The Seven Dials Mystery - Agatha Christie [89]
The Superintendent paused and a twinkle came into his eye.
‘So was I, Lady Eileen. I never dreamed of such a thing being possible. You put one over on me there all right.
‘Well, Mr Eversleigh was in a dilemma. He couldn’t let you into the secret of the Seven Dials without letting Mr Thesiger in also–and that would never do. It all suited Mr Thesiger very well, of course, for it gave him a bona fide reason for getting himself asked to the Abbey, which made things easier for him.
‘I may say that the Seven Dials had already sent a warning letter to Mr Lomax. That was to ensure his applying to me for assistance, so that I should be able to be on the spot in a perfectly natural manner. I made no secret of my presence, as you know.’
And again the Superintendent’s eye twinkled.
‘Well, ostensibly, Mr Eversleigh and Mr Thesiger were to divide the night into two watches. Really, Mr Eversleigh and Miss St Maur did so. She was on guard at the library window when she heard Mr Thesiger coming and had to dart behind the screen.
‘And now comes the cleverness of Mr Thesiger. Up to a point he told me a perfectly true story, and I must admit that with the fight and everything, I was distinctly shaken–and began to wonder whether he had had anything to do with the theft at all, or whether we were completely on the wrong track. There were one or two suspicious circumstances that pointed in an entirely different direction, and I can tell you I didn’t know what to make of things, when something turned up to clinch matters.
‘I found the burnt glove in the fireplace with the teeth marks on it–and then–well–I knew that I’d been right after all. But, upon my word, he was a clever one.’
‘What actually happened?’ said Bundle. ‘Who was the other man?’
‘There wasn’t any other man. Listen, and I’ll show you how in the end I reconstructed the whole story. To begin with, Mr Thesiger and Miss Wade were in this together. And they have a rendezvous for an exact time. Miss Wade comes over in her car, climbs through the fence and comes up to the house. She’s got a perfectly good story if anyone stops her–the one she told eventually. But she arrived unmolested on the terrace just after the clock had struck two.
‘Now, I may say to begin with that she was seen coming in. My men saw her, but they had orders to stop nobody coming in–only going out. I wanted, you see, to find out as much as possible. Miss Wade arrives on the terrace, and at that minute a parcel falls at her feet and she picks it up. A man comes down the ivy and she starts to run. What happens next? The struggle–and presently the revolver shots. What will everyone do? Rush to the scene of the fight. And Miss Loraine Wade could have left the grounds and driven off with the formula safely in her possession.
‘But things don’t happen quite like that. Miss Wade runs straight into my arms. And at that moment the game changes. It’s no longer attack but defence. Miss Wade tells her story. It is perfectly true and perfectly sensible.
‘And now we come to Mr Thesiger. One thing struck me at once. The bullet wound alone couldn’t have caused him to faint. Either he had fallen and hit his head–or–well he hadn’t fainted at all. Later we had Miss St Maur’s story. It agreed perfectly with Mr Thesiger’s–there was only one suggestive point. Miss St Maur said that after the lights were turned out and Mr Thesiger went over to the window, he was so still that she thought he must have left the room and gone outside. Now, if anyone is in the room, you can hardly help hearing their breathing if you are listening for it. Supposing, then, that Mr Thesiger had gone outside. Where next? Up the ivy to Mr O’Rourke’s room–Mr O’Rourke’s whisky and soda having been doped the night before. He gets the papers, throws them down to the girl, climbs down the ivy again, and–starts the fight. That’s easy enough when you come to think of it. Knock the tables