“So I went along to investigate. I found, on the other side of that door, a long hallway at the end of which is another door and stairway. At the bottom of those stairs is a dead man. He has been murdered. And ironically enough, he is lying near the very same statue beside which Max Schweingurt was murdered.” I paused to let that sink in.
“But . . . but . . . that’s impossible.” Reilly was almost explosive at this point. “We just examined the statue beside which Schweingurt was killed. It is out in the main part of the museum.”
“Yes? That is what everyone is supposed to think. But I am the second person, other than Dr Bramble and his friend here, to know that the statue in the museum is not the one which was purchased from Max Schweingurt. It was never inside Schweingurt’s galleries. The other person who made this discovery is in the basement, dead. I would be in the same position, too, if our friend who calls himself Leiderkrantz,” I nodded at the man, “had succeeded in his attempt to bludgeon me to death a few minutes ago.
“I didn’t find the answer for myself, really. I more or less got it from a telegram I found in the dead man’s pocket. And when I discovered the second statue of the goddess, the entire story seemed pretty clear.”
I could tell Reilly was ready with a hundred questions, but he was a fair man and was patient enough to let me tell the story my own way.
I read the telegram to them.
“The statue on the floor of the museum is the original. There is no doubt of that. Dr Bramble wouldn’t display any other but the original, of that I am sure. Therefore, the statue in the basement is a copy of the original, a very fine copy, we may be sure, since it had Max Schweingurt fooled for two years while it stood in his galleries. All this time, Dr Bramble knew the statue was in the gallery. But he evidenced no desire to own it for some time. We may, therefore, conclude that he always knew it for the copy which it was.
“Then, suddenly, Dr Bramble wanted to purchase that statue – the one we now know to be only a copy. Why? . . . He learned through a secret source that the original Athena was being smuggled from Greece and was to be placed in a museum in Mexico City. He wanted that original Athena – wanted it badly. He knew he would never be able to strike a bargain with the Mexican museum. They wanted it for themselves. So he schemed and finally hit upon an idea so perfect it almost worked. It was just a little too smooth, though, and excited the suspicions of the insurance company.
“Bramble’s plan was to buy the copy of Athena from Schweingurt, paying the high price and never letting anyone know the statue was not the original. After it had been placed here in the museum it would be ‘stolen’, it would simply disappear. Then the insurance company would get a ‘tip’ that the statue was in the museum in Mexico City, just after the time it arrived there. The statue would have been smuggled into Mexico. There would be no proof of its purchase and the museum would not be able to prove how it had gained possession of it. By putting some pressure to bear, the insurance company, completely innocent of any duplicity, could bring the original statue to Bramble.
“All these plans were carried out. But there was a slight interruption. Schweingurt, in his enthusiasm about the original Dionysus, a creation of the sculptor of the original Athena, confided in Bramble that the gallery would soon be displaying the Dionysus statuette. Bramble was horrified. He realized that if the original Dionysus were compared with the copy of Athena, Schweingurt would realize that the Athena was a copy and Bramble’s plans would be ruined.
“He sent a man of his own to Lisbon to do away with the European representative, Leiderkrantz, steal the original Dionysus and return to this country posing as Leiderkrantz.
“I was hired by Schweingurt to protect Leiderkrantz on his trip from the airport to the galleries. But the fake Leiderkrantz slugged me, contacted Bramble and switched the original Dionysus for a very good copy which had been stored in the basement of the museum. He then delivered the copy to Schweingurt.
“The two copies could now be compared as they had both been made by the same sculptor, which Bramble knew.
“But Schweingurt had found out that the man who had delivered the statuette was an impostor. He was suspicious. He made tests of the statuette and found that it was not the original. He called Bramble into conference and told him. Bramble insisted, in the face of contrary evidence, that the statuette was the original. Since the Athena had been the only work of its kind in this country, Schweingurt had always taken its value for granted. Bramble was apparently afraid that Schweingurt would become suspicious and would make tests disproving the authenticity of the Athena.
“He left the galleries but returned later, after the closing time. He either found Schweingurt comparing the Dionysus with the Athena and making tests which were disclosing the age of them both, or he may have already discovered that the Athena was a copy. He may have told Bramble since he knew Bramble would not be interested in buying anything other than the original. There would be a tremendous difference between the two and a reputable dealer would be bound by ethics to refund the money for an object which turned out to be other than represented.
“This meant the ruin of Bramble’s plan. But he wouldn’t give up too easily. He turned on Schweingurt and killed him. He stole the copy of the Dionysus which Schweingurt had held in his hands as he fell, dead, against the Athena. But as Schweingurt fell, the tip of the staff in the hands of the tiny figure was broken. In his haste, Bramble did not notice the break until he was away and it was too late to recover the lost piece. He had no way of knowing that it had been discovered by the police since the fact was never published.
“The Athena copy was delivered to Bramble as scheduled. The next night he hid it in the basement storeroom and reported it stolen. Then, to further the theme of murder for robbery and to try to definitely pin suspicion on someone, Bramble took the original Dionysus, which he didn’t wish any one to discover in his possession, and planted it in Maurice Cambelli’s room. It was he who tipped off the police.
“With the original Athena eventually brought to his museum and the original Dionysus discovered in Cambelli’s room, the two could be compared without any danger to Bramble. They were both the originals, as they were thought to be.
“The copy of the Athena is in the basement storeroom here. A laboratory test may bring out traces of Schweingurt’s blood on the base of the statue and prove that the copy is the one that Bramble actually bought.
“The insurance company smelled a rat and did a little investigating of Bramble. The investigator discovered the copy of Athena in the basement. As far as Bramble was concerned, there wasn’t a chance of his continued success in the deception. But . . .” I paused, swinging my body slowly in the chair. “This guy,” I pointed to the man we had known as Leiderkrantz. “This guy killed the investigator!” I shot the words out hoping to get some sort of reaction.
“Oh, no. You don’t pin that on me,” the fellow cried shakily. He waved his arm desperately at Bramble. “Bramble killed him. You’re not hanging no murders on me. I was just . . .”
He slumped in his chair, staring sightlessly at the wall. His face was the gray color of ashes and his lips compressed in a tight, bluish line. His thin shoulders were slumped in defeat.