'Well?' she said, when they were headed for Studland and the car ferry. 'What of Romilly?'
'Only that he isn't. There is not the very faintest resemblance. This fellow is too tall, too old and doesn't need glasses. I put my own on to look at the Raeburn, and he took a pair from its case, but put them back again and returned the case to his pocket. I received the impression that he was accustomed to produce them merely in order to demonstrate that he possessed a pair, which seems to indicate that he knows (or knew) the real Romilly.
'He doesn't know much about pictures, either. He didn't know which was the Raeburn, for one thing. To test him, I went first to another picture-you had described the position of the Raeburn and had said that it was a portrait, and it was exactly as you had told me-and began to eulogise it, and then I produced a handwritten letter of introduction cooked up, as a matter of fact, by my clerk, and asked him whether he was prepared to sell. He read it without using his glasses, and then explained that the pictures were heirlooms, so then I went over and scrutinised the Raeburn and asked him whether it was one of his ancestors. He agreed that it was. I ventured to say that it was from Reynold's best period, to which he agreed. Oh, there's no doubt about it, mother. He's an imposter all right. I wonder what's happened to the real Romilly Lestrange?'
(4)
The coroner was a solicitor and he sat with a jury of seven, two of whom were women. Kirkby had found three unbiased and reliable witnesses who, shown the body separately and being given no chance to communicate with one another until all had expressed an opinion as to the identity of the dead man, had severally asserted that it was Willoughby Lestrange. Only one of them was needed to testify in court, so Kirkby had selected the hotel manager. His evidence was clear and unchallenged. The deceased, he stated, had been a guest in his hotel in Carlisle for some years and had left it soon after the demise of Mr Felix Napoleon Lestrange, who had employed Mr Willoughby as secretary and to whom he was distantly related. They were known at the hotel as Mr Lestrange and Mr Willoughby respectively, to avoid confusion.
The manager was succeeded by Romilly, who gave evidence of the finding of the body. Judith was also called, as she had been with him at the time, and she substantiated his account. After this came the medical evidence. Doctor Gerald Randall was called.
'You are Doctor Gerald Randall?'
'That is my name.'
'When did you see the body of the man whom you now know was Mr Willoughby Lestrange?'
'I saw it, and examined it, on the afternoon of March 4th at about six-thirty.'
'What, in your opinion, was the cause of death?'
'I found that the deceased had been stabbed through the heart.'
'Were there any other marks of violence on the body?'
'Yes, but I formed the opinion that these had been inflicted after death had taken place. The head and limbs had been battered from having been in contact, I assumed, with the rocks among which, I understand, the body was found.'
'Did you form any opinion as to the length of time the man had been dead?'
'It is an opinion only, but I should say he had been dead for at least a week. I am not prepared to be more specific than that.'
'He could not have been dead for a lesser time than that?-say, three to four days?'
'To the best of my knowledge and belief, he had been dead for not less than a week, but not as long as a fortnight. The neck and face were discoloured and swollen, and the body, I was told, had been found floating. These symptoms occur when a body has been found in water in cold weather, between five and eight days after death. I am inclined to suggest the longer period, as decomposition of the trunk, with little distension, was already apparent.'
'You conducted an autopsy?'
'I did, with the assistance of my colleague, Mr Percy Mansel, the surgeon, who agrees with my findings.'
'I do not think we need call him, although I understand that he is available. Now, Doctor, I note that you do not rule out the possibility of suicide. However, that is a matter over which I need not detain you. Call Detective-Inspector Kirkby.'
Kirkby was sworn and agreed that he was the person he represented himself to be.
'Now, Detective-Inspector, I understand that you are making some enquiries as to how Mr Willoughby Lestrange met his death. You have heard the medical evidence. Have you any comment to make, as a result of your investigations?'
'No, sir, except to say that, at first, the body was wrongly identified.'
'Wrongly identified? By whom?'
'By Mr Romilly Lestrange, sir. He was mistaken in thinking that the body was that of the deceased's brother, the Reverend Hubert Lestrange.'
'Dear me! That seems to have been a strange error. Perhaps we had better recall Mr Romilly Lestrange, so, if you would stand down for a few minutes, Detective-Inspector, we will hear you again when we have heard what Mr Romilly has to say.'
'Very good, sir.'
'Call Mr Romilly Lestrange. Now, sir, remember that you are still under oath. Can you tell us why you should have thought that the deceased was the Reverend Hubert Lestrange?'
'I can't really say. I had not seen either of my nephews, except in photographs, as I had been living abroad for some years.'
'Why, though, did you suppose the dead man to be Mr Hubert, and not Mr Willoughby?'
