Bathurst, Anthony (Fictitious character) -- Fiction; Detective and mystery stories; England -- Fiction
Llewellyn left quite imperturbably and Stewart offered a hint of
explanation to the others. “My father thought a tremendous lot of
Llewellyn, gentlemen—and one of the reasons of his great confidence in
him was because of Llewellyn’s keen interest in _all_ of my father’s
concerns. He wasn’t a chap who just did his bare duty and no more—he
seemed able to identify himself intimately with each one of my
father’s many interests—and not least with his mania for collecting.”
Anthony stopped him. “Is Llewellyn a ‘devotee’ of the ‘antique
artistic’?” he asked.
“My father found him a most zealous assistant in it, Mr. Bathurst,”
replied Charles Stewart, “that’s all I can tell you. I’m afraid I was
much less interested myself.”
A tap on the library door heralded the secretary’s reappearance.
“There is a copy of what you wanted, Mr. Charles,” he declared.
Stewart took it and rapidly glanced over it. “That is a list,”
continued Llewellyn, “of every single article in your father’s
collection.”
Charles Stewart handed the list to Anthony. “Here you are, Mr.
Bathurst! Would you like a copy, too, Inspector?”
Goodall declined with a shake of the head. “All I want I can get from
Mr. Bathurst,” he answered. “Remember—this is more his ‘stunt’ than
mine. I haven’t yet been informed that anything has been stolen from
the room in question”—he looked hard at his questioner. Stewart’s
reply came with just the slightest touch of asperity.
“Mr. Bathurst doesn’t get any inspired information from me, Inspector,
if that’s what you’re hinting at. He knows that I rather disagree with
his idea. The room was closed when the alarm was given, and I’ve never
suggested to anybody that anything has been stolen.”
Goodall partly shifted his ground. “Why then is our friend here so
insistent on the point?”
Anthony made an attempt at explanation. “I’m not exactly insistent,
Inspector,” he explained, “don’t misunderstand me! I haven’t perhaps
very much reason at the back of my idea, but I’m just curious to get a
look at these treasures that the late Mr. Stewart valued so highly. I
have a strong feeling that the visit may help us considerably.”
Here Goodall’s gesture stopped him.
“Your theory, of course, Mr. Bathurst, if I may call it such, being
based on the Hanover Galleries murder—eh?”
“Yes,” replied Anthony quickly, “it seems to me that the whole case
revolves round the Stuart heirlooms—if you can so describe them.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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