The Clue of the Twisted Candle

  CHAPTER XIII

  "IF you would care to come in, sir, I'm sure Lexman would be glad tosee you," said T. X.; "it's very kind of you to take an interest in thematter."

  The Chief Commissioner of Police growled something about being paid totake an interest in everybody and strolled with T. X. down one of theapparently endless corridors of Scotland Yard.

  "You won't have any bother about the pardon," he said. "I was diningto-night with old man Bartholomew and he will fix that up in themorning."

  "There will be no necessity to detain Lexman in custody?" asked T. X.

  The Chief shook his head.

  "None whatever," he said.

  There was a pause, then,

  "By the way, did Bartholomew mention Belinda Mary!"

  The white-haired chief looked round in astonishment.

  "And who the devil is Belinda Mary?" he asked.

  T. X. went red.

  "Belinda Mary," he said a little quickly, "is Bartholomew's daughter."

  "By Jove," said the Commissioner, "now you mention it, he did--she isstill in France."

  "Oh, is she?" said T. X. innocently, and in his heart of hearts hewished most fervently that she was. They came to the room which Mansusoccupied and found that admirable man waiting.

  Wherever policemen meet, their conversation naturally drifts to "shop"and in two minutes the three were discussing with some animation andmuch difference of opinion, as far as T. X. was concerned, a seriesof frauds which had been perpetrated in the Midlands, and which havenothing to do with this story.

  "Your friend is late," said the Chief Commissioner.

  "There he is," cried T. X., springing up. He heard a familiar footstepon the flagged corridor, and sprung out of the room to meet thenewcomer.

  For a moment he stood wringing the hand of this grave man, his heart toofull for words.

  "My dear chap!" he said at last, "you don't know how glad I am to seeyou."

  John Lexman said nothing, then,

  "I am sorry to bring you into this business, T. X.," he said quietly.

  "Nonsense," said the other, "come in and see the Chief."

  He took John by the arm and led him into the Superintendent's room.

  There was a change in John Lexman. A subtle shifting of balance whichwas not readily discoverable. His face was older, the mobile mouth alittle more grimly set, the eyes more deeply lined. He was in eveningdress and looked, as T. X. thought, a typical, clean, English gentleman,such an one as any self-respecting valet would be proud to say he had"turned out."

  T. X. looking at him carefully could see no great change, save that downone side of his smooth shaven cheek ran the scar of an old wound; whichcould not have been much more than superficial.

  "I must apologize for this kit," said John, taking off his overcoat andlaying it across the back of a chair, "but the fact is I was so boredthis evening that I had to do something to pass the time away, so Idressed and went to the theatre--and was more bored than ever."

  T. X. noticed that he did not smile and that when he spoke it was slowlyand carefully, as though he were weighing the value of every word.

  "Now," he went on, "I have come to deliver myself into your hands."

  "I suppose you have not seen Kara?" said T. X.

  "I have no desire to see Kara," was the short reply.

  "Well, Mr. Lexman," broke in the Chief, "I don't think you are going tohave any difficulty about your escape. By the way, I suppose it was byaeroplane?"

  Lexman nodded.

  "And you had an assistant?"

  Again Lexman nodded.

  "Unless you press me I would rather not discuss the matter for somelittle time, Sir George," he said, "there is much that will happenbefore the full story of my escape is made known."

  Sir George nodded.

  "We will leave it at that," he said cheerily, "and now I hope you havecome back to delight us all with one of your wonderful plots."

  "For the time being I have done with wonderful plots," said John Lexmanin that even, deliberate tone of his. "I hope to leave London next weekfor New York and take up such of the threads of life as remain. Thegreater thread has gone."

  The Chief Commissioner understood.

  The silence which followed was broken by the loud and insistent ringingof the telephone bell.

  "Hullo," said Mansus rising quickly; "that's Kara's bell."

  With two quick strides he was at the telephone and lifted down thereceiver.

  "Hullo," he cried. "Hullo," he cried again. There was no reply, onlythe continuous buzzing, and when he hung up the receiver again, the bellcontinued ringing.

  The three policemen looked at one another.

  "There's trouble there," said Mansus.

  "Take off the receiver," said T. X., "and try again."

  Mansus obeyed, but there was no response.

  "I am afraid this is not my affair," said John Lexman gathering up hiscoat. "What do you wish me to do, Sir George?"

  "Come along to-morrow morning and see us, Lexman," said Sir George,offering his hand.

  "Where are you staying!" asked T. X.

  "At the Great Midland," replied the other, "at least my bags have goneon there."

  "I'll come along and see you to-morrow morning. It's curious this shouldhave happened the night you returned," he said, gripping the other'sshoulder affectionately.

  John Lexman did not speak for the moment.

  "If anything happened to Kara," he said slowly, "if the worst that waspossible happened to him, believe me I should not weep."

  T. X. looked down into the other's eyes sympathetically.

  "I think he has hurt you pretty badly, old man," he said gently.

  John Lexman nodded.

  "He has, damn him," he said between his teeth.

  The Chief Commissioner's motor car was waiting outside and in this T.X., Mansus, and a detective-sergeant were whirled off to Cadogan Square.Fisher was in the hall when they rung the bell and opened the doorinstantly.

  He was frankly surprised to see his visitors. Mr. Kara was in his roomhe explained resentfully, as though T. X. should have been aware of thefact without being told. He had heard no bell ringing and indeed had notbeen summoned to the room.

  "I have to see him at eleven o'clock," he said, "and I have had standinginstructions not to go to him unless I am sent for."

  T. X. led the way upstairs, and went straight to Kara's room. Heknocked, but there was no reply. He knocked again and on this failing toevoke any response kicked heavily at the door.

  "Have you a telephone downstairs!" he asked.

  "Yes, sir," replied Fisher.

  T. X. turned to the detective-sergeant.

  "'Phone to the Yard," he said, "and get a man up with a bag of tools. Weshall have to pick this lock and I haven't got my case with me."

  "Picking the lock would be no good, sir," said Fisher, an interestedspectator, "Mr. Kara's got the latch down."

  "I forgot that," said T. X. "Tell him to bring his saw, we'll have tocut through the panel here."

  While they were waiting for the arrival of the police officer T. X.strove to attract the attention of the inmates of the room, but withoutsuccess.

  "Does he take opium or anything!" asked Mansus.

  Fisher shook his head.

  "I've never known him to take any of that kind of stuff," he said.

  T. X. made a rapid survey of the other rooms on that floor. The roomnext to Kara's was the library, beyond that was a dressing room which,according to Fisher, Miss Holland had used, and at the farthermost endof the corridor was the dining room.

  Facing the dining room was a small service lift and by its side astoreroom in which were a number of trunks, including a very large onesmothered in injunctions in three different languages to "handle withcare." There was nothing else of interest on this floor and the upperand lower floors could wait. In a quarter of an hour the carpenter hadarrived from Scotland Yard, and had bored a hole in the rosewood panelof Kara's
room and was busily applying his slender saw.

  Through the hole he cut T. X. could see no more than that the room wasin darkness save for the glow of a blazing fire. He inserted his hand,groped for the knob of the steel latch, which he had remarked on hisprevious visit to the room, lifted it and the door swung open.

  "Keep outside, everybody," he ordered.

  He felt for the switch of the electric, found it and instantly the roomwas flooded with light. The bed was hidden by the open door. T. X. tookone stride into the room and saw enough. Kara was lying half on and halfoff the bed. He was quite dead and the blood-stained patch above hisheart told its own story.

  T. X. stood looking down at him, saw the frozen horror on the dead man'sface, then drew his eyes away and slowly surveyed the room. There in themiddle of the carpet he found his clue, a bent and twisted little candlesuch as you find on children's Christmas trees.