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"Of course he did," said Mrs. Mercado. "He slunk in when the boys weren't looking."
"Yes," said Mr. Emmott.
The slight uncertainty in his voice made me look at him inquiringly.
He turned and spoke to the little pot-boy, Abdullah, asking him a question.
The boy replied vehemently at length.
The puzzled frown on Mr. Emmott's brow increased.
"I don't understand it," he murmured under his breath. "I don't understand it at all."
But he didn't tell me what he didn't understand.
Chapter 11
AN ODD BUSINESS
I'm adhering as far as possible to telling only my personal part in the business. I pass over the events of
the next two hours, the arrival of Captain Maitland and the police and Dr. Reilly. There was a good deal
of general confusion, questioning, all the routine business, I suppose.
In my opinion we began to get down to brass tacks about five o'clock when Dr. Reilly asked me to come
with him into the office.
He shut the door, sat down in Dr. Leidner's chair, motioned me to sit down opposite him, and said
briskly:
"Now, then, nurse, let's get down to it. There's something damned odd here."
I settled my cuffs and looked at him inquiringly.
He drew out a notebook.
"This is for my own satisfaction. Now, what time was it exactly when Dr. Leidner found his wife's
body?"
"I should say it was almost exactly a quarter to three," I said.
"And how do you know that?"
"Well, I looked at my watch when I got up. It was twenty to three then."
"Let's have a look at this watch of yours."
I slipped it off my wrist and held it out to him.
"Right to the minute. Excellent woman. Good, that's that fixed. Now did you form any opinion as to
how long she'd been dead?"
"Oh, really, doctor," I said, "I shouldn't like to say."
"Don't be so professional. I want to see if your estimate agrees with mine."
"Well, I should say she'd been dead at least an hour."
"Quite so. I examined the body at half-past four and I'm inclined to put the time of death between 1.15
and 1.45. We'll say half-past one at a guess. That's near enough."
He stopped and drummed thoughtfully with his fingers on the table.
"Damned odd, this business," he said. "Can you tell me about it - you were resting, you say? Did you
hear anything?"
"At half-past one? No, doctor. I didn't hear anything at half-past one or at any other time. I lay on my
bed from a quarter to one until twenty to three and I didn't hear anything except that droning noise the
Arab boy makes, and occasionally Mr. Emmott shouting up to Dr. Leidner on the roof."
"The Arab boy - yes."
He frowned.
At that moment the door opened and Dr. Leidner and Captain Maitland came in. Captain Maitland was a
fussy little man with a pair of shrewd grey eyes.
Dr. Reilly rose and pushed Dr. Leidner into his chair.
"Sit down, man. I'm glad you've come. We shall want you. There's something very queer about this
business."
Dr. Leidner bowed his head.
"I know." He looked at me. "My wife confided the truth to Nurse Leatheran. We mustn't keep anything
back at this juncture, nurse, so please tell Captain Maitland and Dr. Reilly just what passed between you
and my wife yesterday."
As nearly as possible I gave our conversation verbatim.
Captain Maitland uttered an occasional ejaculation. When I had finished he turned to Dr. Leidner.
"And this is all true, Leidner - eh?"
"Every word Nurse Leatheran has told you is correct."
"What an extraordinary story," said Dr. Reilly. "You can produce these letters?"
"I have no doubt they will be found amongst my wife's belongings."
"She took them out of the attaché-case on her table," I said.
"Then they are probably still there."
He turned to Captain Maitland and his usually gentle face grew hard and stern.
"There must be no question of hushing this story up, Captain Maitland. The one thing necessary is for
this man to be caught and punished."
"You believe it actually is Mrs. Leidner's former husband?" I asked.
"Don't you think so, nurse?" asked Captain Maitland.
"Well, I think it is open to doubt," I said hesitatingly.
"In any case," said Dr. Leidner, "the man is a murderer - and I should say a dangerous lunatic also. He
must be found, Captain Maitland. He must. It should not be difficult."
Dr. Reilly said slowly:
"It may be more difficult than you think... eh, Maitland?"
Captain Maitland tugged at his moustache without replying.
Suddenly I gave a start.
"Excuse me," I said, "but there's something perhaps I ought to mention."
I told my story of the Iraqi we had seen trying to peer through the window, and of how I had seen him
hanging about the place two days ago trying to pump Father Lavigny.
"Good," said Captain Maitland, "we'll make a note of that. It will be something for the police to go on.
The man may have some connection with the case."
"Probably paid to act as a spy," I suggested. "To find out when the coast was clear."
Dr. Reilly rubbed his nose with a harassed gesture.
"That's the devil of it," he said. "Supposing the coast wasn't clear - eh?"
I stared at him in a puzzled fashion.
Captain Maitland turned to Dr. Leidner.
"I want you to listen to me very carefully, Leidner. This is a review of the evidence we've got up to date.
After lunch, which was served at twelve o'clock and was over by five and twenty to one, your wife went [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]