The Mystery of the Hidden Room Read online

  CHAPTER IV

  THE INQUEST

  When I awoke the sun was pouring into the room and my watch pointed toeleven o'clock. After hours of pacing the floor in utter anguish ofspirit while the specter of murder stalked hand-in-hand with innocenceand love, outraged nature had asserted herself and I had found respitein oblivion. But now the weary round of thoughts must be taken up againand it was with a sigh of relief that I obeyed the summons to presentmyself in the study where the coroner was holding the inquest.

  The body had been removed and in the chair where it had so lately restedreposed the coroner with his papers spread out on the table before him.I noticed that he had taken the chair from the head of the table and hadplaced it around the corner on the right side, facing the direction ofthe door instead of the safe.

  In the corner opposite the door sat the younger of the two detectiveswho had accompanied the Sergeant to the house the night before. Besidehim was Orton, looking pale and dispirited, while huddled in theadjacent corner like a herd of frightened cattle stood the servants,their eyes fastened upon the coroner, watching his every movement as ifin terror lest they be accused of having murdered their master. Groupedaround the table but slightly behind the coroner sat the jury, and I wasglad to note that the coroner had had the good sense to pick a fairlyrespectable set of men to judge the case, from which I argued hopefullythat the gray-haired, heavy-set gentleman in charge of the case mightpossess a modicum of intelligence and a keener brain than the averagecoroner.

  Back of the jury stood Dr. Haskins, in conference with a rotundindividual whom I assumed rightly to be the coroner's physician. Beyondthe doctors sat the assistant district attorney, surrounded by the veryfew newspapermen who had got wind of the affair and had insisted uponbeing present.

  Passing the jury I seated myself near one of the windows beside a manwhom I recalled having seen, but whom I could not at the moment place,and looked around in vain for Ruth. Evidently Coroner Graves (I obtainedthis information from the man beside me) intended to spare her as muchas possible, for which consideration I thanked him from the bottom of myheart.

  They must have been awaiting my presence since I was no sooner seatedthan the coroner called on Doctor Haskins to give his testimony. Thedoctor repeated what he had previously told me, that Philip Darwin hadbeen shot through the left lung, that death had resulted from internalhemorrhage, and that the victim had lived at least twenty minutes afterthe bullet had penetrated his body. Asked if he had examined Mr. Darwinimmediately upon his arrival, the doctor replied that he had firstattended Mrs. Darwin and that it must have been ten or fifteen minuteslater that he had entered the study. He had found Mr. Darwin lying backin his chair with a smile on his lips, one hand closed over ahandkerchief, the other hanging limply over the arm of the chair. Fromthe condition of the body he must have been dead from twenty to thirtyminutes. Also there was a small abrasion on the little finger of hisleft hand, as if a ring had been violently removed. Questioned as towhether he was the family's physician, he said no, that he only knew Mr.Darwin by sight and had probably been summoned because he was thenearest doctor.

  This evidence was partially corroborated by the coroner's physician, whoadded that he had made a post-mortem examination and had extracted thebullet, which had narrowly missed entering the heart. From the nature ofthe wound it would have been impossible for him to have shot himself,and the absence of all powder stains pointed to murder rather thansuicide.

  Then he continued, with a slightly commiserating look in Dr. Haskins'direction: "You have heard Dr. Haskins' testimony, your honor, that thevictim lived twenty minutes after he was shot, and that at the time thatthe doctor examined him he had already been dead from twenty to thirtyminutes. This last statement is correct. The post-mortem examinationproves conclusively that Mr. Darwin died at midnight or shortlythereafter. From questions that I have already put to Mr. Orton I havelearned that the shot was fired as the clock finished striking twelve,therefore since that was the only shot fired Mr. Darwin must have diedimmediately, or at the best, must have lived only five minutes, for Dr.Haskins was in the study by twelve-thirty."

  "But," interrupted Dr. Haskins, "the nature of the wound is such thatinstantaneous death could not have possibly occurred."

  "Please do not volunteer information unless you are being questioned,"returned the coroner with some asperity. He turned to his physician,"You were saying, Doctor?"

  Dr. Haskins shrugged his shoulders at the coroner's words, while hisboyish face flushed angrily at the rebuke, and he walked away from thetable, but turned to listen as the physician took up the cudgels againby answering the query he had propounded.

  "Dr. Haskins is young in his profession and this is his first criminalcase, hence his natural inference that because in his medical books sucha wound should produce such results, therefore it must be so inpractice," said the coroner's physician, with pompous superiority. "Nowas a matter of fact where one man will live an hour another will surviveonly a few minutes, depending on the life each has led. Now Mr. Darwin,I have been told, led a very fast life, which probably accounts for hisquick demise. After all, you see, it's a question of fitting your factsto the circumstances of your case and in this instance no otherconclusion is possible."

  I could see that Dr. Haskins was not at all convinced, and I set it downto professional jealousy and his desire not to be outdone by thecoroner's physician. I can imagine that that "is young in hisprofession" rather stuck in his gorge.

  When the physician had seated himself the coroner took up the bullet andcalled the detective, to whom he handed it along with another objectthat had been lying upon the table. Whereupon the detective took a stepforward and held up the object for our inspection. It was along-barreled thirty-eight caliber revolver, just the sort of weapon aman would keep in his house for use against burglars, since it insured afair chance of more accurate marksmanship.

  "This revolver, gentlemen," said the detective, speaking to the jury,"was found on the floor beside the chair in which the victim lay. As youcan see for yourselves," here he broke the pistol, "it is fully loadedwith the exception of one chamber, which has recently been discharged.The bullet extracted from Mr. Darwin's body corresponds in every respectwith the bullets remaining in this pistol. Therefore I have nohesitation in stating that the deceased was killed with this weapon inmy hand."

  He passed the revolver and the bullet to the jury, adding that Mr.Darwin had been standing when he was shot, and that as he had beenengaged in writing the moment before, the inference was plain that hehad risen to meet the person who killed him.

  "What makes you certain he was standing when he was shot?" inquired thecoroner.

  "The carpet, if you'll notice," replied the detective, whose name, bythe way, was Jones, "has a very heavy pile. The marks made by thatarm-chair as it was pushed back from the table were apparent to me whenI examined the carpet around it. Now Mr. Darwin had been writing, for wefound a half-finished word on the paper before him, and must thereforehave been seated in the chair. Hence the only person who could haveproduced those marks in the carpet was the victim himself, and theycould only have been made if, as I said, he had risen suddenly to meethis murderer, who was evidently known to him, since Mr. Darwin wassmiling when he was killed."

  There was a murmur of admiration for the clever way in which he haddeduced his statement, and the man beside me softly clapped his hands ashe whispered to himself, "admirable, marvelous. Upon my soul I could nothave builded better had I tried."

  The thought came to me that my companion might be a detective also, andthat he was delighted with the intelligence displayed by hisprofessional brother, but I had no time to nurse idle speculations, forJones had resumed his seat, and I expected the coroner to make anattempt to discover the ownership of the pistol. To my surprise heignored that point and turned his attention to the servants.

  The butler, who was the first servant called upon and who was a vigorousold man about sixty years of age, gave his name as Ge
orge Mason andstated that he had been in his position for thirty years. I saw thecoroner's face clear at this statement, for surely a man who had beenthe family retainer for so long a time could be relied on not to pervertany knowledge he might possess of the events of the previous night. Thecoroner should have recalled that though not given to perverting justiceold family servants have a faculty for forgetting what they would rathernot explain.

  "I understand that it is your duty to secure the house at night," beganthe coroner.

  "Yes, sir."

  "What time do you usually lock up?"

  "When Mr. Darwin left the house for the evening, sir. Or if he was away,as he sometimes is, for days together, it would remain locked while hewas gone. That is, it was that way before his marriage, sir. Now I lockup when Mrs. Darwin goes upstairs."

  "What time did you close the house last night?"

  "At nine-thirty, sir."

  "You are sure you locked all the doors and windows securely?"

  "Oh, yes, sir, everything except the study, for to my surprise Mr. Ortonwas in there and said he'd lock the windows himself, sir."

  "Why did Mr. Orton's presence in the study surprise you?"

  "Because Mr. Darwin always keeps the study locked, sir. I have aduplicate key to let the maid in to clean, sir, and it was my custom inmy rounds at night to knock on the door. If I got no answer I went in tosee that everything was all right, sir."

  "How long has Mr. Darwin been in the habit of locking his study?"

  "A good many years, sir, ten or more."

  "For what reason?"

  "I do not know, sir."

  "Did Mr. Orton explain how he came to be in the study?"

  "No, sir. When I found him there I withdrew at once."

  "After that, what did you do?"

  "I saw to it that all the servants had left the main wing and closed thedoor into the servants' wing. When that door is closed it is impossibleto hear what goes on in the main part of the house, sir. We went to bedand did not know the master was dead until Mr. Orton informed us thismorning, sir."

  "I see. This applies to all the servants, you can swear to that?"

  "Yes, sir, to all except the valet and Mrs. Darwin's maid. They do notleave the main wing until dismissed for the night."

  "Who opened up the house this morning?"

  "The police, sir."

  The coroner looked inquiringly at the detective, who answered promptly:"Nothing had been tampered with. The burglar alarms on the windows wereall intact and the front door was double-locked when the doctorarrived."

  The coroner turned once more to the butler. "When did you last see Mr.Darwin alive?"

  "Yesterday about six o'clock, sir. He was just going out."

  "Then he was not home for dinner?"

  "No, sir. Mr. Orton and Mrs. Darwin dined alone, sir, for even Mr. Leewas away."

  "Who is Mr. Lee?"

  "Mr. Darwin's nephew, sir. He has lived here ever since he was a lad,sir."

  Coroner Graves pondered a moment, then asked abruptly, "Have you evernoticed any signs of ill-feeling between your master and mistress?"

  The answer came without a moment's hesitation, "No, sir, and even if Idid it was not my place, begging your pardon, sir, to pry into theaffairs of my betters."

  The jury smiled, but the coroner frowned as he told Mason that he wasthrough questioning him, for he was evidently a stickler in regard toupholding the dignity of the law as embodied in his own proper person,of course.

  The examination of the other servants was a mere formality. None of themknew anything of the tragedy and they were disposed of in a group withthe exception of the valet and Ruth's maid.

  The former, being questioned, stated that his master had given him theevening, that he had left the house at six and had not returned untileight this morning. Where had he been at midnight, why at the Highfling,on Fourteenth Street, dancing with his girl.

  The coroner summoned a policeman and sent him out to verify thisstatement, then called Ruth's maid, who supplied him with the first bitof tangible evidence against her mistress.

  "How long have you been in your present position, Annie?" he asked,glancing at the sheet he held in his hand.

  "Five months, sir," answered Annie, with a grin and curtsey. She wasquite a pretty girl and it was evident that she was bursting to tell allshe knew, so the coroner asked her to relate everything that hadhappened the night before, admonishing her to be careful not to forget asingle detail.

  She tossed her head. "As if I'm like to forget, sir, with it all endingin murder, sir." She spoke the word in a thrilling whisper, enjoying tothe full her connection with so sensational an affair.

  "Last night, sir, about ten-thirty, as I was getting my mistress readyfor bed, came a knock at the door and who should it be but Mr. Orton,saying that the master wished to see my mistress in the study. Quick asa wink she was after him down the stairs, and I hadn't hardly had timeto fix the bed before she was back again----"

  "Be more definite," interrupted the coroner. "Was she gone fiveminutes?"

  "Nearer ten, sir," came the ready answer.

  "Were you making the bed that it took you ten minutes to fix it?"inquired the coroner, sharply.

  The girl hung her head. "No, sir. I went out in the hall to see if Icould hear anything, but there was no sound and when I saw my mistresscoming up the stairs I ran back in the room and noticed the clock saidabout twenty to eleven, sir."

  "Be careful how you give false impressions, my girl. Remember that wealways learn the truth," said the coroner, severely.

  The girl was quite abashed and just a little frightened. "It wasn't anyharm, sir," she murmured, "and I didn't hear anything, so I thought itdidn't have to be told."

  "Go on with your story," shortly.

  "Yes, sir. My mistress came back looking very excited and sat down ather desk. She wrote something on a paper and put it in a white envelope,then she told me to give it to her chauffeur and to tell him to go forMr. Davies and bring him back as fast as possible. She said I needn'tcome back to her, so I did what she told me and then went to bed. Idon't know how long I'd been asleep when Mr. Orton woke me and told memy mistress was ill. I flung on some clothes and followed him to herroom, where the doctor told me to stay the rest of the night. I didn'tknow the master was dead until I went to get my breakfast. The butlertold me, and that is all I know, sir."

  "You have no idea what was in the note?"

  "No, sir. It was sealed."

  The chauffeur was called next and testified that what the maid hadrelated with regard to him was correct. He had taken the note to myhouse and delivered it to my man. When I had entered the machine he haddriven me to the Darwin home and left me at the front steps.

  "Did the maid give you Mr. Davies' address?" asked an inquisitive juror.

  "No, sir. I was Mrs. Darwin's chauffeur before her marriage and hadoften driven Mr. Davies home, sir."

  "Then Mr. Davies was acquainted with Mrs. Darwin before her marriage?"This from another juror.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Did you not think it odd that your mistress should send for Mr. Daviesat that time of night?" inquired the coroner.

  "I didn't think about it one way or 'tother. I'm paid to obey orders,sir."

  There was nothing more to be obtained from him and as by this time ithad grown late a short recess was called for luncheon. I had hoped tosee Ruth, but I was disappointed for she kept her room and so, notcaring to join the others in the dining-room, I had Mason bring me abite in the room adjoining the study.

  When the inquest was reopened I once more took a chair near a window butabove the table instead of below it, where I could watch more closelythe witnesses as they were called. To my surprise my companion of themorning again chose a seat beside me.

  Then the coroner rapped for order and inquired if Gregory had returned.

  "Yes, sir," answered the policeman promptly, coming forward andsaluting. "The valet's alibi is O. K., sir. The music hall attend
antremembers speaking to him at midnight, and his girl corroborated histestimony."

  "Very well. That effectually disposes of the servants," remarked thecoroner. "Now for the more important witnesses."

  I was hoping that he would call me first, but the name that fell fromhis lips was that of Claude Orton, private secretary and creature of themurdered man.