Detective and mystery stories; Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction; Police -- England -- Fiction
‘I shall have it ready,’ said the doctor as, with a bow, he hurried
after his patient.
‘Now, let’s have a look at that letter.’
They returned to the courtyard and Burnley unpinned the envelope from
the dead woman’s gown. It was unaddressed, but the Chief slit it open
and drew out a sheet of folded paper. It bore a single line of
typing:--
‘Your £50 loan returned herewith with £2 10s. 0d. interest.’
That was all. No date, address, salutation, or signature. Nothing to
indicate who had sent it, or whose was the body that had accompanied
it.
‘Allow me, sir,’ said Burnley.
He took the paper and scrutinised it carefully. Then he held it up to
the light.
‘This is from Le Gautier also,’ he continued. ‘See the watermark. It
is the same paper as Felix’s letter. Look also at the typing. Here
are the crooked n’s and r’s, the defective l’s and the t’s and e’s
below alignment. It was typed on the same machine.’
‘Looks like it certainly.’ Then, after a pause: ‘Come to my room for
that letter to M. Chauvet.’
They traversed the corridors and the Inspector got his introduction
to the Paris police. Then returning to the little yard, he began the
preparations for his journey.
First he picked up and counted the money. There was £31 10s. in
English gold and, having made a note of the amount, he slipped it
into his pocket as a precaution against chance passers-by. With the
£21 handed by Broughton to Mr. Avery, this made the £52 10s. referred
to in the typewritten slip. Then he had the body moved to the
dissecting-room and photographed from several points of view, after
which it was stripped by a female assistant. The clothes he went
through with great care, examining every inch of the material for
maker’s names, initials, or other marks. Only on the delicate cambric
handkerchief was his search rewarded, a small A. B. being embroidered
amid the tracery of one corner. Having attached a label to each
garment separately, as well as to the rings from the fingers and a
diamond comb from the luxuriant hair, he packed them carefully in a
small portmanteau, ready for transport to France.
Sending for the carpenter, he had the end boards of the cask
replaced, and the whole thing wrapped in sacking and corded.
Labelling it to himself at the Gare du Nord, he had it despatched to
Charing Cross with instructions to get it away without delay.
It was past ten when his preparations were complete, and he was not
sorry when he was free to go home to supper and bed.
PART II--PARIS
CHAPTER IX
M. LE CHEF DE LA SÛRETÉ
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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