Famous Detectives On Christmas Duty - Ultimate Murder Mysteries for Holidays. Эдгар Аллан По

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СКАЧАТЬ I managed once again to hold my own with them. The fact that I’d not thought of myself as Jane Finn for so long made it easier.

      “One night I was whisked off to London at a moment’s notice. They took me back to the house in Soho. Once I got away from the sanatorium I felt different—as though something in me that had been buried for a long time was waking up again.

      “They sent me in to wait on Mr. Beresford. (Of course I didn’t know his name then.) I was suspicious—I thought it was another trap. But he looked so honest, I could hardly believe it. However, I was careful in all I said, for I knew we could be overheard. There’s a small hole, high up in the wall.

      “But on the Sunday afternoon a message was brought to the house. They were all very disturbed. Without their knowing, I listened. Word had come that he was to be killed. I needn’t tell the next part, because you know it. I thought I’d have time to rush up and get the papers from their hiding-place, but I was caught. So I screamed out that he was escaping, and I said I wanted to go back to Marguerite. I shouted the name three times very loud. I knew the others would think I meant Mrs. Vandemeyer, but I hoped it might make Mr. Beresford think of the picture. He’d unhooked one the first day—that’s what made me hesitate to trust him.”

      She paused.

      “Then the papers,” said Sir James slowly, “are still at the back of the picture in that room.”

      “Yes.” The girl had sunk back on the sofa exhausted with the strain of the long story.

      Sir James rose to his feet. He looked at his watch.

      “Come,” he said, “we must go at once.”

      “To-night?” queried Tuppence, surprised.

      “To-morrow may be too late,” said Sir James gravely. “Besides, by going to-night we have the chance of capturing that great man and super-criminal—Mr. Brown!”

      There was dead silence, and Sir James continued:

      “You have been followed here—not a doubt of it. When we leave the house we shall be followed again, but not molested, FOR IT IS MR. BROWN’S PLAN THAT WE ARE TO LEAD HIM. But the Soho house is under police supervision night and day. There are several men watching it. When we enter that house, Mr. Brown will not draw back—he will risk all, on the chance of obtaining the spark to fire his mine. And he fancies the risk not great—since he will enter in the guise of a friend!”

      Tuppence flushed, then opened her mouth impulsively.

      “But there’s something you don’t know—that we haven’t told you.” Her eyes dwelt on Jane in perplexity.

      “What is that?” asked the other sharply. “No hesitations, Miss Tuppence. We need to be sure of our going.”

      But Tuppence, for once, seemed tongue-tied.

      “It’s so difficult—you see, if I’m wrong—oh, it would be dreadful.” She made a grimace at the unconscious Jane. “Never forgive me,” she observed cryptically.

      “You want me to help you out, eh?”

      “Yes, please. YOU know who Mr. Brown is, don’t you?”

      “Yes,” said Sir James gravely. “At last I do.”

      “At last?” queried Tuppence doubtfully. “Oh, but I thought——” She paused.

      “You thought correctly, Miss Tuppence. I have been morally certain of his identity for some time—ever since the night of Mrs. Vandemeyer’s mysterious death.”

      “Ah!” breathed Tuppence.

      “For there we are up against the logic of facts. There are only two solutions. Either the chloral was administered by her own hand, which theory I reject utterly, or else——”

      “Yes?”

      “Or else it was administered in the brandy you gave her. Only three people touched that brandy—you, Miss Tuppence, I myself, and one other—Mr. Julius Hersheimmer!”

      Jane Finn stirred and sat up, regarding the speaker with wide astonished eyes.

      “At first, the thing seemed utterly impossible. Mr. Hersheimmer, as the son of a prominent millionaire, was a well-known figure in America. It seemed utterly impossible that he and Mr. Brown could be one and the same. But you cannot escape from the logic of facts. Since the thing was so—it must be accepted. Remember Mrs. Vandemeyer’s sudden and inexplicable agitation. Another proof, if proof was needed.

      “I took an early opportunity of giving you a hint. From some words of Mr. Hersheimmer’s at Manchester, I gathered that you had understood and acted on that hint. Then I set to work to prove the impossible possible. Mr. Beresford rang me up and told me, what I had already suspected, that the photograph of Miss Jane Finn had never really been out of Mr. Hersheimmer’s possession——”

      But the girl interrupted. Springing to her feet, she cried out angrily:

      “What do you mean? What are you trying to suggest? That Mr. Brown is JULIUS? Julius—my own cousin!”

      “No, Miss Finn,” said Sir James unexpectedly. “Not your cousin. The man who calls himself Julius Hersheimmer is no relation to you whatsoever.”

      Chapter 26

       Mr. Brown

       Table of Contents

      SIR James’s words came like a bomb-shell. Both girls looked equally puzzled. The lawyer went across to his desk, and returned with a small newspaper cutting, which he handed to Jane. Tuppence read it over her shoulder. Mr. Carter would have recognized it. It referred to the mysterious man found dead in New York.

      “As I was saying to Miss Tuppence,” resumed the lawyer, “I set to work to prove the impossible possible. The great stumbling-block was the undeniable fact that Julius Hersheimmer was not an assumed name. When I came across this paragraph my problem was solved. Julius Hersheimmer set out to discover what had become of his cousin. He went out West, where he obtained news of her and her photograph to aid him in his search. On the eve of his departure from New York he was set upon and murdered. His body was dressed in shabby clothes, and the face disfigured to prevent identification. Mr. Brown took his place. He sailed immediately for England. None of the real Hersheimmer’s friends or intimates saw him before he sailed—though indeed it would hardly have mattered if they had, the impersonation was so perfect. Since then he had been hand and glove with those sworn to hunt him down. Every secret of theirs has been known to him. Only once did he come near disaster. Mrs. Vandemeyer knew his secret. It was no part of his plan that that huge bribe should ever be offered to her. But for Miss Tuppence’s fortunate change of plan, she would have been far away from the flat when we arrived there. Exposure stared him in the face. He took a desperate step, trusting in his assumed character to avert suspicion. He nearly succeeded—but not quite.”

      “I can’t believe it,” murmured Jane. “He seemed so splendid.”

      “The real Julius Hersheimmer WAS a splendid fellow! And Mr. Brown is a consummate actor. But ask СКАЧАТЬ