American fiction -- 20th century; Detective and mystery stories
“When all those blunderbusses get through with their heavy work,
Norrie, we’ll have a run in with the maid,” said he. “I seem to be
the last man on the job. Meantime find out for me how many red-haired
people there are about this house or among the immediate circle of
the girl’s friends. It is a matter of some importance, because--”
he carefully opened the pocketbook, extracted the folded piece of
note paper, and, first assuring himself that no one was about,
pointed--“because here are two broken, half-inch bits of red hair that
I take it are going to play an important part in this case. Remember
the Deveraux case? These were wedged back of the cameo on her bracelet,
and they got there in her last struggle with whoever shot her. For the
time being at least, then, we will eliminate all but red-haired people.”
“Maybe it’s a dog’s hair,” I suggested hopefully.
Lanagan was on the point of retorting with his finished sarcasm when
the Hemingway limousine, evidently bringing other members of the family
or relations summoned by word of the mournful occurrence, rolled up
to the brilliantly lighted porte-cochère. Lanagan’s eye had travelled
swiftly and fixed upon some object of interest. I followed his intense
gaze.
The chauffeur’s hair was as flaming as a firebrand.
Lanagan’s eyes seemed to be boring straight through the man as the
machine came to a stop almost where we sat. The chauffeur’s face was
pale, extraordinarily pale, it appeared to me; as he stopped his
machine and shut down the gears, there was a perceptible evidence of
nervousness in his manner that was possibly entirely natural in view of
the shocking happening of a few hours before that had taken the life of
his young mistress.
The first to leave the motor was a trim, well-groomed young man,
whom we at once recognised, from the descriptions we had heard, as
Macondray. As he held the door open for the other two persons to leave
the machine, he removed his hat, holding it in his hand.
Simultaneously our eyes rested on his uncovered hair.
His hair, if anything, was a shade more auburn than that of the
chauffeur! His swollen eyes and pale face were natural under the
circumstances, with his marriage hopes thus painfully blasted. They
walked within, and Lanagan said:
“Come on. We’ll get first crack at this fellow anyhow. Let’s meet him
back at the garage in the rear.”
We had started to walk back to the garage as the chauffeur cranked his
machine when from the same low window Leslie and Brady stepped alertly.
Leslie held up his hand to the chauffeur. The two officers were beside
him in a moment. I knew what was coming even before they laid a hand
on him. I had seen too many arrests made not to know what was meant
by that brusque, cool manner, that quick step, that wary eye even
before there came that familiar terse, short snap of the professional
thief-taker:
“_We want you!_”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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