England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Inheritance and succession -- Fiction; Love stories; Young women -- Fiction
"Absolutely upset," he said, wiping his lips on his handkerchief. "But
there! I half expected it. I was telling my father only last night--or
was it the night before?--about those damned gipsies on the common. I
warned him; yes, I warned him."
"Gipsies, my lord?" said the Inspector. "You suspect them?"
"Who else am I to suspect?" demanded Heyton, with a sideway glance of
his bloodshot eyes.
"That remains to be seen, my lord," said the Inspector quietly; "for
myself, I don't think the gipsies have had any hand in this. I should
like you to tell me everything you know about the affair, please, my
lord."
"Certainly, Inspector," responded Heyton, promptly. "But, you see, I
know precious little; in fact, I don't know anything. My man came
bursting into my room this morning, and told me they'd found my
father--well, as you know, lying in his dressing-room, badly knocked
about; and, of course, I went straight to his room, and--that's all I
know about it."
"Quite so, my lord. I should like to see the room at once."
"Come on, then," said Heyton. He was quite calm, and was quite proud of
being so calm. The Inspector might look at the room as long as he liked;
it wouldn't tell him anything of the truth.
They went up to the dressing-room, and the Inspector walked straight to
the safe and began to look, not at its contents, but along the edge of
the door. He nodded with a kind of satisfaction, and said:
"I've wired for a detective; he's more at home at this kind of case than
I am."
He turned from the safe and examined the part of the floor on which the
Marquess had fallen; then he caught sight of the poker and pursed his
lips.
"That's what did it," he said, confidently. "The blood's still wet on
it."
Heyton made as if to pick up the poker, but the Inspector caught his arm
and stayed him.
"Beg pardon, my lord," he said, apologetically. "But you mustn't touch
anything. We'll let everything bide as it is until the detective comes
down from Scotland Yard."
He went to the window and examined it; but without touching it.
"Closed and hasped! Have you any idea how they got in, my lord; have any
of the servants found a window or a door open?"
"No," replied Heyton; then he added, as if he had suddenly remembered.
"Here, by George, that's strange! I mean about the window. I found one
of the back windows open when I went down this morning for a swim."
"Oh!" said the Inspector. "I should like to see that window, my lord.
But one moment! Was there anything of value--I mean, jewels or money or
anything of that kind--in the safe?"
"Not that I'm aware of," replied Heyton, almost instantly; but he had
had time to consider the question. "There may have been, of course. Not
jewels, because my father kept the family diamonds at the bank."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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