“Top drawer to the left,” he suggested. She opened it, and found a radio headset of earphones, as well as a pad of paper and a dozen sharpened pencils.
The Lieutenant nodded encouragingly. She put on the headset, and then suddenly her pencil started flying across the pad in a weird line of hieroglyphics which neither Mr. Pitman nor Mr. Gregg would have owned. But her own brand of shorthand had come in handily before, and it was handy now.
With the headset over her ears, she could hear every word that was spoken in the next room. The Inspector was talking, crisply and clearly.
“… you’ll have to explain the reason,” he was finishing. “It’s not the custom for us to furnish an officer as a body guard in a case of this kind. What are you afraid of? As it happens, there was an officer in the hall last night, but I’m taking him off today. Why do you want a body guard?”
“Because there’s danger in that house,” broke in Hubert Stait, his voice raised above its usual cautious calm. “I’m entitled to police protection, aren’t I?”
“My dear young man, the murder is already committed. Laurie Stait is dead. It’s unlikely …”
“It is not unlikely that something else will happen. I know! Inspector, I tell you that nobody’s life is safe if you don’t keep a guard in our house at night. That’s like the police. You come around and ask questions and make life miserable for the innocent bystanders, but when a person knows that there is the greatest danger you pooh-pooh it until it’s too late. Laurie is dead, though he might not be if he’d come to the police when he started to be worried over whatever it was. We all knew he was in trouble, worse trouble than usual. All week he’d been staying home and he wouldn’t let anyone else answer the phone … though he seemed to dread it. But he is dead … and I’m not going to be the next one.”
“Why should anyone want to murder you?”
“I don’t know, I tell you! But I think somebody is trying to wipe out every male member of our family. Laurie was first, he’s the eldest. But why do you think it’s going to stop there?”
“Why not? Any reason why you think all the men in the family are doomed ? Who are they, by the way—besides the late Laurie Stait, and Lew, and yourself?”
There was a moment’s silence, and Miss Withers heard the creak of the Inspector’s easy chair.
Then Hubert’s careful voice came over the wire. “The next in line would be Charley, that’s Charles Waverly, the New York attorney. He’s a fourth cousin or something to the twins, while I’m a first cousin. The next relatives are farther removed, both by blood and by actual distance. They’re out in Kansas or somewhere.”
“I see. And why would anyone start to knock off the whole family? Is there a large estate?”
“I … I don’t think so. Gran always is preaching economy, although there’s money enough to keep things running. Gran never entertains, you know, and two servants keep the place. The house itself ought to be worth a good deal.”
“Doesn’t look like motive for murder to me,” said the Inspector. “Even a house on Riverside Drive isn’t worth more than twenty or thirty thousand in these times. Nobody would start wholesale murder for that.”
“Then why was Laurie killed?”
“We’ll have an answer for that question one of these days,” said Inspector Piper slowly. “It may be an answer that certain people don’t like, but it will be the right one. No, Mr. Hubert Stait, I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse your request to have an officer play wet-nurse for you unless you can give me a better reason than this fantastic story of a deeplaid plot …”
“Then I’ll give you a better reason than that, Inspector.” Hubert’s voice cracked. “Last night someone tried to kill me!”
X
Or Forever Hold His Peace
T HERE WAS A SILENCE during which Miss Withers might have counted ten. Then the Inspector’s voice rose,
The Lieutenant nodded encouragingly. She put on the headset, and then suddenly her pencil started flying across the pad in a weird line of hieroglyphics which neither Mr. Pitman nor Mr. Gregg would have owned. But her own brand of shorthand had come in handily before, and it was handy now.
With the headset over her ears, she could hear every word that was spoken in the next room. The Inspector was talking, crisply and clearly.
“… you’ll have to explain the reason,” he was finishing. “It’s not the custom for us to furnish an officer as a body guard in a case of this kind. What are you afraid of? As it happens, there was an officer in the hall last night, but I’m taking him off today. Why do you want a body guard?”
“Because there’s danger in that house,” broke in Hubert Stait, his voice raised above its usual cautious calm. “I’m entitled to police protection, aren’t I?”
“My dear young man, the murder is already committed. Laurie Stait is dead. It’s unlikely …”
“It is not unlikely that something else will happen. I know! Inspector, I tell you that nobody’s life is safe if you don’t keep a guard in our house at night. That’s like the police. You come around and ask questions and make life miserable for the innocent bystanders, but when a person knows that there is the greatest danger you pooh-pooh it until it’s too late. Laurie is dead, though he might not be if he’d come to the police when he started to be worried over whatever it was. We all knew he was in trouble, worse trouble than usual. All week he’d been staying home and he wouldn’t let anyone else answer the phone … though he seemed to dread it. But he is dead … and I’m not going to be the next one.”
“Why should anyone want to murder you?”
“I don’t know, I tell you! But I think somebody is trying to wipe out every male member of our family. Laurie was first, he’s the eldest. But why do you think it’s going to stop there?”
“Why not? Any reason why you think all the men in the family are doomed ? Who are they, by the way—besides the late Laurie Stait, and Lew, and yourself?”
There was a moment’s silence, and Miss Withers heard the creak of the Inspector’s easy chair.
Then Hubert’s careful voice came over the wire. “The next in line would be Charley, that’s Charles Waverly, the New York attorney. He’s a fourth cousin or something to the twins, while I’m a first cousin. The next relatives are farther removed, both by blood and by actual distance. They’re out in Kansas or somewhere.”
“I see. And why would anyone start to knock off the whole family? Is there a large estate?”
“I … I don’t think so. Gran always is preaching economy, although there’s money enough to keep things running. Gran never entertains, you know, and two servants keep the place. The house itself ought to be worth a good deal.”
“Doesn’t look like motive for murder to me,” said the Inspector. “Even a house on Riverside Drive isn’t worth more than twenty or thirty thousand in these times. Nobody would start wholesale murder for that.”
“Then why was Laurie killed?”
“We’ll have an answer for that question one of these days,” said Inspector Piper slowly. “It may be an answer that certain people don’t like, but it will be the right one. No, Mr. Hubert Stait, I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse your request to have an officer play wet-nurse for you unless you can give me a better reason than this fantastic story of a deeplaid plot …”
“Then I’ll give you a better reason than that, Inspector.” Hubert’s voice cracked. “Last night someone tried to kill me!”
X
Or Forever Hold His Peace
T HERE WAS A SILENCE during which Miss Withers might have counted ten. Then the Inspector’s voice rose,
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