“Let me see that,” said Lestrade. Sir Denis handed it to him, and the Scotland Yard man inspected the concealed weapon. “Heavy little thing,” he said. “Wouldn’t be much good at a distance, but I suppose that’s not what it’s designed for, is it?”
“Just so,” said Sir Denis. “I’ve never fired the real one, myself, but I understand it could hit a man-sized target within ten or fifteen feet. Good enough for the work it’s designed for.”
“And good enough to have done the job the other night, too,” said Lestrade. He peered intently at the baronet, then asked, “What exactly was your reason for bringing it here?”
Sir Denis smiled. “It does appear suspicious, doesn’t it? But I assure you, this doesn’t work and never could have been made to work. Your weapons experts are free to look it over to verify that it doesn’t shoot—naturally, I’ll expect it back afterward.”
“We’ll do just that, you can be sure” said Lestrade, firmly. “Now, why did you say you brought it with you?”
“We brought it because it had been in my daughter Emily’s room while she was young,” said Sir Denis.
“Yes,” said Lady Alice, a wistful smile in her eyes. “The dear girl loved the angels on it, and was fascinated by its secret history. Later, she took it with her to school.”
Sir Denis nodded and continued. “So you see, it fit Mrs. McPhee’s request to bring a metal object that a departed one had used—and it was large enough that it would be unlikely to go missing in the dark. I’d heard of spirits who decided to take rings and necklaces back to the other side with them, and all the medium could do was act surprised when the lights came on and the jewelry was missing. No offense, Mrs. McPhee, but one hears stories—and one would be a fool not to learn from others’ misfortune.” He bowed apologetically to Martha, who did not look at all pleased.
“But there was another point to bringing it, as well,” he added. “It was a test for the medium’s knowledge. Unfortunately, we never got to try it out this time. It has long been my practice to bring to a séance something that only I know the true nature of—something with a secret history, as it were. Then, at an appropriate point, I challenge the spirits to reveal the secret of the object I have brought.”
“I see,” said Lestrade. “Naturally, we just have to take your word for it—”
“Oh, no,” said Hannah Boulton, “I can recall him asking a similar question at least twice at previous séances I have attended. He’s even brought the same candlestick before, though I never knew what it signified till now.” She shook her head disapprovingly. “I fear Sir Denis has less faith in the spiritual world than many of our members.”
“I can vouch for that, as well,” said Villiers. “It’s silly to go about asking trick questions of the spirits, in my opinion. If a medium is trying to deceive the sitters, the spirits will simply refuse to answer such questions. And there’s no reason to believe the spirits are omniscient, in any case.”
“Still, a positive result would be so interesting, don’t you think?” Sir Denis said, rubbing his hands together. “A diamond hunter doesn’t expect to find a gem in every pebble—but when he finds one, it repays all his unsuccessful tries.”
“Are you saying you don’t think my little lady has the real gift?” said McPhee. “I can’t say I take that very kindly.”
“Don’t be silly, Edward,” said Martha McPhee, before Sir Denis could reply. “Sir Denis is justified in taking a scientific attitude—I’m certain Mr. Clemens was even less inclined to take the events at the sitting at face value. For my part, I’m sorry Sir Denis was prevented from asking his question—I cannot say for certain, but perhaps some of my spirits would have given him his answer. If little Emily had come through, of course she would have known the secret of the candlestick.”
“We’ll never know, now, will we?” said Lestrade dryly. “But let’s move ahead with our little demonstration. Now, Mrs. Boulton, what did you bring for the spirits? And Mrs. Parkhurst, did you and your husband bring anything?”
Quietly, Mrs. Parkhurst opened her handbag and took out a man’s gold pocket watch. She laid it on the table and sat back.
“What’s the significance of that?” said Lestrade, peering at it.
It was her sister, Miss Donning, who answered. “It belonged to our father,” she said. “He was given it as a young man, before he went out to India, and always carried it with him.”
Everyone nodded at this, but Mr. Clemens and I exchanged suspicious glances. The item was small, but I was almost certain it had not been among the objects on the table at the original séance. But before either of us could say anything, Hannah Boulton gave a little sigh and slipped a ring from her finger. “This was Richard’s wedding ring,” she said. “I wore it then, but did not see the need actually to put it on the table.” There was another awkward moment of silence as she added it to the items on the table.
With all the items accounted for, Lestrade took charge again. “Very well, then we’ll get on with it,” said the Scotland Yard man. “Will everyone please take their places at the table, sitting in the same chairs as they were the night of the murder?”
We moved to the large round table, and took our seats in the same order as before. Martha took her place with her back to the corner, facing more or less toward the corner where (as we now knew) there was a peephole allowing Slippery Ed McPhee a view into the room. Cedric Villiers sat to her right, then Miss Donning next to the empty chair where
