30 Suspense and Thriller Masterpieces. Гилберт Кит Честертон

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      Chapter 9 A PARTY OF THREE

      Juve was busy searching in a bureau drawer while Marie Pascal was going through piles of linen in her cupboard.

      "You are sure you put it there?" asked Juve. "Madame Ceiron hasn't by any chance taken it away, has she?"

      "Oh, no," replied Marie Pascal, "I am quite sure I locked it in my drawer, and locked the door of my room as well."

      The room had been turned completely topsy-turvy, while Juve and Marie Pascal were searching anxiously and nervously through all the girl's belongings.

      When she left the Royal Palace Hotel, Marie Pascal had gone directly to Police Headquarters, where she had found Juve. After telling him the history of the chemise fallen from the Marquis de Sérac's laundry, she had repeated all the details of her interview with the King and the advice he had given her.

      "His Majesty Frederick-Christian was certainly wise in sending you here," he replied; "to begin with, it proves most conclusively that he has every intention of denying the crime of which you accused him yesterday, and of which you no longer accuse him to-day."

      Marie Pascal protested: "I never accused him!"

      "It amounted to the same thing, for the man you say threw Susy d'Orsel out of the window could only be the King, since he was alone with his mistress… . Now we get the further evidence of the chemise found by you quite by chance … and by sending you to me His Majesty explicitly accuses a woman, the woman to whom that chemise belonged—of having killed Susy d'Orsel."

      "The first thing to be done, Mademoiselle, is to go to your room and have a look at this garment. The Marquis de Sérac himself is away, and besides, his reputation is well known. Therefore, we cannot accuse him. If the chemise was found among his laundry it would imply that the murderer, taken by surprise, hid himself in the Marquis's apartment and either changed his clothes there or dropped the chemise into the Marquis's laundry-bag on purpose to create a false scent."

      Without further words, Juve and the young girl drove to Rue de Monceau to examine the chemise which she had found that morning. Marie Pascal unlocked her door; a few moments later started in amazement. The chemise had disappeared. Afterward Juve began to wonder whether Marie Pascal had spoken the truth or whether it was a put-up story between herself and the King.

      "There's no use looking any further," he cried, "some one has stolen it."

      "But it's terrible," replied Marie Pascal. "It is the only evidence that would clear the King. The only proof that he is not guilty. How can anyone be sure that I really found the chemise?"

      Juve nodded. "That's what I have been asking myself, Mademoiselle."

      "Oh, what can be done?"

      The anxiety of the young girl interested Juve keenly.

      "It's very annoying, Mademoiselle. But, after all, it only affects you indirectly. The King will have to explain clearly whether he was alone with Susy d'Orsel or whether a woman accompanied him."

      "Yes, but then they will suspect him… . Oh, M. Juve, what do you think?"

      Juve gave a dry cough and answered:

      "Well, Mademoiselle, this is the way I figure it out. Susy d'Orsel has been the mistress of the King for about two years, and as you know constancy is unusual with men, it is quite possible that Frederick-Christian had had enough of his mistress and had become interested in another woman."

      "That doesn't explain anything."

      "Oh, yes, it does. It explains everything. Suppose, for instance, that the King had fallen in love with another demi-mondaine, and that had brought her to the apartment to notify Susy d'Orsel of his intention to break with her. Might not a quarrel have arisen between the two women and the new mistress, exasperated by some taunt, had thrown the unfortunate Susy d'Orsel out of the window?… That would be a commonplace enough story."

      While speaking Juve was watching carefully the expression on Marie Pascal's face. She had grown very pale and at the end protested with a cry:

      "No, no, you are wrong. The King had not two mistresses. And besides, the chemise I found was made of coarse linen, and would not certainly be worn by that sort of woman."

      "Ah," thought Juve, "I wonder if Marie Pascal by any chance is in love with his Majesty. That would explain many things. To begin with, the reason why she was watching Susy's СКАЧАТЬ