“You suspected Whymper at first?”
“Yes, at first sight things looked bad for him. I needn’t go over the details: he had some of the stolen money in his possession and had been to the house on and so on. But I went into the thing thoroughly and I was satisfied that Roper had made him his dupe. Whymper’s all right, sir. We shall get nothing there.”
“I hear he and Miss Averill are to be married.”
“So I heard, in fact he told me himself. He wanted to propose and then this affair made him hold back. But as soon as I told him I was not going to arrest him he went straight to the lady and told her the circumstances and asked her to marry him. She accepted him and the wedding is to take place soon.”
“I know his father in Leeds and I’m glad to hear that he’s definitely out of trouble. Then you suspected Philpot?”
“I suspected Philpot because of his connection with Roper, though there was nothing directly connecting him with the Starvel crime. But I soon saw that I was on the wrong track there too. He accounted for everything that seemed suspicious, and what was more, any points of his statement which in the nature of the case could be corroborated, were corroborated by other witnesses. Besides, he was ill at the time: there was the evidence of his housekeeper and others as well as Dr. Emerson’s testimony that he was unable to leave his bed. And there was his failure. If he had just obtained £30,000 he wouldn’t have allowed the bailiff in.”
“Might not that have been a trick to put people off the scent?”
“No, sir, I don’t think so. If he had been guilty he wouldn’t have shown sudden evidence of wealth, but he wouldn’t have gone bankrupt either—just for fear it might be taken as a trick. Of course, sir, I’m aware that none of this is absolutely conclusive. There was absence of evidence of guilt, but not proof of innocence, and, of course, illness can be faked and so on. But the thing that really cleared Philpot in my mind was the conduct of Roper. It’s impossible to consider this case without considering Roper’s conduct.”
“I know, and I really agree with you. Still let us exhaust the possibilities. You thought of other people, I suppose?”
“I thought of everyone else in the place almost. Oxley, Tarkington, Emerson and several others; even Kent I considered. But there wasn’t a shred of evidence against any of them. The only other real alternative to Roper is the burglars—the gang who have been operating for some months past. But here again Roper’s conduct comes in. If Roper wasn’t guilty he wouldn’t have acted as he did.”
The chief constable smoked in silence for some moments.
“I think all you say is very sound. Now just run over the case against Roper and I shall try to pick holes.”
“First, sir, there was the man’s character; vindictive, unscrupulous, a blackmailer, and as well as that a skilful forger. Admittedly this description came from Philpot, but all that could be known to outsiders was confirmed by the sergeant and many others at Kintilloch. Roper was the only person we know of, other than the burglar gang, who had the character and the ability to commit the crime.”
“Not convincing, but go on.”
“Not convincing alone, no doubt; but it does not stand alone. Secondly, there was the getting of Miss Averill out of the way; thirdly, there was the Whymper episode and fourthly, the matter of Giles’s funeral.”
“That’s all right except that when we find Giles’s body was not burned the whole case falls to the ground.”
French threw the stub of his cigar into the fire.
“Don’t you believe it, sir. None of what I have been saying falls to the ground. Though I admit the motive of this Giles business is not clear, the facts remain and their significance remains. I don’t now follow all Roper’s scheme, but I still believe he is our man.”
Major Valentine nodded decisively.
“So do I, French, and we shall get him all right. Then you’ve no theory of where the third body came from?”
“I believe Roper enticed some other poor devil to the house and murdered him also. I think, sir, we’ll have to try again to find out if anyone disappeared about that time.”
“I’ll see to it, but I’m not hopeful of doing better than before.”
Major Valentine showed signs of breaking up the conference, but French raised his hand.
“A moment, sir, if you please. I was thinking that this inquest gives us a chance that perhaps we should take advantage of. No more of those notes have come through. What, sir, would you say was the reason for that?”
“Well, if we’re right about Roper being alive, I suppose because he’s afraid.”
“That’s what I think. And this business will make him still more afraid. Now I wonder if we couldn’t set his mind at ease for him.”
“I don’t quite follow.”
“Why, this way. Suppose that I was very frank in my evidence—very frank and open and comprehensive. Suppose that I should tell about the notes; about their numbers having been taken, and about the one turning up in London, and robbery being thereby suspected and my being sent down to investigate. Suppose I explained that I had succeeded in tracing that note and had found that it had been given by Mr. Averill himself to a friend, and that the whole transaction was perfectly in order. But suppose I conveyed that only the numbers of the last batch of notes—say, twenty twenties—were known. Wouldn’t that do the trick?”
“You mean that if the numbers of only twenty notes were known, Roper would feel safe in changing the others?”
“Quite so. Furthermore, if nothing was said about the ashes being newspaper he would think that the suspicion of robbery had been
