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THE Tarrington Square Mystery

(By

M. L. Eades)

CHAPTER XV. A BLOW IN THE DARK. Immediately on his return to Gower Street, Winston Barrows rang up one of London’s busiest men and made an appointment with him for ten o’clock that night. Before partaking of an overdue lunch he occupied himself with some fine powder and some excellent finger-prints that he had obtained that morning. That finished to his entire satisfaction he gave heed to the maid’s admonition: “Your lunch is getting spoilt, sir.’’ But his mind was preoccupied—to use the maid’s expression to the landlady on‘ her return to the kitchen in the basement, “He might just as well ’ave been eating straw like an ox for all he knew what he was eating of.” Soon after lunch found Winston on his way to St. Clement Danes, where he had a chat with the caretaker. From there he proceeded. to Scotland Yard, where he saw the finger-print specialist. He was just leaving the Yard when he ran across Mason, who greeted him with a jubilant grin. “Well,”. he exclaimed in high, good humour; “are you still endeavouring to keep the flag of innocence waving over the head of the fair lady ?” Winston smiled. “Mason,” he said, “you grow more impossible every day.” “Touched you on the raw, eh?” “Not a bit of it,” retorted Winston, laughing. “The flag continues to wave merrily in the sunlight.” The inspector stared at him; then shook his head compassionately. “You know you really interest me,” he remarked with facetious humour, the while he thrust a prodding forefinger at Winston’s <■ chest;, “you really. You’ve such a nice, child-like" faith in human nature. But take a tip from one who knows it from A to Z, and put not your faith in dainty ladies with pretty manners. The softer spoken they are, the harder they , can lie. Clare Ashleigh—” “Was not in her room on Monday 'afternoon,” put in Winston quietly. “I can prove it. She was in the Marble Arch Pavilion. She was one •of the earliest arrivals. The' girl who showed her in knows her quite well by sight, as each time she has gone there it has been .on a Monday and she has ■ gone early. It appears she has her lunch at the Pavilion restaurant first—she did so on Monday. Fortunately for her she is striking-looking, therefore easily remembered. The girl on duty was able to point out where she sat; this coincided with Miss Ashleigh’s description of her seat.. A waitress in .the tea-room can swear to serving her with tea after the show. To crown proof on proof the woman in the fruiterer’s in Goodge Street remembers selling her some plums shortly before six o’clock, one of. which plums I found on the floor. So, my clever student of human nature, you can eliminate Miss Ashleigh from the story.” Mason was nonplussed and showed it. ■He lifted his hat and ran his fingers through his greying hair with a worried air.. , , . . - - ■ • “You’re sure of all this?” he asked. “Certain.” . “Humph 1 Then if that’s so why the dickens did she lie and say that she was alone after she - came home ?” “You- said she lied when she told you she was at the ■'pavilion,”- Winston reminded him suavely. Mason' glared at him, then. shrugged his shoulders, while a smile spread slowly' over his rough-hewn features. “Huh 1” he said. “I see. All right. But you can haul down the flag all the same. Miss Ashleigh—” he paused, looked at his watch, then pointed over his shoulder. “What about going inside? We - can’t , stand here, .forever. I’ve something to tell you. You’re not in a hurry ? No, thought not. Then come along in with me.” And Mason led the way back into the building. When they were comfortably seated he leaned forward, prodding Winston on the knee to add emphasis to his words. “Now see here,” he began, “Miss Ashleigh may not have been on the spot, but she knows.who murdered Claremont and so do I. If you would like to know his name I’ll, tell you. It’s Warren P. Elion, of New York. He is the man who called on Miss Ashleigh at twenty minutes to four—the man with an American accent. He is the man who was with her in the Corner' House; the man who was with Claremont on Sunday night in the library, and the man who had a luncheon engagement he failed to keep. Because why ? Because he knew his man was a corpse and would not be needing any lunch. And that’s that 1” “You are quite' sure he was the man who had the luncheon engagement, or is it merely surmise on your part ?” “Surmise, eh ?” and Mason’s chin squared pugnaciously. “We got it straight off Claremont’s blotting paperused a mirror. He addressed a letter to Warren P. Elton, Russell Hotel, and there was half the word luncheon quite distinct, and part of the word Tuesday. That’s good enough for me.” “Hum I” It was a thoughtful “hum” that. The inspector leaned back in his chair and guffawed. “I thought you would be ‘humming’ before long,” he gibed. “Now why did Elton murder Claremont ? Firstly because he’s in love with Clare Ashleigh, who has a pretty big grudge against her nice, kind uncle. She happens to be James Claremont’s sole heiress, by the way. I saw the will this morning. The Claremont estates are entailed, it appears, and as the sole representative of the family, Clare Ashleigh comes in for the lot, lock, stock and barrel. Secondly, this Elton’s father is the millionaire Elton, the head, tail and body of the Elton Motor Company. It seems that Elton,' the father, not content with being a multi-millionaire, is anxious to get his cars on the English market. He wants to build a factory here and to flood the English market with them. Things were moving merrily to this end when suddenly there is a block. To cut a long story short, James Claremont was the block. Goodness knows there is a big enough income with Claremont for any man—thousands a year. But Claremont—like Elton' and all the other millionaires—wanted more. Maybe he was providing against the time when he would be to render an account of his stewardship.” “His stewardship — what do you mean ?”

“The whole thing : is complicated,” returned Mason, who was enjoying himself; he always loved to tell a story to a good, listener. “According to the will of John Claremont, the father of these twin brothers, James merely held the Claremont estates in trust, until John’s return. John was the elder twin, and had he returned to England James would have had to hand over to him Claremont and I don’t know how many thousands a year, while his share would have been the smaller property in ' Herefordshire. Here, of course, we get James’ motive for keeping his brother out of England—he was in possession, and was determined to remain in possession.”

“By Jove I” exclaimed Winston. “And he had the cheek to offer John a few hundreds of his own. Generous blighter, what I”

The inspector nodded in agreement. “He jolly well asked. for trouble, and he got it. But this is where Elton comes in. i Claremont seems to have had a flair for business. He had controlling shares in two or three concerns; was a director of this, that, and the other. But it seems that the Blue Arrow Car Company belonged to him. That being so, it was not to his interest to have Elton flood the English market with his American cars. So Claremont sent his agent over to New York to buy up all the Elton shares he could lay hands on, and to get control of as many votes as possible. When Elton bumped up against an altogether unforeseen block, matters were looked into, and he found that parcels of shares here, there, and everywhere, were all controlled by a man named Mac Nab, who was really agent for James Claremont. So Elton sends his son over here to find out the why and wherefore, and to remove the block. He has removed it by removing Claremont. See ?” Winston made no reply. He was thinking over what he had just heard. The inspector regarded him curiously for a moment, then brought his clenched hand down heavily on the arm of his chair. “Hear this,” he said, his voice grating with harshness; “millionaire o? no, Warren P. Elton is going to stand his trial for the murder of James Claremont, and the girl will stand hers for being an accessory after the fact. See here,” and Mason' tapped his breast pocket suggestively. ’ “You’ve taken out a warrant then ?” asked Winston. “You bet your life I have.” “Do you know where to find Elton ?” “We’re going to. He was at the Russell, but cleared out last night. Got the wind up, I suppose. It won’t ’ take long to pick him up, though—the girl will give him away in time.” “She can’t if she doesn’t know herself where he is.” “Tell that to a Dutchman,” returned Mason rudely. “I’m telling you that Miss Ashleigh does not know where Elton is.” For a moment the two men gazed steadily at each other. Then Winston spoke in a tone of quiet significance. “Mason,” he said, “I want you to leave Miss Ashleigh out of this for the present.” . The inspector’s eyes narrowed and hardened. “Well, I’m blowed!” he exploded. He leaned forward and brought his clenched fist down into the open palm of his other hand with a loud thwack. “My answer .to that is—nothing doing.. She. knows all about- it, and is trying to shield him. Elton was with her that evening. He was with her in the Comer House next morning, and when she was questioned about her companion she gave -i wrong name. Does that look like innocence ?’’ . . Winston Barrows got up and walked the length of the room and back.. Then he .came and stood, near the inspector. "Look here, Mason,” he said with decision. “I’ve never let you. down, and I won’t this time. You would be desperately sorry if .you dragged Miss Ashleigh in and . then found that you had made a dreadful mistake. She is only a girl, and to go through- such an ordeal would be no joke. It would do her a lot: of harm—all the apologies and regrets in the world would not compensate her for the hurt she would get. If I thought she was-in it I’d say to get on' with it; but though we all make mistakes at times, I am convinced that ■she-is as innocent of this crime as you are. And if Elton is the man. who did it would he be likely to stay on the scene of the crime until four o’clock until Miss Ashleigh returned at six ? The risk of discovery would be so great that no one but an arrant fool would take- it. Whoever is guilty cleared out as sobn as possible. Again, if Miss Ashleigh knew anything about it would she be likely to stay there for three hours near the dead body ? Not likely. She. would need to be a good deal harder than Miss Ashleigh is ever likely to be. Leave her alone for the present. You will thank me afterwards. And, for my part, I’ll undertake to have her at hand if you want her later on.” Mason frowned and scratched his head worriedly. Winston never had let him down, and when he spoke with such assurance— , - . . “Humph!” he said. “You seem pretty sure she’s not in it. But you seem, to have doubts about Elton also. If that’s the case—” Winston’s smile was enigmatical. “Yes, I have strong doubts,” he said. “You have!” Mason almost shouted. “Then you’re daft, I tell you—daft!” “Maybe. Mind you I don’t say that he is not the man. He might be. Personally I doubt it. So far the evidence points equally to three men—an Englishman, an Irishman and an American —Elton is the American.” # # # >» That evening Winston Barrows was seated in his office. He was smoking and thinking. The number of cigarette stubs in the ash-tray indicated that this combined process had been going on for some time. A small clock on the mantelpiece struck a single note. Winston looked up. It was a quarter to ten—getting late. He must go out in a few minutes to keep his appointment for ten o’clock, and the Pup was not in yet to report. Strange that. He had been expecting him all the evening. Anyway, the Pup knew his job—none better. Just then a car pulled up in front of the house. Winston picked up his hat and went out into the hall. As he passed down the steps on to the pavement he noticed a man ioitering on the opposite side of the street. There were no lights near, and in the dusk it was not easy to distinguish anyone clearly at that distance; yet Winston received the impression that the man had been watching the house he had just left. If so, why ? As Winston crossed to the car the man strolled away down the street.

“Did you see that man over there, Mike ?” Winston inquired of his driver. “Yes; I noticed ’im, sir. He was ’anging round like. But it was too dark to see ’im properly.” “Possibly someone taking a stroll before turning in,” returned Winston lightly, and, for the time being, dismissed the matter from his mind. It was brought back to his remembrance in an unpleasant manner before. the night was over. (To be Continued.)

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19340127.2.129.42

Bibliographic details

Taranaki Daily News, 27 January 1934, Page 21 (Supplement)

Word Count
2,291

THE Tarrington Square Mystery Taranaki Daily News, 27 January 1934, Page 21 (Supplement)

THE Tarrington Square Mystery Taranaki Daily News, 27 January 1934, Page 21 (Supplement)

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