'Ye-es, I suppose so. I think he'd met Sir Leonard, and he had a nodding acquaintance with a number of the warders, but, . ' `But you were the only ones he'd be apt to call on?'
`Probably.'
Dalrye's mouth opened a trifle, and he sat up. Then he sank back into his chair.
`I see, sir. You mean the murderer had made certain both General Mason and I were out?'
The doctor spoke in a testy voice, ringing the ferrule of his cane as he hammered it on the floor:
`Of course he did. If you had been there, he'd certainly have been with you. If the General had been here in your absence, he might have been with the General. And, the murderer wouldn't have any chance to lure him to a suitable spot in the fog and put an end to him.'
Dalrye looked troubled. `All the same,' he said, `I'm willin g to swear it was really Phil's voice on the phone that second time. My God! man — excuse me, sir!' He swallowed, and as Dr Fell only beamed blandly he went on with more assurance, `What I mean is, I knew that voice as well as I knew anybody's. And if what you say is true, it couldn't have been Phil's voice at all..: Besides, how did this person, whoever it was, know that Phil had arranged to meet me down here at one o'clock? And why all the rigmarole about being "afraid of his head"?’
'Those facts,' said Dr Fell composedly, `may provide us with very admirable clues. Think them over. By the way, what sort of voice did Driscoll have?'
Dalrye hesitated. `The only way to describe it is incoherent. He thought so fast that he ran miles ahead of what he was trying to say. And when he was excited his voice tended to grow high.'
Dr Fell, his head on one side and his eyes half closed, was nodding slowly. He peered up, as a knock sounded at the door, and the chief warder entered.
'The police surgeon is here, sir,' he said, `and several other men from Scotland Yard. Are there any instructions?'
Hadley started to rise, and reconsidered.. 'No. Just tell them the usual routine, if you please; they'll understand. I want about a dozen pictures of the body, from all angles. Is there any place the body can conveniently be taken for examination?'
`The Bloody Tower, Mr Radburn,' said General Mason. `Use the Princes Room that's very suitable. Have you got Parker here?'
`Outside, sir; Have you any instructions about those visitors? They're getting impatient, and
`In a moment,' said Hadley. `Would you mind sending Parker in?' As, the chief warder withdrew, he turned to Dalrye. `You have those visitors' names?'
`Yes. And I rather overstepped my rights,' said Dalrye. He drew from his wallet a number of sheets of paper. `I was very solemn about it. I instructed them to write down names, addresses, occupations, and references. Most of them were obvious tourists. I don't think there's any harm in them, and they didn't show any fight. Except Mrs Bitton, that is. And one other woman.'
He handed the bundle of sheets to Hadley. The chief inspector glanced up sharply. `One other woman? Who was she?'
`I didn't notice what she wrote, but I remembered her name from the way she acted. Hard-faced party. You see, I had it all very official, to scare 'em into writing the truth. And this woman was wary. She said, "You're not a notary, are you, young man?" and I was so surprised that I looked at her. Then she said, "You've got no right to do this, young man. We're not under oath. My name is Larkin, and I'm a respectable widow, and that's all you need to know."
Hadley shuffled through the papers.
`Larkin,' he repeated. `H'm. We must look into this. When the net goes out, we often get small fish we're not after at all…. Larkin, Larkin here it is. "Mrs Amanda Georgette Larkin." The "Mrs" in brackets; she wants that clearly understood. Stiff handwriting. Address — Hallo!'
He put down the sheets and frowned. `Well, well! The address is "Tavistock Chambers, 34 Tavistock Square." So she lives in the same building as young Driscoll, eh? This is getting to be quite a convention.'
Sir William had been rubbing his jaw uneasily. He said: `Look here, Hadley, don't you think you'd better bring Mrs Bitton away from the crowd? — She's my sister-in-law, you know, and after all…'
`Most unfortunate,' said Hadley, composedly. `Where's that man Parker?'
Parker had been standing hatless and coatless in the fog just outside the crack of the door, waiting to be summoned. At Hadley's remark he knocked; came inside, and stood at attention.
He was a square, brownish man with a military cut. Like most corporals of his day, he ran largely to moustache; nor did he in the least resemble a valet. The high white collar pinioned his head, as though he were having a daguerreotype taken.
`You are General Mason's orderly?' Hadley inquired. Parker looked pleased. 'Yussir.'
`Mr Dalrye has already told us of the two phone calls
from Mr Driscoll… You answered the phone both times, I believe?'
`Yussir. On both occasions.'
`So you had some conversation with Mr Driscoll?'
`I did, sir. Our talks was not lengthy, but full of meat.' `Could you swear it was Mr Driscoll's voice both times?' Parker frowned. `Well, sir, when you say, "Could you swear it?" ‘- that's a long word,' he answered, judicially. `To the best of my knowledge and discernment from previous occasions, sir, it were.'
`Very well. Now, Mr Dalrye left here in the car shortly before one o'clock. Do you remember at what time Mr Driscoll arrived?'
'One-fifteen, sir.'
'How are you so positive?'
`Excuse me, sir,' Parker said, stolidly. 'I can inform you of everything that happens at the time which it happens, exact, sir, by the movements at the barracks. Or by the bugles. One-fifteen it was.'
Hadley tapped his fingers slowly on the desk.
`Now, take your time, Parker. I want you to remember everything that happened after Mr Driscoll arrived. Try to remember conversations, if you can… First, what was his manner? Nervous? Upset?'
`Very nervous and upset, sir.' 'And how was he dressed?'
`Cloth cap, light-brown golf suit, worsted stockings, club tie, sir. No overcoat. He asked for Mr Dalrye. I said Mr Dalrye had gone to his rooms in response to his own message. He then demonstrated incredulity. He used strong language, at which I was forced to say, "Mr Driscoll, sir,"
I said, "I talked to you myself." I said, "When I answered the telephone you thought I was Mr Dalrye; and you said all in a rush, `Look here, you've got to help me out I can't come down now,' and — `That's what you said'."' Parker cleared his throat. `I explained that to him, sir.'
`What did he say?'
'He said, "How long has Mr Dalrye been gone?" I told him about fifteen' minutes. And he said, "Was he in the car?" and I said "Yes," and he said — excuse me, sir,’ "Oh, my God! that's not long enough to drive up there on a foggy day." But, anyway, he went to the telephone and rang up his own flat.' There was no, answer. He said to get him, a drink, which I did. And while I was getting it I noticed that he kept looking out of the window…. ‘
Hadley- opened his half-closed eyes. `Window? What window?'
`The window of the little room where Mr Dalrye works, sir, in the east wing of the King's House.'
'What can you see from there?'
Parker, who had become so interested in his story that he forgot to be flowery, blinked and tried to right his thoughts. 'See, sir?'
`Yes! The' view. Can you see the Traitors' Gate, for instance?’
"Oh. Yussir! I thought you was referring to… well, sir, to something I saw, which I didn't think was important, but now I get to thinking.. '
You saw something?'
`Yussir. That is, it was after Mr Driscoll had left me, sir.' '
Hadley seemed to fight down a desire to probe hard. He had half-risen, but he sat back and said, evenly: `Very well. Now go on with the story, Parker, from the time you saw Mr Driscoll looking out of the window.'