CHAPTER LXII.
AT THE MAGISTRATE'S COURT.
There was an unusual bustle in the Bishop Street Police Court onFriday morning, every person who could gain admittance and everyperson in the crowds outside being on the tiptoe of expectation. Mr.Mallandaine, the magistrate, was in attendance early, and half-a-dozenminor cases of drunkenness were disposed of by eleven o'clock, beforewhich time every seat was occupied, and there was not a vacant inch ofstanding room. If there had been any intention on the part of Dr. Pyeand Mr. Ezra Lynn not to present themselves it was frustrated by thevigilance of Detective Lambert, who had stepped outside the boundaryof his duties to secure their attendance. There was not a trace ofdiscomposure on the countenance of Dr. Pye. In marked contrast to hiscomposed demeanour was that of Mr. Ezra Lynn, who, while assuming anair of amused benevolence, was not entirely successful in concealinghis inward agitation. No information had reached him as to whether hehad been subp[oe]naed as a witness for the prosecution or the defence;he knew that this was irregular, but he did not dare disobey thesummons. No token of recognition passed between him and Dr. Pye,although Lambert had man[oe]uvred that they should be seated next toeach other. Immediately behind Dr. Pye sat an individual who mighthave been French or Italian; his swarthy complexion and curledmoustache proclaimed him to be certainly not an Englishman. He tookhis seat, the position of which had also been arranged by Lambert,after the entrance of Dr. Pye, so that the former, who did not onceturn his head, was not aware of his presence. Mr. Rawdon, therecalcitrant juror, was within hail, and manifestly as little at easeas Mr. Ezra Lynn. Near them sat Mrs. Abel Death, worn and haggard withanxiety, all her efforts to find Gracie having failed. Uncle and AuntRob and Florence were on another bench, and the eyes that rested ontheir suffering faces were filled with pity and kindly sympathy; andnear them were seated Lady Wharton and her brother, Lord Fairfax. Mr.Higgins, in skull cap and list slippers, was also present.
There was scarcely elbow-room at the long narrow table below themagistrate's chair. Mr. Finnis, Q.C., representing her ladyship, wasthere, and Mr. Marlow for the prosecution, and Mr. Pallaret for thedefence, with the solicitors engaged in the case, and the newspaperreporters, who were so numerous that accommodation could not be foundfor more than half of them; those who could not obtain seats stood atthe back, and plied their pencils industriously.
A buzz of excitement ran through the Court as Reginald and Dickappeared in the dock. They were ushered in separately, and this wasthe first time they had met since Reginald's arrest, but messages hadpassed between them through friends and solicitors, and their firstaction now, as they stood side by side, was to hold out their hands intoken of hearty friendship and confidence. Upon some of the spectatorsthis friendly greeting produced a favourable impression; upon othersthe reverse. Of the two young men, it was clear that Reginald felt hisposition the more acutely; Dick had recovered his bright and cheerymanner, and it was hard to believe that he stood charged with ahorrible crime.
Upon the case being called, Mr. Pallaret rose and said that heappeared for both the accused. "In expressing the hope," added thelearned counsel, "that the case for the prosecution will be fullydisclosed, and in such a comprehensive manner as to enable yourworship to decide to-day whether you will discharge the accused orcommit them for trial, I am carrying out their strong wish, with whichmy own view of what is just and right coincides."
Mr. Mallandaine: "It is certainly advisable that a charge of thisnature should not be kept hanging over the heads of the accused for anunreasonable length of time, but we have to be guided, to some extent,by the counsel for the prosecution."
Mr. Marlow: "There is no desire on our part for delay. In a matter ofthis grave import every opportunity for defence should be given to anaccused person, and in our proceedings to-day I say frankly that I donot intend to hold anything back. At the conclusion of the evidence itwill be for your worship to decide whether the facts disclosed aresufficient to warrant the committal of the prisoners. I venture to saythat there have been few cases of the kind in which the circumstantialevidence is so strong and direct. I would point out to your worshipthat the case assumes a different complexion from that which itpresented this day week. Then there was only one person charged, nowthere are two, and I shall be able to prove collusion in the committalof a murder as brutal as any which can be found in the whole calendarof crime. The arrest of the second prisoner, Richard Remington, cousinof the first, Reginald Boyd, instead of complicating the issue, hascleared it, for much that was mysterious is now capable ofexplanation. The medical evidence will establish that the murder wascommitted on the night of Friday, the 1st of March----"
Mr. Pallaret: "Or on the night of Saturday, the 2nd. My learnedbrother will see the point."
Mr. Marlow: "Yes, I see it, but I shall contend that it was committedon Friday, on which night Reginald Boyd visited his father, for thepurpose, as he has himself admitted, of obtaining money from him, hebeing then, upon his own confession, in an impecunious state. Thenotes of his evidence at the inquest will be read to you----"
Mr. Pallaret: "It will shorten the proceedings by my admitting thevisit and its purpose. Mr. Reginald Boyd gave his evidence of his ownfree will."
Mr. Mallandaine: "Nevertheless, Mr. Pallaret, the evidence had betterbe read from the Coroner's notes, in which you may possibly finddiscrepancies."
Mr. Pallaret: "There are parts which I wish to be read, in proof ofthe ingenuous part played by Mr. Reginald Boyd."
Mr. Marlow: "We will read the whole of it. There will also besubmitted to your worship proof of identification of the body, withthe Coroner's notes, and the evidence of the two prisoners on thatpoint."
Mr. Pallaret: "We admit that. There can be no possible doubt that theman murdered was Mr. Samuel Boyd, and I may state explicitly thatthere is not the least intention on our parts to dispute matters offact."
Mr. Marlow: "On the night in question three incidents occurred ofwhich we have positive knowledge. The first was the summary dischargeby the murdered man of his clerk, Mr. Abel Death, whose singulardisappearance has yet to be accounted for; the second was the visit ofLady Wharton to Mr. Samuel Boyd, and her depositing with him certainarticles of jewellery which her ladyship will be called upon toidentify; the third, the visit of Reginald Boyd to his father underthe circumstances I have mentioned. I name these incidents in theorder of their occurrence. From the first discovery of the murdersuspicion pointed to Reginald Boyd as its probable perpetrator, butthe disclosures made up to a certain point of the inquiry in theCoroner's Court were not considered sufficiently conclusive by thepolice to warrant his arrest. But he was kept under observation.Towards the conclusion of the second day of the inquiry an importantwitness came forward in the person of Dr. Pye, a gentleman who, weunderstand, has devoted his life to scientific pursuits. Thisgentleman resides in Shore Street, a street running parallel toCatchpole Square. The windows at the back of Dr. Pye's house directlyface the front of the house occupied by Mr. Samuel Boyd. It has beenhis habit for years to keep up late at night for the purpose of makingscientific experiments, and on the night of Friday the 1st of March hewas so employed. At three o'clock on that night--that is to say, onthe morning of Saturday, the 2nd--he was standing at the window of theroom in which he was at work, when his attention was attracted by anunusual movement at the door of Samuel Boyd's house. It will benecessary to bear in mind that Catchpole Square is a _cul de sac_, andthat it is very rarely indeed that any person enters there, and none,unless it be an entire stranger, with the intention of passingthrough. The entrance to the Square is through a hooded passagebearing the ominous name of Deadman's Court. As I have told you, Dr.Pye was standing at the window--as he will tell you aimlessly, and asI submit in the abstracted mood habitual to students after some hoursof secluded work--when he dimly observed the opening of the streetdoor. An incident so unusual and suspicious made a strong impressionupon him, and for the purpose of ascertaining the cau
se he broughtforward an ingenious contrivance of his own invention by means ofwhich he is enabled to throw a flashlight a considerable distance uponany desired spot, while the operator remains in shadow. The flashlightrevealed the figure of a man standing at the door in an attitude offear; Dr. Pye distinguished quite clearly the features of this man,who at that time was a stranger to him. The man remained at the doorin his fear-struck attitude for several moments; then, the flashlightextinguished, Dr. Pye observed the shadow of a man--the night wasdark, and he could distinguish no more than the shadow--slinkcautiously and stealthily out of the Square. This was the end of theincident. During the inquest Dr. Pye properly conceived it to be hisduty, in the interests of justice, to make the incident public, and headdressed a note to the Coroner, stating that he had evidence of moreor less importance to tender. He was called and examined, and thestatement he made was to the effect I have described. His examinationover, a remarkable incident occurred. Glancing around the Court hiseyes fell upon Reginald Boyd, and he was instantly struck with theresemblance he bore to the man he had seen in Catchpole Square; andhis further examination elicited this fact. It is a proof of hisfair-mindedness that he warned the jury not to be led into a possibleerror by attaching a too great importance to this resemblance, whichhe suggested might be accidental. If so, it was a remarkable accident.While offering this warning against a possible miscarriage ofjustice--of which I admit there are instances on record--he was not tobe shaken from the positive fact of the extraordinary resemblance.Observe that he was not aware that the man whom he pointed out in theCoroner's Court was the son of Samuel Boyd. Now, in this connection,there will be found a discrepancy between Dr. Pye and another witness,Mrs. Abel Death, as to the hour at which the man emerged from thehouse. Dr. Pye says it was three o'clock, while Mrs. Death avers thatshe was in Catchpole Square from half-past two till half-past three,during which space of time the door of the house in Catchpole Squarewas not opened. Dr. Pye fixes the time by his watch, which he says heconsulted, while Mrs. Death fixes it by the striking of the hour fromSt. Michael's Church, which is in the immediate vicinity of CatchpoleSquare. Stress will no doubt be laid upon this discrepancy todiscredit Dr. Pye's evidence, but it should not be allowed to weighwith you. Either of these witnesses may be reasonably and blamelesslymistaken, and the strong probability is that it is Mrs. Death, whodoes not possess a watch or a clock, and whose agitation at thedisappearance of her husband may easily have led her into error. Butanyway this discrepancy is of small significance. Whether it was atthree or two o'clock does not affect the fact that a man was seencoming from the house----"
Mr. Pallaret: "I beg my learned friend's pardon. The unsupportedevidence of a witness in relation to the important incident hedescribes does not establish the fact, and such a word should not beused."
Mr. Marlow: "I withdraw the word. You will have the evidence, and willjudge of its value. It is not conceivable that Dr. Pye had anypersonal interest to serve in coming forward----"
Mr. Pallaret: "Again I beg pardon. What is conceivable and notconceivable will probably be made clear before we finish."
Mr. Marlow: "I will pass over the incident. The presumption is thatthe man was either the murderer or an accomplice. Now, how does theprisoner, Reginald Boyd, stand in relation to what took place on thatnight? We have his own statement that he left his father's house andwas in his lodgings by midnight, and if he could produce a witness orwitnesses to confirm his statement, and to prove that he did not leavehis lodgings again during the night, it would effectually dispose ofthe peril in which he stands in regard to the resemblance between himand the man whom Dr. Pye saw. But such a witness has not been, and Iventure to say will not be, produced, and we have only his bare wordto fall back upon. Remember that he had a latchkey, and could lethimself into the house without the knowledge of the inmate. We maytake it for granted that Samuel Boyd, before he retired to bed,chained and bolted the street door, and in these circumstances thelatchkey would be useless.
"I come now to the other prisoner, Richard Remington. No suspicion wasentertained of his complicity in the crime, and there was no evidenceconnecting him with it until Monday night of this week. When ReginaldBoyd was arrested Richard Remington was acting as his cousin'sattorney, and on that very day he was seen posting up bills of largerewards, as stated therein, for the discovery of the murderer and Mr.Abel Death. On the face of it this simultaneous posting up of the twobills would go some way to directly associate Mr. Abel Death with themurder. I do not say that this was the intention, but it is open tothat construction. If such an intention existed the design was artfuland wicked, and Richard Remington's personal participation in thebill-posting--bill-sticking not being his trade--is open to anotherconstruction, that it was done for the purpose of averting suspicionfrom himself. On the following day, Friday, a notice appeared on thestreet door of the house in Catchpole Square, which stated thatRichard Remington was absent on business, and that all communicationsfor him were to be left at a certain address. Inquiry was made for himat that address by a witness who will be called, and nothing could belearned about him. I mention this incidentally, as indicating that hewished it to be supposed he was living at that address. If this wereso, for what reason did he make it public, when he was not to be foundthere? Saturday, Sunday, and the daylight of Monday, passed withoutanything being heard of him; but late that night an incident of a verystartling nature occurred, in which he was the principal actor.
"Constable Applebee was on his beat, which embraced Catchpole Square,and during the storm which came on suddenly at two in the morning, hetook refuge in Deadman's Court, which you will recollect is the onlyapproach to the Square. During a lull in the storm the constablestepped from his shelter to reconnoitre the houses in the Square. Hehad not been there a minute before the door of Samuel Boyd's house wasflung open, and a man ran out, almost into the constable's arms. Thisman was Richard Remington."