CHAPTER VII

COMMENTS ON THE CRIME

It must not be supposed that in informing Gebb of these details in connection with a long-forgotten crime, Parge gave the exact context of the newspaper reports. He used them rather as notes to refresh his memory, and detailed the somewhat barren information in a conversational manner, adding, suppressing, and amplifying evidence in the way most necessary to convey a clear idea of the case to his hearer. Yet at the conclusion of his reading, or rather narrative, Gebb was not satisfied. To him the case seemed incomplete.

"I know a good deal of what happened before the murder," he said bluntly, "but very little about the crime itself."

"You know all that was reported in the newspapers," replied the fat man, casting the heavy book on the table with some irritation.

"Probably; but now I wish to know such details as were not given to the public You can supply them."

"Certainly! Ask what you like, and I'll answer. You'll arrive at an understanding of the case soonest that way."

Gebb remained silent for a few minutes, and watched Parge lighting his pipe. Then he asked suddenly, "Do you believe that Dean is innocent of this Kirkstone Hall crime?"

"No!" replied Parge, deliberately, "I don't."

"On what grounds?"

"On the grounds of his defence."

"H'm!" said Gebb, with an astonished look; "those are queer grounds on which to doubt a man."

"Well, Absalom, you can judge for yourself. Dean declared that he was innocent."

"They all do; and no doubt, having regard to this new crime, he said that Miss Gilmar was guilty."

"No, he did not accuse her. He ascribed the crime to Laura."

"What! to the sister?"

"Yes! the mean hound, to the woman he was about to marry. Is not such a foul accusation enough to make you believe the wretch to be guilty?"

"Not quite," rejoined Gebb, dryly; "a man may be a blackguard without being a murderer. Besides, this Laura seems to have been weak--in fact, half-witted; so Dean might have had some grounds for his belief. However, if you can recall his defence, I shall be in a better position to judge."

"Briefly," replied Parge, "his defence was as follows. He declared that he was left alone with Kirkstone in the Yellow Boudoir, or rather smoking-room, about half-past ten o'clock."

"Who left him and Kirkstone alone?"

"The ladies. They accompanied the two from the drawing-room, and chatted with them for a few moments before saying good night."

"What!" cried Gebb, suspiciously, "in spite of the disturbed atmosphere of the house, and the quarrelling?"

"Yes! there existed, it seemed, a kind of armed neutrality, and, notwithstanding the situation, the quartet were civil enough to one another."

"I have my doubts about so improbable a situation," said Gebb, shaking his head. "Well, and what took place after the ladies retired?"

"Kirkstone and Dean quarrelled over the marriage. Kirkstone, it seemed, began to taunt Dean about his attentions to Miss Gilmar. Dean turned round, and declared that he was not attached to Miss Gilmar; nor, for the matter of that, to Laura. Both women, he said, were in love with him, and he could marry either without consulting Kirkstone. He furthermore swore that if Kirkstone insulted him any more, he would marry Laura without her brother's consent, and refuse to pay the money."

"And no doubt at this point Kirkstone lost his temper," suggested Gebb.

"So Dean declared; and the quarrel reached such a pitch that Dean----"

"Killed Kirkstone," finished Gebb, quickly.

"No," replied Parge; "he denied that. He left the room, according to his own story, about eleven o'clock, and retired to his bedroom. Shortly before midnight, when he was considering how to act, Ellen Gilmar knocked at his door and said that Kirkstone wanted to see him in the smoking-room. Dean descended and found Kirkstone dead. At first he was tempted to give the alarm; but reflecting on the quarrel, which must have been overheard by some of the servants--a fact afterwards proved--and finding that the knife with which the crime had been committed was his own, he fled back to his room. Then Miss Gilmar came to see what had occurred--found the dead body, and gave the alarm. She accused Dean of being the murderer, because she had left Kirkstone alive when she brought the message, and afterwards found him dead when Dean fled from the room."

"But how did Dean implicate Laura?"

"He declared that he had given her the bowie-knife at her own request to prune some plants with in the conservatory."

"Now, that is ridiculous!" cried Gebb.

"Of course it is; and a further proof of his own guilt Ladies don't use bowie-knives to prune plants. Dean, however, stated that he left Kirkstone alive when he first retired to his room. Miss Gilmar stated that her cousin was not dead when she conveyed the message to Dean: so for the defence it was maintained that between the time Miss Gilmar left Kirkstone and the time Dean returned to the Yellow Room for the second visit, Laura must have killed her brother with the bowie-knife, which she had obtained two days previously from Dean."

"But why should Laura kill her brother?"

"Because, as prisoner's counsel argued, it was probable that after the last conversation, Kirkstone fancied that Dean might not pay the money if the marriage came off, so he resolved to stop it by exercising his influence over Laura while there was yet time. Laura, so Dean declared, must have revolted and killed Kirkstone in a moment of uncontrollable anger."

"Still, why should she bring the knife into the smoking-room if she committed the crime on the impulse of the moment?"

"Dean did not--could not--explain that point," replied Parge, with contempt; "all his defence was that he gave Laura the bowie-knife, that he left Kirkstone alive in the Yellow Boudoir about eleven, and that when summoned by Miss Gilmar he found the man dead. Also, that he held his tongue because he was afraid of being accused, as there had been a quarrel between himself and Kirkstone."

"I don't wonder he was afraid," said Gebb, thoughtfully; "and in any case his defence was extremely weak. What evidence did the prosecution bring forward?"

"Miss Gilmar was their principal witness, as she was the last person to see Kirkstone alive. She denied any knowledge of the bowie-knife; but stated that she had come downstairs to prevent further quarrelling. Kirkstone was alone, but asked her to request Dean to come back to the Yellow Boudoir. She went up to Dean's room and asked him. At first he refused, but later on consented. It was twenty minutes between the time Miss Gilmar left Kirkstone alive and Dean found his dead body. One point of the evidence against Dean was that blood was found on his shirt-cuff. He explained this away by stating that he had felt Kirkstone's heart to see if any life remained, and so got his cuffs soiled with the blood from the wound."

"What did Laura say to Dean's accusation?"

"She denied it altogether. But it was the horror of thinking that the man she loved deemed her capable of such a foul crime which was one of the causes to bring about her death."

"She was half-witted, you say?" said Gebb, after a pause.

"No!" replied Parge, sharply. "I don't say so. She was weak-witted and soft-natured, but, as I truly believe, perfectly sane. I see that you think she might have killed her brother in a fit of insane rage. Well, that was Dean's defence; or at least part of it. But Laura, when in the witness-box, declared that after leaving Dean and her brother in the Yellow Boudoir she had not left her room all night; and in this statement she was supported by Miss Gilmar. Now you can see for yourself, Gebb, that Dean was rightfully convicted."

"Well," said the detective, reflectively, "it looks like justice; but it may not be so. For my part, knowing what I do of women, I should not be at all surprised to learn that Miss Gilmar was the guilty person."

"Some people suggested as much at the time," said Parge, in no wise disturbed by this suggestion. "But I did not believe it then, and I don't now. What possible motive could she have?"

"Quite as feasible a motive as the one ascribed to Laura," replied Gebb. "Did not Kirkstone threaten to turn her out-of-doors? Was it not his intention to deprive Miss Gilmar of Dean by marrying him to Laura? And did he not try to induce Laura to revoke her will in favour of the housekeeper? Oh, there are plenty of motives."

"But when do you suggest she committed the crime?"

"Why, between the time Dean left the Yellow Room and returned to it again. I dare say she had a row with Kirkstone on her own account, and killed him, then went up to Dean with a lying message to implicate him in the matter."

"But," objected Parge, again, "why should she accuse Dean? He was the man she loved."

"Yes; but he did not love her, and no doubt since she was old and ill-favoured, he showed his dislike to her advances too plainly. I fancy that it was a case of a woman scorned, and that Miss Gilmar revenged herself by accusing Dean. However, this is all theory," added Gebb, with a shrug, "and, as such, is worth little. Dean was condemned on Miss Gilmar's testimony, and, no doubt, intended to kill her if he could escape. Although," added the detective, inconsequently, "I don't believe he did."

"Why not?" said Parge, emphatically. "He did escape, and I believe he did kill her. As sure as I sit here, it was Dean who strangled that wretched woman."

"Humph! Humph!" said Gebb, perplexed. "I'm not certain."

"I am, Absalom. Why, she expected to meet with a violent death at his hands. That was why she left Kirkstone Hall, and concealed herself in these various lodgings under several false names. Besides, as I read in the papers, she constantly consulted fortune-tellers as to whether she would die by violence: a behaviour which showed how lively were her fears."

"That is all very well," admitted Gebb, "but there was no struggle: there was wine drunk; a cigarette smoked by the murderer: and Miss Gilmar let him wander about the room. What does all this prove? That she knew her visitor and trusted him. She could not, and would not, have trusted the man who had sworn to kill her."

"He might have gone to her disguised as a fortune-teller," suggested Parge.

"That is rather an imaginative suggestion," said Gebb, smiling. "By the way, when did Dean escape?"

"Towards the end of '93; and you say yourself that Miss Gilmar began her wanderings in that year."

"Quite so; and I admit that she fled to escape Dean's vengeance, but I am not so certain that he killed her. Remember, the diamonds were stolen; so it may be a vulgar murder for robbery, after all."

"No," said Parge, sticking obstinately to his point. "Dean killed her out of revenge, and stole the diamonds to provide himself with the means of escape. Have you been round the pawnshops?"

"Not yet; but every pawnbroker has been warned. Also, I have sent detectives over to Amsterdam and to Paris to watch if the diamonds turn up."

"Very good," said Simon, with a nod; "if Dean tries to pawn the jewels you'll catch him."

"I don't believe the thief is Dean."

"I do; and also that he killed Miss Gilmar. Well, and what do you intend to do now?"

"Go down to Kirkstone Hall and see the original of the Yellow Boudoir."

"Good! And afterwards?"

"Interview the solicitor who conducted the defence for Dean."

"You mean the barrister."

"No, I don't; I mean the solicitor. Who was Dean's solicitor?"

"Mr. Prain, of 40, Bacon Lane. You won't get anything out of him, Absalom," said Parge, warningly. "He's as close as wax."

"Who was Dean's counsel?" asked Gebb, ignoring the hint.

"Clement Basson," replied Parge; "you'll induce him to talk freely--for a drink."

"Oh! he is dissipated?"

"In a sort of way. A Bohemian barrister: ruined his career through love of pleasure. Has had a few briefs, but not enough to pay, and lives on a small income."

Gebb noted this nutshell biography in his pocket-book, and prepared to take his departure. He had a parting glass with the fat man, and after promising to advise him of all that took place in connection with the case, he left the house.

"And tell me!" cried Parge after him, obstinate to the last; "tell me when you find Dean."