The motive of the actions taken that day by Eileen Meredith had been
accurately diagnosed by Heldon Foyle. She had returned to her home after
her visit to the police at Waterloo Bridge in a state of the keenest
uncertainty. Not for an instant did she credit the paragraph referring
to the dead body. The police had been able to read the cipher message
from Grell, and she assumed correctly enough that they had been more
successful than herself in obtaining an early glimpse of the
advertisement. What, then, had become of her note of warning?
She was half reclining in a big easy-chair, her arms resting on the
broad ledges, her fists tightly clenched. Her train of thought led her
to alarming conclusions. If the police had been watching--and that now
occurred to her as having been an obvious step--they must not only have
seen her note, but they might have secured and questioned the person who
brought the advertisement. And if so, might not Robert Grell's
hiding-place have been betrayed? Her heartbeats became unsteady. What if
the visit of the detectives down the river had been not to identify a
drowned corpse, but a living prisoner? Suppose Grell were already in
their hands?
She jumped to her feet. The watch on her wrist spoke to quarter to
eleven. Her reflections had occupied many hours. She was already dressed
in a brown walking costume, and she had not even removed her hat since
she returned. In answer to her summons a maid appeared with a cup of
coffee and a couple of biscuits on a tray. That reminded her that she
had not eaten since she had risen. She drank the coffee and ate the
biscuits, while waiting for the brougham she had ordered. Within a
quarter of an hour she was on her way to Scotland Yard.
In the circular hall, entered through swing-doors from the wide steps of
the main entrance, a uniformed policeman hurried forward to take her
card. Through the big windows she could see beneath her the surging life
of the Embankment and the smooth traffic of the river. Had the river
given up its secret? The constable returned, and she was ushered along a
grey and green corridor to Foyle's room. He had his overcoat on, and his
hat and stick lay on the table. He smiled a polite welcome at her, and
she strove to read his genial face without success. For her there was
something of humiliation in the situation. She, who had taken pains to
be offensive on the last occasion that they had met, was now dependent
upon his good-nature for the information she wanted.
"What can I do for you, Lady Eileen?" he asked with grave courtesy.
She had dropped into a chair and her grey eyes met his, half defiant,
half entreating. She answered with quick directness--
"You can tell me what has happened to Mr. Grell."
He opened his hands in a gesture of surprised expostulation. "My dear
young lady! I only wish we knew."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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