, Spargo!â he said. âThat surprises youâ âthat makes you think. Now what do you think?â âif one may ask.â
âI think,â said Spargo, âthat you are either a consummate liar, or that this mystery is bigger than before.â
âI can lie when itâs necessary,â retorted Myerst. âJust now it isnât necessary. Iâm telling you the plain truth: thereâs no reason why I shouldnât. As Iâve said before, although you two young bullies have tied me up in this fashion, you canât do anything against me. Iâve a power of attorney from those two old men in there, and thatâs enough to satisfy anybody as to my possession of their cheques and securities. Iâve the whip hand of you, my sons, in all ways. And thatâs why Iâm telling you the truthâ âto amuse myself during this period of waiting. The plain truth, my sons!â
âIn pursuance of which,â observed Breton, drily, âI think you mentioned that you were the first person to find my father lying dead?â
âI was. That isâ âas far as I can gather. Iâll tell you all about it. As I said, I live over Cardlestone. That night I came home very lateâ âit was well past one oâclock. There was nobody aboutâ âas a matter of fact, no one has residential chambers in that building but Cardlestone and myself. I found the body of a man lying in the entry. I struck a match and immediately recognized my visitor of the afternoonâ âJohn Marbury. Now, although I was so late in going home, I was as sober as a man can be, and I think pretty quickly at all times. I thought at double extra speed just then. And the first thing I did was to strip the body of every article it had on itâ âmoney, papers, everything. All these things are safely locked upâ âtheyâve never been tracked. Next day, using my facilities as secretary to the Safe Deposit Company, I secured the things in that box. Then I found out who the dead man really was. And then I deliberately set to work to throw dust in the eyes of the police and of the newspapers, and particularly in the eyes of young Master Spargo there. I had an object.â
âWhat?â asked Breton.
âWhat! Knowing all I did, I firmly believed that Marbury, or, rather, Maitland, had been murdered by either Cardlestone or Elphick. I put it to myself in this way, and my opinion was strengthened as you, Spargo, inserted news in your paperâ âMaitland, finding himself in the vicinity of Cardlestone after leaving Aylmoreâs rooms that night, turned into our building, perhaps just to see where Cardlestone lived. He met Cardlestone accidentally, or he perhaps met Cardlestone and Elphick togetherâ âthey recognized each other. Maitland probably threatened to expose Cardlestone, or, rather, Chamberlayneâ ânobody, of course, could know what happened, but my theory was that Chamberlayne killed him. There, at any rate, was the fact that Maitland was found murdered at Chamberlayneâs very threshold. And, in the course of a few days, I proved, to my own positive satisfaction, by getting access to Chamberlayneâs rooms in his absence that Maitland had been there, had been in those rooms. For I found there, in Chamberlayneâs desk, the rare Australian stamps of which Criedir told at the inquest. That was proof positive.â
Spargo looked at Breton. They knew what Myerst did not knowâ âthat the stamps of which he spoke were lying in Spargoâs breast pocket, where they had lain since he had picked them up from the litter and confusion of Chamberlayneâs floor.
âWhy,â asked Breton, after a pause, âwhy did you never accuse Cardlestone, or Chamberlayne, of the murder?â
âI did! I have accused him a score of timesâ âand Elphick, too,â replied Myerst with emphasis. âNot at first, mind youâ âI never let Chamberlayne know that I ever suspected him for some time. I had my own game to play. But at lastâ ânot so many days agoâ âI did. I accused them both. Thatâs how I got the whip hand of them. They began to be afraidâ âby that time Elphick had got to know all about Cardlestoneâs past as Chamberlayne. And as I tell you, Elphickâs fond of Cardlestone. Itâs queer, but he is. Heâ âwants to shield him.â
âWhat did they say when you accused them?â asked Breton. âLetâs keep to that pointâ ânever mind their feelings for one another.â
âJust so, but that feelingâs a lot more to do with this mystery than you think, my young friend,â said Myerst. âWhat did they say, you ask? Why, they strenuously denied it, Cardlestone swore solemnly to me that he had no part or lot in the murder of Maitland. So did Elphick. Butâ âthey know something about the murder. If those two old men canât tell you definitely who actually struck John Maitland down, Iâm certain that they have a very clear idea in their minds as to who really did! Theyâ ââ
A sudden sharp cry from the inner room interrupted Myerst. Breton and Spargo started to their feet and made for the door. But before they could reach it Elphick came out, white and shaking.
âHeâs gone!â he exclaimed in quavering accents. âMy old friendâs goneâ âheâs dead! I wasâ âasleep. I woke suddenly and looked at him. Heâ ââ
Spargo forced the old man into a chair and gave him some whisky; Breton passed quickly into the inner room; only to come back shaking his head.
âHeâs dead,â he said. âHe evidently died in his sleep.â
âThen his secretâs gone with him,â remarked Myerst, calmly. âAnd now we shall never know if he did kill John Maitland or if he didnât. So thatâs done with!â
Old Elphick suddenly sat up in his chair, pushing Spargo fiercely away from his side.
âHe didnât kill John Maitland!â he cried angrily, attempting
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