The Rayner-Slade AmalgamationFletcher, J. S. (Joseph Smith)
General
The Rayner-Slade Amalgamation
Fletcher, J. S. (Joseph Smith)
Detective and mystery stories
"Naturally, having discovered this, we gave instructions for a keener
watch than ever to be kept on both these men. But the name of the German
chemist gave me personally a new and most important clue. There had been
employed at the Waldorf Hotel, for some weeks up to the end of the first
week in May, a German-Swiss young man, who then called himself Ebers. He
acted as valet to several residents; amongst others, Mr. Fullaway. He was
often in and out of Mr. Fullaway's rooms. Once, Mr. Fullaway being out,
and I having nothing to do, I was cleaning up some photographic apparatus
which I had there. This man Ebers came in with some clothes of Mr.
Fullaway's. Seeing what I was doing, he got talking to me about
photography, saying that he himself was an amateur. He recommended to me
certain materials and things of that sort which he said he could get from
a friend of his, a chemist, who was an enthusiastic photographer and
manufactured chemicals and things used in photography. I gave him some
money to get me a supply of things, and he brought various packets and
parcels to me two or three days later. Each packet bore the name of Otto
Schmall, and an address in a street which runs off Mile End Road.
"Now, when the private inquiry agent made his reports to Mr. Rayner and
myself about Van Koon, and told us where he had been tracked to more than
once, I, of course, remembered the name of Schmall, and Mr. Rayner and I
began to put certain facts together. They were these:
"_First._--Ebers had easy access to Mr. Fullaway's room at all hours, and
was often in them when both Mr. Fullaway and I were out. Mr. Fullaway is
notoriously careless in leaving papers and documents, letters and
telegrams lying around. Ebers had abundant opportunities of reading lots
of documents relating to (1) the Pinkie Pell pearls, and (2) the
proposed Nastirsevitch deal.
"_Second._--Ebers was a friend of Schmall. Schmall was evidently a man of
great cleverness in chemistry.
"_Third._--All the circumstances of Mr. James Allerdyke's death, and of
Lisette Beaurepaire's death, pointed to unusually skillful poisoning. Who
was better able to engineer that than a clever chemist?
"_Fourth._--The jewels belonging to the Princess Nastirsevitch had
undoubtedly fallen into Van Koon's hands. Van Koon was a friend of
Schmall. So also, evidently, was Merrifield. Now, Merrifield, as Delkin's
secretary, knew of the proposed deal.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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