manager, is mistaken in thinking it was Mr Willoughby? I mean, it's simply one word against another, isn't it?'
'Mr Rose is not unsupported in his assumption, madam. Two members of his staff have asserted, independently of him and of one another, that the body is that of Mr Willoughby. Moreover, Mr Romilly is prepared to agree that the mistake was his,' said Kirkby.
The verdict of the jury was unanimous and was never in doubt. As he left the court, Romilly found himself touched on the shoulder by Kirkby.
'I'm sorry, sir,' said the latter, 'but I'm afraid I shall have to ask you to come with me. There will be a formal charge, and you have the right to ask for your lawyer to be present.'
CHAPTER TWELVE
ZAPATOS-GOODY TWO-SHOES
And he that will caper with me for a thousand marks, let him lend me the money, and have at him!'
(1)
At the police station Romilly was formally charged and two days later he was brought before a magistrate who, in view of the nature of the charge, was sitting alone, and the examination was held in private, reporters and the general public being excluded.
The charge was read, and then Kirkby said:
'If it please Your Worship, the police ask that the accused may be remanded for two weeks pending further enquiries.'
'Remanded in custody, you mean?'
'In view of the nature of the charge, yes, Your Worship.'
'What reason have you for asking that the prisoner be remanded?'
'As I stated, Your Worship, the police wish to make further enquiries into this case. We hope to have further evidence available at the next hearing.'
The magistrate, who was a woman, glanced across at Romilly's solicitor, but he made no sign.
'Very well,' she said, 'but first I should wish to hear the evidence upon which the defendant has been brought here.'
The evidence, given in the usual police-court parrot-utterance, did not seem particularly impressive.
'You accuse him of murder, and of giving a false identification of the dead person, do you, Detective- Inspector?'
'Yes, Your Worship, of deliberately making a misleading statement on the second matter, with intent to defeat the ends of justice.'
'And he was the person who discovered the body?'
'Under what we believe to be suspicious circumstances, Your Worship. There seems to be good reason to suppose that the accused wanted the victim out of the way, and that is the line along which we should like to acquire more evidence. Further to that, the accused has stated, in front of witnesses, that he believes his own life to be in danger. If he is right...'
'Why should he suppose a thing like that?'
'There is a great deal of money involved, Your Worship, and there again we need to probe into the facts.'
The magistrate turned to Romilly.
'Is there anything you wish to say?' she asked. The solicitor was the one to answer her.
'Not at this stage, Your Worship, thank you. We have no objection to a remand, and we realise that, on a charge of this nature, there can be no question of bail. We reserve our defence, both now and at the next hearing.'
'Very well. I order that the accused be remanded in custody for fourteen days, after which time he will again appear before the court to make an answer to the charge of wilful murder. The court will then decide whether the police have made out a case sufficiently strong to warrant a committal to the Assizes.'
(2)
The next thing I've got to do,' said Kirkby to Dame Beatrice, 'is to rustle up something a lot stronger and more telling than anything I've got at present. We're batting on a very sticky wicket.'
'I am not batting at all,' said Dame Beatrice.
'I can't count on your help? I was hoping you'd turn Miss Rosamund inside out for me.'
'I will do that, if you like, but I must warn you that I think you're got the wrong murderer.'
'Oh, come now, Dame Beatrice! If Sir Ferdinand is right, and Romilly Lestrange is an imposter, surely the first thing he'd want to do is to eliminate the one person who could discredit him.'
'But Willoughby was not that one person. You yourself have already mentioned my son.'
'Ah, yes, I know. But my contention is that Romilly hasn't a clue that your son was acquainted with the real Romilly, whereas the latter would almost certainly have been acquainted with his brother's children. It seems to me that the answer lies in Kenya.'
'Lies dead in Kenya,' amended Dame Beatrice. 'The real Mr Romilly, I mean.'
