Have His Carcase

‘So he could. And his hair looks as if it had been dyed recently, for the matter of that, and re-bleached. I thought it looked funny and dead. Well, if Weldon is Martin, there’s undoubtedly some funny; business somewhere. But Harriet, do put it out of your mind that he’s a murderer. We’ve proved that Martin couldn’t possibly have done it. He couldn’t get to the place in time. Had you forgotten that?’

‘Yes — I believe I had forgotten it. It seemed so obvious, somehow, that if he was there at Darley, in disguise, he must have been up to something or other.’

‘Of course he was up to something or other. But what? He couldn’t be in two places at once, even if he was disguised at Beelzebub.’

‘No, he couldn’t — could he? Oh, what an idiot I am! I’ve been sitting here having the horrors, and wondering how in the world we could ever break it to Mrs Weldon.’

‘We may have to do that in any case, I’m afraid,’ said Wimsey, gravely. ‘It looks very much as if he had some hand in it, even if he didn’t do the throat-cutting part of it. The only thing is, if he wasn’t the actual murderer, why was he at Darley at all?’

‘Goodness knows!’

‘Something do do with the bay mare, that’s a certainty. But what? What was the point of the bay mare at all? It beats me, Harriet; it beats me.’

‘So it does me.’

‘Well, there’s’ only one thing to do.’ ‘What’s that?’

‘To ask him.’

‘Ask him?’

‘Yes. We’ll ask him. It’s just conceivable that there’s some innocent explanation of the thing. And if we ask him about it, he’ll have to commit himself one way or another.’

‘Ye-es. That means open warfare.’

‘Not necessarily. We needn’t tell him all we suspect. I think you’d better leave this to me.’

‘I rather think I had. I’m afraid I haven’t handled Henry as well as I thought I was going to.’

‘I don’t know. You’ve got hold of a pretty valuable piece of information,’’ anyhow. Don’t worry. We’ll turn friend Henry inside-out before we’ve done with him. I’ll just pop round to the Resplendent now, and see that he hasn’t taken alarm.’’

He popped round accordingly, only, to find that Henry, so far from bolting, was dining and playing Bridge with a party of other residents. Should he break in on them with his questions? Or should he wait? Better wait, perhaps, and let the matter crop up quietly in conversation the next morning. He made a private arrangement with the night porter to give him the tip if Mr Weldon showed any signs of departing during the night, and retired to his own quarters to do some hard thinking.

Chapter XIX. The Evidence Of The Disguised Motorist

‘Confess, or to the dungeon—

Pause!’

— Death’s Jest-Book

Thursday, 25 June

MR WELDON did not bolt. Wimsey had no difficulty in catching him the following morning, and was rather glad he had waited, for in the meantime he had received a letter, from Chief Inspector Parker.

‘MY DEAR PETER,

‘What will you want next? I have got a little, preliminary information for you, and if anything fresh turns up I will keep you posted.

‘First of all your Mr Haviland Martin is not a Bolshevik agent. He has had that account in Cambridge for quite a long time, and owns a small house, complete with lady, in the outskirts of the town. He took it, I believe, in 1925, and makes his appearance there from time to time, dark spectacles and all. He was recommended to the bank by one Mr Henry Weldon, of Leamhurst, Hunts, and there has never been any trouble with his account — a small one. He is thought to travel in something or other. All this suggests to me that the gentleman may be leading a double life, but you can put the Bolshevik theory out of your head.

‘I got hold of Morris, the Bolshevik-wallah, this evening. He doesn’t know of any Communist or Russian agent who might be knocking about Wilvercombe at the present time and thinks you have got hold of a mare’s nest.

‘By the way, the Cambridge police, from whom I had to wangle the Martin dope by telephone, want to know what is up. First Wilvercombe, then me! Fortunately, knowing their Super pretty well, I was able to get him to put pressure on the bank. I fancy I left them with the impression that it had something to do with bigamy!

‘Talking of bigamy, Mary sends her love and wants to know whether you are any nearer committing monogamy yet. She says I am to recommend it to you out of my own experience, so I do so — acting strictly under orders.

‘Affectionately yours,

‘CHARLES’

Thus armed, Wimsey descended on Henry Weldon, who greeted him with his usual offensive familiarity. Lord Peter bore with this as long ago he thought advisable, and then said, carelessly:

‘By the way, Weldon you gave Miss Vane quite a turn yesterday afternoon.’

Henry looked at him rather unpleasantly.

‘Oh! Did I? Well, I don’t see why you need to come butting in.’

‘I wasn’t referring to your manners,’ said Wimsey, ‘though I admit they are a bit startling. But why didn’t you mention that you and she had met before?’