MY VEILED CLIENT.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2082, 17 June 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

MY VEILED CLIENT.

At the time of the incident I am about to relate, I was a young solicitor,'with no very considerable practice, and therefore not always so discreet as I might have been, had I been able to pick and choose my clients. My business hours were ostensibly from ten to five ; but the fact of my house adjoining the office made me subservient to the wishes of the public beyond the time stated on the brass plate at my office-door; In fact, it was generally after business hours that my most profitable clients came ; and though 1 can say I refused many a time the agency of some shady business, still, I must confess with regret that once or twice 1 found myself unwittinglyinvolved in transactions which I would have much rather left alone. One of these I have occasion to remember too well, and I can never think of it but I thank Providence for saving me from becoming an accomplice unwittingly in a most audacious piece of imposture. I was interrupted one night at tea hy the servant entering and saying that a lady wished to see me. Hastily finishing the meal, I hurried into my business room. As I entered and bowed, a lady rose, made a slight courtesy, and remained standing. I begged her to be seated, and asked of what service I could be to her. It was a little time before she answered, and then it was in a nervous, frightened way, glancing round the room as if she were afraid -somebody else was present. I saw that, although she was dressed in good style, she had not the air of a lady ; but as she wore a thick veil, I could not distinguish her features, though I made out a gray hair here and there. “ I suppose I had better explain who 1 am and what I want,” she began. “ I am Miss Howard of Graham Square, and I want you to make out my will.” I started involuntarily, for this elderly person, though I had never seen her before, had been the subject of many a surmise and many a gossip with the neighbors. She was reported to be very wealthy ; but had apparently abandoned the work), for, during the last five years, she had shut herself up in her house, seeing no one but her servants. My curiosity was therefore piqued at the idea of making out this old eccentric’s will. Taking up a pen, I asked her to give me the particulars of how she wished the property disposed of. “ That is very simple,” she said. “ I wish my whole property to go Mr. David Simpson of Stafford Street here. I have never been married ; and I want the will framed so as to cut off any heir who might claim relationship to me. I also wish you to act as my executor in seeing my will carried into effect.”

I made a note of the instructions, and asked when it would be convenient for her to call and sign the deed. “If you could have it written out by to-morrow night, I could call then and sign it. I would like if you could arrange to have a doctor to be a witness to my signing—a young doctor, if possible.” ‘ ‘ Certainly, madam. To-morrow night at this time will suit, and I will arrange about a doctor being present.—ls there nothing else you wish mentioned in the will ?”

“No ; nothing,” she said, rising. “ But bo sure you make it so as to cut off all relations.”

I assured her everything would be as she desired ; and after assisting her into the cab which was waiting, noticing the while that she had a slight limp in her walk, I retired to my study to frame the will in accordance with my instructions. Next night, punctual to a minute, she called ; and as I had a doctor present, the ceremony of signing was soon over, the doctor signing as a witness along with my clerk, and appending a certificate of sanity, as desired by my client; and the deed was consigned to my safe. The affair had almost completely passed from my mind, when I was startled one morning by receiving a note from Mr. Simpson the legatee in the will, informing me that Miss Howard was dead. I immediately proceeded to the house, performed the usual duties devolving upon a solicitor in such circumstances, and made what arrangements were necessary. After the funeral, I had a meeting with Mr. Simpson, and explained to him tire position of affairs—that he was sole legatee, and that I was executor. He seemed to take the matter very coolly, I thought, but was anxious that everything should be realised as soon as possible. Our interview was very short; and 1 came away with a strong feeling of dislike for the man, who, I found, had acted as a sort of factor for the deceased lady. Acting within the duties of my executorship, and also with a desire to find out if possible the relations the old lady had been so anxious to cut oft’, 1 inserted a notice of her death in most of the leading newspapers in the kingdom. This had the desired effect; for in the course of a few days 1 was waited upon by a young gentleman, Edward Howard, who informed me he was a nephew of the late Miss Howard, and had called upon me, having got my name and address from the office of one of the newspapers to which I had sent the advertisement. During my interview with Mr. Howard, I was much impressed with his bearing on my telling him the position of affairs, as he was much more concerned at his aunt’s death than at the purpose of her will. He told me that five years ago he had married against his aunt’s wishes ; she had refused to recognise his wife ;and though he had written her several letters, he had never heard from her in reply. He thanked me for my information, and said lie would likely see mo again, as he was coming into town to a situation lie had just been ottered. .Some week after this, as I was returning home in the evening from a consultation, my attention was arrested by the figure of a woman in front of me. She was hurrying along as if trying to escape observation ; but there was something in her stylo and the limp which she had, that struck mo as familiar, though I could not remember where I had seen her. Just as she was passing a lighted part of the street, she happened to look round, and the face I saw at once explained to me the familiarity of her figure—both face and figure being an exact counterpart of my late client’s, Miss Howard ! Somehow or other, a suspicion flashed across my mind ; my instinct told me something was wrong, and I determined to follow her and see were she went to. Pushing my hat well over my brow and pulling the collar of my coat well up, I followed through two or three streets, and was almost at her heels when she suddenly turned into a public-house, when, so close had 1 followed her, I heard the attendant say in answer to an inquiry by her, “Number thirteen, ma’am;” and I saw

her disappear into the back premises. 1 immediately followed, heard the door of number thirteen shut, and glancing at the numbers, quietly opened number twelve, and after giving an order for some slight refreshment to the attendant who had followed me, I took a hasty look around the room.

I found it was divided from the next one only by a wooden partition, which did not reach tiro ceiling, and (hat, by remaining perfect!}’ quiet, 1 could hear that a whispered conversation washeing carried on in the next room. The entrance, of the attendant with my older disturbed my investigations ; but on his departure, n.nd regardless of the old saying that listeners seldom hear anything to their own advantage, T did my best to make out the conversatii m. 1 distinguished the voices to be those of two men and one woman. The latter lat once recognised, or at least my imagination led mo to believe to bo the voice of the person who had called on me a rear ago to make her will. The voice of one of the men-was strange to me ; but after the discovery 1 had already made, I was not greatly astonished at recognising the voice of the other man to be that of Simpson, the legatee in the will. The whole thing flashed upon me at once, and f saw J had been made the innocent machinery for carrying through a clever and daring piece of imposture. J, however, listened attentively to the conversation, in order to fathom the whole affair. The first sentence I made out came from the stranger: “I told you young Sinclair was the very man to do the work for you. These young lawyers never ask any questions as long as they get the business.”

“Well, well,” said Simpson, “that is all right now. But the present question is, what is to be done in the way of hurrying him up with the realisation of the estate without exciting suspicion ? The sooner wo all get away from this, the better. I am glad that young fellow Howard didn’t ask any questions. But one thing’s certain, we must get the old woman away from this immediately, or she’s sure to get recognised. She’s been keeping pretty close lately; but 1 daresay shfc’s getting tired of it.—Aren’t you, old lady?” “ Indeed,” was the reply, “ I would be glad to getaway from this place to-morrow, if I could. I’m sure I only wish you could have been content with half of the estate with Mr. Edward, instead of burning the will, when you found it was to be divided between you find him, and getting me to do what 1 did. I'm sure it’s a wonder my mistress doesn’t rise from her grave to denounce us all.”

“ Keep that cant for another occasion, old woman ; it’s no uso getting religious now.—But I’ll tell you what—l’ve got an idea.” Here the conversation got so low, that I could not catch more than an occasional word, and what that idea was I never found out, as he never got the chance to try it on me, for I had heard enough to know that next door to me were three of the most daring conspirators I had ever come across, who had duped me, and made me, though unwittingly, the chief actor in the conspiracy. My first idea was to lock the door of the room they were in, and go for help ; but as that was likely to cause a disturbance, I determined to slip out and trust to being back in time for their arrest. As luck would have it, nearly the first man 1 met outside was a detective, whom I had known very well in connection with some crimiiifil trials in which I had been engaged. A few words explained my purpose ; and signalling to the nearest policeman, he placed him at the door of the shop, and both of us ■walked in. Ho nodded familiarly to the bar-tender, and leaning over the counter, whispered in his ear. The shopman started, and gave vent to a low whistle. “ You’ll do it as quietly as you can, for the credit of the house,” said he. “Of course,"said the detective. “ fallow us in.” In another minute we were inside the room, with our backs to the door, the detective dangling a pair of steel bracelets and nodding smilingly round the room. The woman fainted. We had no difficulty in securing the men ; and in half an hour we had them safely housed in jail. Before their trial came on, we had worked out the whole story. The woman who had called on mo and signed the will was Mrs. Simpson, Miss Howard’s housekeeper, the mother of Simpson in whoso favour the will was made ; and the other man was a lawyer’s clerk who had suggested to them the feasibility of such a scheme. The fact of Miss Howard’s selfconfinement and my own imprudence had nearly made the plot a success, but for my accidental recognition of the housekeeper. Each of the prisoners offered to turn Queen’s evidence; but as we had no difficulty in proving the case, this was refused, and they were sentenced to various periods of penal servitude. I had then the pleasure of handing over the estate (v the rightful heir, young Edward Howard, who, notwithstanding that 1 had nearly been the means of depriving him of his inheritance, made me his agent. The estate turned out tube much larger than I had at first thought, as 1 succeeded in proving that a largo number of investments in Simpson’s name really belonged to Miss Howard, and the management of so huge a property fairly put me on my feet as regards business. 1 have had many good clients since then, Imt I have often thought that my Veiled Client was my best one, as she was the moans of giving me my first lesson in prudence, and my first start in life.-— Chuiiiher’it JourunL