Miss Silver Comes To Stay

CHAPTER 36

But of course, my dear, you must see him in the drawing-room. Bessie shall light the fire before breakfast.”

“It is very good of you, Cecilia.”

It really was, because Cecilia Voycey was dying of curiosity, and finding it very hard to bear in mind that you didn’t- you simply didn’t-ask questions about other people’s private affairs. Moral maxims are notoriously hard to live up to. The effort brought quite a deep flush to her face. But when the Chief Constable’s car drew up she merely repeated for the third time that she wouldn’t dream of intruding, and fell back upon the dining-room, where she recalled that Maud had always been provokingly discreet even at school.

In the drawing-room Miss Silver recounted her interview with Catherine Welby and the confidences of Allan Grover. March didn’t exactly pooh-pooh the latter, but he permitted himself to observe that what the solicitor’s clerk said was not evidence. With which Miss Silver agreed, adding with a mild cough that she had been impressed by his sincerity, and that she did not wish to expose herself to the reproach of having withheld information from the police.

The Chief Constable was in notably better spirits than he had been the day before. He laughed and said,

“A thing you would never do!”

If his tone was light, hers in return was serious.

“Very seldom, and only for very good reasons, Randal. And now there is something I would like to suggest to you. It may have been done already, but if not-”

“What is it?”

“It is the matter of the telephone calls on Wednesday night.”

“Calls?”

“Yes. We know that Mrs. Welby had a ten minutes’ call to Miss Cray between eight-twenty and eight-thirty-”

“It was Catherine Welby who called up?”

“Yes. Miss Cray refuses to say what they were talking about. When I suggested that it was a matter of business she said, ‘You might call it that,’ and when I asked her if it was connected with Mr. Lessiter she just said, ‘Oh!’ in an extremely startled manner. Mrs. Welby was angry and, I think, shaken when I referred to the call. When I spoke of the missing memorandum she had, I am convinced, a moment of acute fear. Putting all the small things together which I have observed or gathered from local talk, I feel quite sure that Mrs. Welby found herself placed in a very awkward position by Mr. Lessiter’s return. Mrs. Lessiter furnished the Gate House for her. More things have been added from time to time, some of them of considerable value. Mrs. Welby had given everyone to understand that these things were gifts. Then Mr. Lessiter returns. It would not be unnatural that he should ask for some proof that his mother had given Mrs. Welby so many valuable presents. There is evidence that he was searching the house for a paper which I believe to have been the memorandum mentioned in his conversation with Miss Cray. Mrs. Fallow who works at Melling House told Mrs. Voycey’s housekeeper that he was ‘pretty well turning the house upside down’ for a paper Mrs. Lessiter had left for him. We know that paper was found, because Miss Cray saw it on his table. But it cannot be found now. I do not think you can escape the inference that this memorandum would implicate someone who took steps to remove it. I do not go so far as to assert that this person was the murderer, but it certainly presents itself as a possibility. In my opinion the memorandum implicated Mrs. Welby. I think it contained proof that the contents of the Gate House were not given, but merely lent. If, as I am convinced, she had sold some of them-”

“My dear Miss Silver!”

She inclined her head.

“I am convinced of it. Her income is extremely small, her clothes are extremely expensive. She is, and has been, very much alarmed. She did not anticipate Mr. Lessiter’s return.”

“With all respect for your convictions-”

She gave him her charming smile.

“You may consider if you like that I am putting a hypothetical case, but it is what I believe to have happened. Mr. Lessiter finds the memorandum at, let us say, somewhere between half past seven and eight o’clock on Wednesday evening. He rings Mrs. Welby up, and makes her realize that she has put herself on the wrong side of the law. When he has rung off she calls Miss Cray. I can deduce those two telephone conversations. We know that one of them did in fact occur. What we need is evidence that the other also did take place, and evidence as to what was said on both occasions. Has the girl on duty at the telephone exchange been approached?”

“I should think not-Drake would have mentioned it. There has been nothing until now to suggest that the call Rietta Cray received on Wednesday night had anything to do with the murder.”

“Then, Randal, will you see that the girl is questioned, and at once. We should know what telephone calls were sent out from Melling House that evening, and whether she overheard what was said. And whether she overheard any part of the conversation between Mrs. Welby and Miss Cray.”

“They are not supposed to listen.”

Miss Silver coughed.

“We all do a great many things which we are not supposed to do. There has been some local interest about Mr. Lessiter’s affairs. I hope we may discover that Gladys Luker was sufficiently curious to listen in.”

“You know who was on duty at the exchange?”

“Oh, yes-she is Mrs. Grover’s niece. A very nice girl. She has not repeated anything, but Mrs. Voycey’s housekeeper, who is friendly with her aunt, seems to think that Gladys has something on her mind.”

He laughed.

“I’ll have her questioned, but don’t be disappointed if we find the blight is due to the boy friend having missed a date. Well, I must be off. By the way, Drake is fed to the teeth about your footprints. You are always adding to the debt of gratitude I owe you.”

“My dear Randal!”

“My dear Miss Silver, you have no idea how I dislike that worthy and efficient man, and I can’t say so to anyone but you. Zeal, zeal-all zeal! You may be interested to know, on his authority, that the lady of the footprints takes a small four.”

“I take a small four myself, Randal.”

He could not restrain an exclamation.

Miss Silver coughed.

“And so does Mrs. Welby,” she said.