"The Monday Night Murder"

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 222, 19 September 1930, Page 15

"The Monday Night Murder"

a By J. R. WILMOT. s;

SYNOPSIS OF PREVIOUS CHAPTERS,

SIB GILBERT DYALL, a. well-known London financier, is found murdered in his room "at Beachaven Hydro, where he has been staying for the week-end with a small party of friends. INSPECTOR WILLARD, of Scotland Yard, is called in. The only clue .is a bunch of violets tossed in a corner. The members of Sir Gilbert's party are detained. DR. PETER BLAYNE, a medical expert at the Yard, is sent for by Willard to help him. CARR KLEINER, one of the party, Willard recognises as a man who was mixed up in a similar affair in the Argentine,, ten years ago. Kleiner is very anxious to get away. Peter Blayne agrees with the local doctor that the crime was committed about midnight. Sir Gilbert had. been shot through the heart by an exceedingly small revolver, probably concealed in the violets. As Blayne left the room he hears a woman sobbing in one of the bedrooms. It is No. 18, occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Roger Pleydell.

CHAPTER VI. "Willard is Perplexed. Inspector Willard had spent a busy six hours since his arrival at the Beachaven Hydro. He had left the arrangements for to-morrow's coroner's inquiry in the hands of the local superintendent of police, and the body of Sir Gilbert Dyall was removed from the establishment to the local mortuary for independent post mortem examination. The Scotland Yard man knew that he could glean no further information from the body or from the room in which the murder had. been committed. His round of interviewing on which he had begun had been one of considerable For one thing Willard hated interviews. In his experience as a member of the Criminal Investigation Department he had come to regard tho interview as an altogether over-cetimated method of acquiring information. As he had often argued with Dr. Blayne, people only tell you just aa much as they want you to know. What they say may conceivably be the truth, but unfortunately it is not the sort of truth a detective wants. Willard had, on the, whole, usually found the people he had interviewed speaking the truth. Very few indeed told him deliberate lies, because, perhaps, they did hot consider themselves clever enough to do so. Carr Kleiner was, perhaps, an exception. Personally, Willard did not believe there w&s very much truth in the story Kleiner had told him that morning, but then Kleiner, he had to admit, was clever—criminally clever. Roger Pleydell and Anthony Page fell into quite a different close, while Elsa Pleydell was palpably reticent, but not, perhaps, criminally so. His first real interview had been with Bernice Dyall. He had asked that the girl be shown up to his room and,, WilJard had been not a little annoyed when he had seen-that she was accompanied by Anthony Page. "I am afraid I must ask you to leave [Miss Dyall to me, Mr. Page," the de- ! tective had told him. "Merely formality, of, course, but you will appreciate that I shall be wanting to have a talk I with you later. You understand the significance, I hope?" And. Tony, not without a grumble, had left them together., "I want to make this as easy as possible for you, Mies Dyall," the inspector began, kindly, as Bernice sank slowly into - the chair he had pulled out for her, the same chair which Kleiner had occupied that morning. "All I want "you to do is to give m'e answers to my questions as fairly and v as truthfuljy as you can. I want you to realise my position in this affair. lam here to bring your uncle's murderer to justice, and naturally I expect you, as his next of kin, to give me what assistance you can."

• "I will certainly do that," Bernice told liim frankly. "I had never the advantage of knowing your uncle," Willard began, slowly, "but perhaps you can tell me what kind of a man he was. Waa he subject to violent fits of temper, for instance?" "There were times when his manner was somewhat brusque," answered the girl, "but I cannot recall ever having seen him in a real, temper. Occasionally he was irritable —but what men are not that at some time or another? With me he was usually extremely kind." "I note you use the word 'usually,"' pressed Willard* "Am Ito imply that there were times when he was not always kind?" 1 „ ■ r * A quick look of alarm leapt to the girl's eyes. She remembered. Tony's warning about the way the police had of making you say. things you had no intention of saying., _ Se.eing her momentary embarrassment Willard followed his advantage, 'skilfully. ;a "... "Let us suppose, Miss Dyall, you had been in the habit of doing something of which your uncle did not approve; what then would have, .been his attitude to you?" "I don't • think I • quite •' understand," pleaded •, . '

Mr. Willard was a singularly patient man. He felt that even though the point he was pursuing was "of little consequence, the girl's hesitancy had revealed a weakness and it was only by hammering at a weakness that one forced the citadel. "Supposing your uncle did not approve of your friendship with Mr.. Page ?" he asked, quietly. "Do you think he would be the kind of man to. allow it to continue without making any protest?" A sudden wave of colour surged the girl's face. "How did you know that?" she demanded, quickly. For a moment Willard did not speak. It had been worth while after all hammering that weakness. •'' "I was only supposing, Miss Dyall," he answered her, quietly, "but now you have told me that he did so, may I ask you to be a little bit more explicit." "I don't think that has anything to d& with it at all," she countered. "Uncle certainly, didn't approve' of Tony, but what man is without his prejudices at some time or another. He merely told me he didn't like Tony and there the matter ended." . ; '

But did it? Willard could not bring himself to believe that it did. He did not think for a moment that Tony Page was a murderer. Secretly he liked' the young man. He waa patently open and honest,'a typical young Englishman who resented.any official encroachment on his natural liberty. Willard did not pursue the point further."I , have been in communication with your! juncle's lawyers, Miss, Dyall. He teft a will ,in" your: favour. ; I presume you would be aware of that."

"He was my guardian, if that is what you mean," said Bernice, without noting any ulterior implication in the inspector's Avords.

"He was a very rich man, Miss Dyall."

"So I have always believed, but my parents left a certain sum in trust for me. How much that will be now I cannot say. I was always under the impression that it had to be iised for my education and general expenses incidental to living. One could have hardly expected uncle to keep me out of his own pocket."

"The matter is of no moment, Miss Dyall," smiled Willard. ."I have no doubt your uncle's lawyers will give you all the information ; you require. But now to come to more recent events. Your uncle was in the habit of giving these week-end parties periodically. Can you tell me whether tho same people were invited on every occasion?"

Tho girl thought for a moment. "Now you come .to mention it, I believe that is go. I have not been present at all of them myself, hut whenever I have been, there have always been Mr. and Mrs. Pleydell and Mr. Kleiner." "And what of Miss Trimm, was she invited, too?" A little smile caressed the girl's pretty lips.

"Miss Trimm stays .so often at Beachaven that she was nearly sure to be there. I think uncle discovered her once when he found himself short of a four for bridge. I'm told she is quite a good player, and uncle detested anyone who couldn't play as well as he did himself." "And a very handy person to have around, Miss Dyall," smiled the detective. "I am sure there must have been many occasions when your uncle must have been very grateful to Miss Trimm. "Now can you tell me what your little party was doing from Saturday until last night? I mean, how did you spend your time?",. "In the mornings uncle played a round of golf with Mr. Pleydell, with Mr. Kieiner going round with them, though he didn't play. I'spent as much time as I could, with Tony," she added ingenuously. "Mrs. Pleydell read a good deal and sometimes made up a set at tennis I It was the only way I think Elea could escape from Miss Trimm's reminiscences." "Was your uncle particularly friendly with Mrs. Pleydell?" Willard asked the question almost casually. "No more than he was with any of the others, I think," answered Bernice, surprised at the question. "Thank you, Miss Dyall, and now one last question; was your uncle particularly fond of flowers, and had he any marked preference in that direction?" The question sounded curiously odd even in Willard's experienced ears, but to Bernice it sounded almost ludicrous. Uncle Gilbert fond of flowers! A large, rotund, red-faced man fond of flowers! "If he was he never showed it," answered , the girl. "We had flowers about the house at home, but I don't think Uncle Gilbert ever noticed them. Whatever made you ask such a funny question ?" "One question's as good as another when you're looking for a murderer," commented Willard, cryptically. "And Miss Dyall, the ordeal's ended for the time being." When the girl had gone Willard took out his notebook and for a few moments wrote quickly in a cramped hand. Then he pushed back his chair and crossed over to the window that overlooked the well-kept lawns to the rear of the establishment.

"Um!" he muttered. "Three hundred thousand pounds! Not a bad little windfall for a girl of 24, and if she'd married young Page, during her uncle's lifetime she wouldn't have had a bean. Not such a bad inducement. She looks to me as if she had more to gain by that old man's death that anyone else. However.

Inspector Willard believed that in a great many crimes money—or the lack of it—was always one of the strongest motives, and he eaw no reason why it should not have played a dominant part in this one. (To be continued daily.)