Secret of Chimneys - Agatha Christie [77]
On the way back, he passed Anthony on the road and stopped. ‘Going to give me a lift back to the house?’ asked Anthony. ‘That’s good.’
‘Where have you been, Mr Cade?’
‘Down to the station to inquire about trains.’
Battle raised his eyebrows.
‘Thinking of leaving us again?’ he inquired.
‘Not just at present,’ laughed Anthony. ‘By the way, what’s upset Isaacstein? He arrived in the car just as I left, and he looked as though something had given him a nasty jolt.’
‘Mr Isaacstein?’
‘Yes.’
‘I can’t say, I’m sure. I fancy it would take a good deal to jolt him.’
‘So do I,’ agreed Anthony. ‘He’s quite one of the strong silent yellow men of finance.’
Suddenly Battle leant forward and touched the chauffeur on the shoulder.
‘Stop, will you? And wait for me here.’
He jumped out of the car, much to Anthony’s surprise. But in a minute or two, the latter perceived M Lemoine advancing to meet the English detective, and gathered that it was a signal from him which had attracted Battle’s attention.
There was a rapid colloquy between them, and then the superintendent returned to the car and jumped in again, bidding the chauffeur drive on.
His expression had completely changed.
‘They’ve found the revolver,’ he said suddenly and curtly.
‘What?’
Anthony gazed at him in great surprise.
‘Where?’
‘In Isaacstein’s suitcase.’
‘Oh, impossible!’
‘Nothing’s impossible,’ said Battle. ‘I ought to have remembered that.’
He sat perfectly still, tapping his knee with his hand.
‘Who found it?’
Battle jerked his head over his shoulder.
‘Lemoine. Clever chap. They think no end of him at the Sûreté.’
‘But doesn’t this upset all your ideas?’
‘No,’ said Superintendent Battle very slowly. ‘I can’t say it does. It was a bit of a surprise, I admit, at first. But it fits in very well with one idea of mine.’
‘Which is?’
But the superintendent branched off on to a totally different subject.
‘I wonder if you’d mind finding Mr Eversleigh for me, sir? There’s a message for him from Mr Lomax. He’s to go over to the Abbey at once.’
‘All right,’ said Anthony. The car had just drawn up at the great door. ‘He’s probably in bed still.’
‘I think not,’ said the detective. ‘If you’ll look, you’ll see him walking under the trees there with Mrs Revel.’
‘Wonderful eyes you have, haven’t you, Battle?’ said Anthony as he departed on his errand.
He delivered the message to Bill, who was duly disgusted.
‘Damn it all,’ grumbled Bill to himself, as he strode off to the house, ‘why can’t Codders sometimes leave me alone? And why can’t these blasted Colonials stay in their Colonies? What do they want to come over here for, and pick out all the best girls? I’m fed up to the teeth with everything.’
‘Have you heard about the revolver?’ asked Virginia breathlessly, as Bill left them.
‘Battle told me. Rather staggering, isn’t it? Isaacstein was in a frightful state yesterday to get away, but I thought it was just nerves. He’s about the one person I’d have pitched upon as being above suspicion. Can you see any motive for his wanting Prince Michael out of the way?’
‘It certainly doesn’t fit in,’ agreed Virginia thoughtfully.
‘Nothing fits in anywhere,’ said Anthony discontentedly. ‘I rather fancied myself as an amateur detective to begin with, and so far all I’ve done is to clear the character of the French governess at vast trouble and some little expense.’
‘Is that what you went to France for?’ inquired Virginia.
‘Yes, I went to Dinard and had an interview with the Comtesse de Breteuil, awfully pleased with my own cleverness, and fully expecting to be told that no such person as Mademoiselle Brun had ever been heard of. Instead of which I was given to understand that the lady in question had been the mainstay of the household for the last seven years. So, unless the Comtesse is also a crook, that ingenious theory of mine falls to the ground.’
Virginia shook her head.
‘Madame de Breteuil is quite above suspicion. I know her quite well, and I fancy I must have come across Mademoiselle at the château. I certainly knew her face quite well–in that