The Case of William Smith

Chapter Twenty-three

Katharine sat in one of Miss Silver’s curly walnut chairs and told her about the loosened wheel, and about Emily Salt being ill in bed and not knowing anything about cars. After which she repeated Mr. Tattlecombe’s observations about his own accident and the chapel Social.

When she had finished she sat looking at Miss Silver, who was wearing the same dark green dress and tucked net front but a different brooch. This one had a heavy gold border with a centre of smoothly plaited hair under glass. Some of the hair was fair, and some was dark, the two shades belonging in fact to Miss Silver’s grandparents, and by them bequeathed in this portable and enduring form. There was a good deal more of the blue knitting – little Josephine’s coatee had made good progress. The busy needles clicked. Miss Silver looked across them and said,

‘You are very much troubled, are you not?’

‘Yes. If he had gone out into the traffic in that car there would have been an accident. He might very easily have been killed.’

Miss Silver let that stand without comment. She continued to knit. She did not fail to observe that Mrs. Smith remained consistently pale, and that she was undoubtedly suffering from strain. She allowed the silence to do its work. Katharine broke it.

‘You said not to come back unless I made up my mind to trust you. But you see, it isn’t as simple as that. I think someone is trying to kill William. I thought it would be fair to ask you to find out whether it could be Emily Salt. She is – peculiar. She is angry about Mr. Tattlecombe’s will, and the two attacks on William took place when he was coming away from Selby Street. But the attack on Mr. Tattlecombe and this wheel business – well, it doesn’t seem as if she could have had anything to do with them. If I bring in other people, you may come across things which you wouldn’t feel justified in keeping to yourself. That’s my position now – I don’t know if I’m justified in not speaking – I don’t know if I’m justified in speaking. If I tell you things – I can’t take them back again. You may think they’re all nonsense, or you may think they’re so serious that you can’t keep them to yourself. I’ve thought about it all until I can’t be sure I’m thinking straight. And I’m frightened about William. You were quite right when you said I wanted to think it was Emily Salt. I did – I do. She’s a stranger, and she isn’t right in her head. But now it doesn’t seem as if it could be Emily.’

Miss Silver inclined her head.

‘You have put it very clearly.’

Katharine took a quick breath.

‘I don’t feel clear. I’ve come back because I’m so frightened about William. When you’re frightened you can’t think straight.’

Miss Silver coughed.

‘You said just now that if you told me certain things, I might feel it my duty to go to the police. If that would be my duty, would it not be your duty also?’

A long sighing breath was released. Katharine said.

‘Yes – ’

‘Your telling me would not add to your obligation. It would merely serve to clarify it.’

‘Yes – ’

‘And you believe your husband’s life to be in danger.’

A shudder went over Katharine. She said, ‘Yes – ’ again. And then, ‘I don’t know where to begin.’

Miss Silver’s needles clicked, the blue coatee revolved. She said in an encouraging voice,

‘If you will make a start, I think you will find it is easier to go on. It is the first step which seems so difficult.’

Katharine said, ‘Yes – ’ again. She was sitting up very straight with her hands clasped in her lap. ‘I think I had better begin on the sixth of December, the day before Mr. Tattlecombe had his accident. I think I’ve told you William designs toys. They are very good indeed. Up to now they’ve been making them in a place behind the shop – William, and an old man, and a boy, and, after I went there, me. Well, of course, they ought to be much more widely known. I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of a firm called Eversleys. They are manufacturers on a big scale. One of the things they do is toys. William persuaded Mr. Tattlecombe to agree to his approaching them with a view to getting them to make his Wurzel toys under licence, and on the sixth of December he had an appointment to go and see them. It was rather a late appointment – six o’clock. He went there, and he saw the senior partner’s secretary – her name is Miss Jones. She has been there for fifteen years, and she is highly competent. The partners are Cyril and Brett Eversley. They are first cousins. Miss Jones is Cyril’s secretary. I should say she knew a good deal more about the business than he does. She saw William, and she told him that she didn’t think they would be interested in the Wurzel toys. A few days later she wrote and confirmed this.’

Katharine came to the end of what she had started out to say. She came to an end, and she stopped.

Miss Silver said, ‘Yes?’ on an enquiring note.

Katharine drew in her breath again.

‘It doesn’t get easier – it gets more difficult.’

‘Nevertheless I beg that you will continue.’

Katharine bent her head. However difficult it was, she must go on – she knew that. She went on.

‘When William came out into the street he almost ran into someone who was coming in. He didn’t know who it was, but I do. It was Mr. Davies, the Eversleys’ head clerk. He has been with them for about thirty years. When he saw William he nearly dropped down in a faint. He caught at William’s arm to steady himself. I don’t know what he said – William couldn’t make anything of it. He held him up till the giddiness went off. The first thing he really said was, “Who are you?” William said, “I’m William Smith – Tattlecombe’s Toy Bazaar, Ellery Street.” Mr. Davies said “What?” and William repeated it. He wanted Mr. Davies to go in and sit down, but he wouldn’t. He didn’t want to see anyone, he wanted to get away. He went to a call-box and rang me up.’

Miss Silver coughed.

‘Mr. Davies rang you up?’

‘Yes. I wasn’t in the flat I’m in now – I was in my own flat.’ Her voice went down low. ‘The telephone bell rang – just like any telephone bell ringing. I lifted the receiver, and there was Mr. Davies telling me he had just seen William – ’

Miss Silver said, ‘Yes?’

Katharine looked at her, but she didn’t really see her. She saw a room with a shaded lamp, and her own hand lifting the receiver. She heard Mr. Davies’ shaken voice. Her own voice shook as his had done.

‘He said, “I’ve just seen Mr. William.” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “I took hold of his arm, and it was real. It was in the street outside the office. I nearly dropped. I took hold of his arm to save myself, and it felt real. But he didn’t know me – he didn’t know me at all – not at all.” He kept on repeating that. I said, “You’re not well,” and he said, “No – it’s been a shock – it’s been a great shock. He didn’t know me at all – we were there, right under the light, and he did’t know what I said. I’d some kind of idea I was seeing a spirit – but his arm felt real. I said, ‘Who are you?’ and he said, ‘William Smith – Tattlecombe’s Toy Bazaar, Ellery Street.’ That’s what he said. I couldn’t have thought of that if he hadn’t said it, could I? He said he was William Smith, Tattlecombe’s Toy Bazaar, Ellery Street. And he didn’t know me at all. He wanted to take me into the office, but I wouldn’t go. I didn’t want to see anyone – I wanted to get away. When I’d walked a little, I thought about you.” ’ She took a long breath. ‘I told him to go home and rest.’ She stopped again.

Miss Silver did not speak. Her needles clicked above the pale blue wool.

Katharine said, ‘I don’t know how I lived until the morning. I knew I couldn’t do anything till then – the shops would all be shut – I knew I must wait. I went down to Ellery Street at half-past nine. The Toy Bazaar had a window full of William’s toys. As soon as I saw them I knew that Mr. Davies hadn’t made any mistake. William always liked drawing queer animals. There was a draper’s shop on one side and a cleaner’s on the other. The girl in the cleaner’s was quite pleased to talk – it’s a boring job waiting for people to come in. I asked about having something dyed and looked at patterns. And then I asked about the toys in the window next door, and she told me all about William, and how he’d worked the business up. She said he’d been in a Prisoners of War camp with Mr. Tattlecombe’s grandson who died there, and she said he’d lost his memory, and Mr. Tattlecombe thought the world of him. I asked her whether there would be any chance of getting a job there, and she said there might be. She thought they were short-handed. So I went home and made my plans.’

Miss Silver coughed.

‘What plans did you make?’

Katharine smiled – a brief, rather tremulous smile.

‘I rang up a friend who was looking for a flat and told her she could have mine. And I rang up another friend who was just going abroad and asked if I could have hers. I told her I didn’t want anyone to know where I was, and she said, “All right.” I told my relations I had let my flat and was taking a job, and I didn’t say where. And I wrote to Mr. Davies at his private address and told him not to say anything to anybody, because it was my affair and I wanted to manage it my own way. In the afternoon I drove to Victoria Station with my luggage, and when the taxi had gone I took another to Carol’s flat in Rasselas Mews. And then I went to Ellery Street to ask if they wanted an assistant at Tattlecombe’s Toy Bazaar. And it was Thursday – I’d forgotten all about Thursday being early closing in those outlying places. All the shops were shut. I didn’t feel as if I could bear it, but there just wasn’t anything to be done. I had to go back and get through another perfectly interminable night. That was the night Mr. Tattlecombe had his accident – but of course I didn’t know about it until afterwards. That left them very short-handed indeed. In the morning I went back to Ellery Street and went into the shop to ask if they wanted an assistant. There was a Miss Cole there.’ Katharine gave a little laugh. ‘She didn’t like me a bit – it stuck out all over her. And then’ – her voice checked, steadied, and went on again – ‘William came in.’