The Sign on the Roof

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 234, 3 October 1935, Page 26

The Sign on the Roof

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AUTHOR OF THE "DEATH CHAIR," "THE GOLD KIMONA," "DEADLY FRESCO," ETC.

GHAPTER XV. — (Continued.) Herbert gulped. He sat looking into the lire; his face drawn. "How did von know?" he said eventually. ""How did you find out? I'm damned glad somebody knows . . . . , anyhow .... Now I suppose you'll give me away. You've got your news story all right haven't you, Bitterly He laughed hoarsely. "[ wonder what the devil they'll do with me," he concluded. "Do you think they'll ~..?" "Hang you? Not a bit of it," said Bitterly cheerfully. He smile I at Herbert. "Personally, I think it's about the best tiling you ve ever done in your life, and I don't think 1 should "ownhave suspected you except for a few coincidences and the fact that I saw the cat on the roof to-night!" Herbert looked tip. He was beginning to pull, himself together. "You were up there?" he said. Bitterly nodded. "Yes ... I was up there, and I saw some very interesting things, two to be exact; the sign on the roof opposite ; —«nd the cat . . . directly I saw the cat I knew it was you." He leaned forward. "Now. listen, Herbert, let's get this thing straight. You think that vou know all about this business and I've no doubt that you think you know why you killed Lariat, but you don't. As the Americans say, you don't know the half of it. "The thing's this. We've got to do some quick thinking, you and I, and we'ver got to be coo], and calm and collected. There's no need for you to worry a great deal because I tell you, here and now, that no jury is going to convict you of either murder or'manslaughter. If you are tried you'll be found not guilty on either charge . . . in any event I don't think vou could be charged with murder. Bn't I want you, in your words, to tell me exactly what happened last Friday night, and I want you to answer any questions that I put to you as if you were on oath. If you do that I don't thinkthat you need worry. I think we can get this business straightened out all right. Well, are you going to do it?" Herbert nodded. "Oh, yes, I'll do it," lie said. "There's nothing else for me to do. Anyway, the whole thing's got to come out." He opened Bitterly'* case and helped himself to another cigarette, which he lit with an unsteady hand. Then lie sat for a few moments puffing out the smoke straight before him. At last he spoke "\ou see." he said sombrely, "I didn't tell you the exact truth in the beginning. Last Monday night when I met Lariat at the (ireen Fly you just cannot imagine how relieved I was when I found he was going to be decent about things. I had expected him to be terribly tough. I thought I was in fpr a bad time, and when I found he'd got some money from somewhere and he wanted to be friends I was very relieved. So relieved that, maybe, I stood for one or two things that I'd have been annoyed about in the ordinary course of events. "I told you that he bought me a drink and a cigar. He was flashing a teh pound note about. Whilst we were having a drink he began to talk about Diane. He asked me whether I'd ever thought in the old days that she was even a little bit keen about him. If things had been normal I'd have probably knocked liim down. I'd have told him that she'd always hated the very sight of him or the sound of his name, but because I was so relieved I played round the subject. I said that I didn't think she was shockingly keen on him and let it go at that. "He smirked in an odd sort of way rather as if he'd got something up his sleeve. "On Friday night—the Friday night— I met those people and went to the party as I told you —" Bitterly interrupted. "Forgive me interrupting, Herbert," he said, "but tell me, had you arranged beforehand to go to that party? Was that a definite thing or was it done on the spur of the moment?" Herbert shook his head. "Oh, no," he said, "it wasn't done on the spur of the moment. You see, I really didn't know these people at all. They were pals of Charles. Some people that he'd picked up somewhere. But he told me on the Wednesday that if I

looked them up on Friday night I could have a darn good time, and it wouldn't cost me a penny. He said it would be a first-class all-night party. I thought at the time it was rather decent of him, and I said I'd go. "But, as a matter of fact, it was pretty awful. I met them and they were the most shocking crowd. Tliev were all tight and not even decently tight. The women were shocking—even for me," said Herbert, with an attempt at a selfdeprecating grin. "Anyhow, I thought I'd better stay on for a bit, so I went along with them to their place. But I soon got fed up with it, and I left there at a quarter-past-one —not at the time I told you—and started to walk home."

"On my way home," said Herbert, "I thought that I'd been making rather a fool of myself with these lousy parties and cheap women. I rather made up my mind that I'd try and turn over a new leaf. Then I remembered about the cat. I got fed up with myself a bit more because Diane had asked me to go and look for the Shah—and I hadn't done a thing about it.

"She had an idea that the Shah used to go to the basement of the house next door, but I guessed that I'd find liim on the roof—that was the place he used to go to. x

"I got home about ten minutes to two, went up the stairs quietly, got the ladder and pushed open the trap door on the floor, which, as you know, is just outside Diane's bedroom, and which is about eight feet from the ground. I got through and walked about looking for the cat.

"Eventually I saw him, but when I wont to pick him up he ran down the ioofs towards the end of the Crescent. I didn't bother because I knew they'd pulled the house down at the end an 1 that lie'd have to stop there when lie got to the edge.

"Sure enough when he reached the en.l lie stopped, sat down and looked at me. He'didn't attempt to escape again. I reached him and was just stooping down to pick him up when I got an awful shock.

"A head and shoulders appeared over the edge and a man started to climb over. It was Lariat.

"For a moment I was so amazed that I couldn't speak. Then eventually I said, 'What the hell are you doing here; Lariat?' He was in the act of putting his leg over the edge of the parapet and he just looked at me and grinned. "'I have come to see your little sister by appointment. Herbert,' he said, 'and, if you'll take a tip from me, you'll make yourself scarce.'" Herbert paused for a moment, then: — "I'm not much of a guv," lie said, "I know I'm pretty weak and rotten, but there are some things I don't stand for. I remembered his remark of the Monday night before when he'd asked if I thought Diane was a bit keen on him, and I remembered all the trouble that the lousy tyke caused her in Ceylon through inc. I saw red and I hit him straight between the eyes just as he was in the act of getting over the edge of the parapet on to the roof. He hung for a moment, then he gave a gasp and fell backwards. "I got frightened. I realised that the thing for me to do was to get out, away from the Hat, to go back to the party and then come back later. This was my first idea. "Then I realised that I'd left my hat and coat in the flat. That would give me away. I thought I'd get them, so I started to climb up the side again and got on to the roof.

"You can imagine I was in a hell of a state. Just as I reached the' trap door, which was still open, there was the cat sitting there. Without thinking I picked him up, quietly got down the ladder and went into the kitchen. Directly I put the Shah down he ran to his milk saucer, which was empty, and, still not thinking, I emptied the milk jug which was on the table—there wasn't much milk in it—into his saucer.' He drank the lot.

"Then I picked up my hat and coat, crept down the stairs and cleared off. There was no one in the Crescent. I walked some way, then I got a cab and went back to the party 'at Russell Square. They were so drunk that they'd never missed me. That was line, I thought. '

"While I was there T suddenly remembered that anybody going into' the Hat would find the cat there and they would know that I'd been out on to the roof for it. I left the party and went backhome. I crept up once again and found the Shall, put the ladder up to the trap door and pushed him through on to the roof.

"Then I went back to the kitchen and began to make some tea. Then Diane came out and there was the trouble about the milk. Of course, I daren't tell her that I'd given it to the Shah. I had to tell her that I'd drunk it myself." CHAPTER XVII. Monday, November 13, 4 a.m. Herbert threw his cigarette-end into the lire and lit another. A little colour had come back to his checks. It was obvious that he was feeling more than relieved at being able to talk to someone about the Lariat business. "Well, what's the next thing?" he said eventually. "I suppose we've got to tell the police." Bitterly was silent for a while. He was thinking. An idea-had come into his head that he found definitely amusing; an idea that, if he could carry it out, would make Charles suffer as lie deserved to suffer. After a few minutes he spoke. "I'm not so certain about that, Herbert," he said. "You see, you only know one side of this story. You think that you re the person solely responsible for the death of Lariat, but you're not, my lad. It's true you knocked him off the roof. It's true that it was your hand that actually sent him to * his death; but have you ever asked yourself what he was doing on the roof, Herbert?"

Herbert looked up. "It was pretty obvious," he said. "Diane was alone in the Hat and lie was going to get through the trap door; he was going to—"

"Precisely," Bitterly interrupted. "But have you ever asked yourself how it was that Lariat knew that Diane was alone in the Hat?" Hei bei t sat back in his chair, his mouth open with amazement. "Now, look here, Herbert," said Bitteily, "I'm going to do something that may seem very strange to you. I'll tell you just why I'm going to do it. I'm in love with Diane; I want to marrv her. Its quite obvious, having regard to what I know, that it's impossible that she should continue Hviiif in the same house with Charles Valfery any onger. J„ point of fact, I think, in a little while, you re going home to brin" Charles round here. I want to talk to Charles, but the first thing that I want you to get in your head is this. I've got a theory, a very good theory, and its one I m going to put up to Charles." An expression of utter bewilderment crossed Herbert's face.

hat do you mean, Bitterly?" he asked. "What's in your mind?" Bitterly smiled.

"I'm going to accuse Charles of the murder of Lariat," he said, "and the joke is that I think that I can almost prove he did murder Lariat! You see Herbert, what you don't know is that Lariat was on the roof at the express invitation of Charles, and it's for that precise reason that no jury in this country would ever convict vou of either murder or manslaughter, if ever there were a justifiable homicide it was that." Herbert sat staring at Bitterly. After a full minute ho spoke. My God!" he said. "You mean that diaries—" "Precisely," said Bitterly. "I nlen n that Charles, knowing that there was nobody in the flat except Diane, had arranged with Lariat that he should get through the trap door and walk into your sister's room. You'll know why presently, but at the moment the point doesn't matter." "Now," Bitterly continued, "Charles is going to he put into a very peculiar position. In organising his very clever little plot he didn't realise that he was creating a chain of circumstantial eviden-ce that might easily stamp him as the deliberate murderer of Lariat. "And the only way in which he can disprove that He murdered Lariat is by telling the truth about the despicable bargain he made with Lariat.

"Let's take this thing from the start. Don't interrupt me —even if you are surprised—because I want to have a rehearsal of what I intend to say to the enterprising ■ Charles" —lie smiled grimly—when I see him.

"Last Monday Lariat went to see Charles. He would arrive at the garage somewhere in the region of three o'clock, maybe just afterwards. Now why should he want to see him? The answer is that Lariat wanted money and wanted it badly. My story is going to be that lie went there for (he express purpose of blackmailing' Charles.

"And Charles supports this theory. What does lie do? He gets some money and he hands it over to Lariat. I know where he got the money and I know why lie pot it. and if Charles likes to tell the truth about that, well and good. But he won't want to tell the truth; therefore, having regard to what happens afterwards, I say that he allowed him* self to be blackmailed by Lariat.

"Lariat goes off very pleased with himself. He tells you that he wants to be filiends and he flashes about some of the money that he has obtained from Charles.

"In the meantime Charles has already begun to think that Lariat is likely to be a nuisance. He thinks that he will not be satisfied with the money he has been given and will come back for more, so ho proceeds to think out a little plot for the removal of Lariat.

"He has already refused an invitation from Bardon. the commercial traveller, who has told hint he will not want him on Friday evening and has' asked him to go round there to spend the evening; but, now, it becomes necessary that Charles should accept the invitation, in order that he can actually know when Lariat is in the Hat; so he rings up. Bardon, soon after Lariat had left him. and tells him that he would liUe to conic after all, but that he will be fa ir 1 v late.

I "Charles must. somehow. make Lariat go to the Hat. He must, somehow, get him there in order that he may kill him. apparently justifiably, in defence of Diane's honour, so our story is that Charles suggested to Lariat at the interview (a) that Diane was really rather keen on him and (b) that there would be nobody in the flat at all late on Friday night. Lariat takes the tip, and Charles, realising that Lariat must turn on the light in the hall when he drops through the trapdoor, knows that, from Bunion's doorstep, he will see the li"ht go on. All he has to do then is to walk down the street, let himself into the flat with his key and kill Lariat. (To be continued daily.)