Patricia Wentworth - The Case of William Smith

Abel was looking very doubtful.

‘Abby wouldn’t like the police brought into it,’ he said.

Katharine’s colour rose brightly.

‘Miss Silver isn’t connected with the police. She is a private enquiry agent. But if anyone is trying to do murder, the police are much more likely to come into it if the murderer isn’t stopped in time.’

Abel Tattlecombe nodded solemnly. If Emily had been up to tricks, they would have to put a stop to it, and he had always said that she ought to be in a home. He frowned.

‘There’s a thing you haven’t mentioned, but I won’t say I haven’t thought about it since William was struck down after coming to see me. It seems to me it’s a bit too much of a coincidence, me being struck down and William being struck down, and no connection between the two. It’s too similar for me – I don’t seem able to take it in. Seems to me it was one of us was aimed at both times. Seems to me now that it was William. We’d look pretty much about the same coming out into the street at night with the light behind us. But if it was William that was aimed at when I was struck down, then it couldn’t have been Emily Salt that did it.’

‘Why couldn’t it?’

Abel brought his hand down on his knee – the sound one.

‘Because it was the night of the chapel Social and Emily was there. Behaved very oddly too by all accounts. Regularly put out about it, Abby was – said if Emily came, the least she could do was to behave herself and not sit there staring as if she didn’t know what was going on round her and then come to and say something rude. I’ve never known Abby go so far about Emily before – she was right down provoked. And there’s no doubt about it, Emily Salt was at the Social. I don’t say that Emily has got any love for me, nor any reason for it, but I wouldn’t think she’d go so far as to come along here at half-past ten of a wet night to strike me down. And if it was William that was aimed at, what cause would she have to aim at him then? I didn’t alter my will or so much as mention the matter to Abby till I came out of hospital. So, let alone the chapel Social, there wasn’t any reason for her to do it. And what with her being sick in bed, and not knowing one end of a car from the other, I don’t see her meddling with William’s wheel. Why, she won’t so much as touch Abby’s sewing-machine. So I don’t see it could be Emily Salt.’ He nodded several times and looked at Katharine out of those very blue eyes.

After a moment she said,

‘May I have the afternoon off?’

He nodded again.

‘Yes, yes – to be sure. But I don’t see how it’s going to help. I don’t see how it could be Emily.’

Her voice was very low as she said, ‘It might be somebody else – ’

Mr. Tattlecombe gave her a sharp glance. He thought, ‘She’s got someone else in her mind.’ Aloud he said,

‘Someone wanting William out of the way? Jealous perhaps.’ His tone had sharpened too. ‘Jealousy’s a bad thing – works on them till they don’t rightly know what they’re doing. Cruel as the grave, like it says in the Bible. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” ’ He became colloquial again. ‘You’d be surprised the things I’ve known jealous people do. You go and see this detective lady – seems a queer job for a woman, but there’s nothing they don’t do nowadays. But don’t get mixed up with the police if you can help it. And don’t let them go worrying Abby, for she won’t like it, and I don’t see how it could have been Emily Salt.’

Katharine sat in one of Miss Silver’s curly walnut chairs and told her about the loosened wheel, and about Emily Salt being ill in bed and not knowing anything about cars. After which she repeated Mr. Tattlecombe’s observations about his own accident and the chapel Social.

When she had finished she sat looking at Miss Silver, who was wearing the same dark green dress and tucked net front but a different brooch. This one had a heavy gold border with a centre of smoothly plaited hair under glass. Some of the hair was fair, and some was dark, the two shades belonging in fact to Miss Silver’s grandparents, and by them bequeathed in this portable and enduring form. There was a good deal more of the blue knitting – little Josephine’s coatee had made good progress. The busy needles clicked. Miss Silver looked across them and said,

‘You are very much troubled, are you not?’

‘Yes. If he had gone out into the traffic in that car there would have been an accident. He might very easily have been killed.’

Miss Silver let that stand without comment. She continued to knit. She did not fail to observe that Mrs. Smith remained consistently pale, and that she was undoubtedly suffering from strain. She allowed the silence to do its work. Katharine broke it.

‘You said not to come back unless I made up my mind to trust you. But you see, it isn’t as simple as that. I think someone is trying to kill William. I thought it would be fair to ask you to find out whether it could be Emily Salt. She is – peculiar. She is angry about Mr. Tattlecombe’s will, and the two attacks on William took place when he was coming away from Selby Street. But the attack on Mr. Tattlecombe and this wheel business – well, it doesn’t seem as if she could have had anything to do with them. If I bring in other people, you may come across things which you wouldn’t feel justified in keeping to yourself. That’s my position now – I don’t know if I’m justified in not speaking – I don’t know if I’m justified in speaking. If I tell you things – I can’t take them back again. You may think they’re all nonsense, or you may think they’re so serious that you can’t keep them to yourself. I’ve thought about it all until I can’t be sure I’m thinking straight. And I’m frightened about William. You were quite right when you said I wanted to think it was Emily Salt. I did – I do. She’s a stranger, and she isn’t right in her head. But now it doesn’t seem as if it could be Emily.’

Miss Silver inclined her head.

‘You have put it very clearly.’

Katharine took a quick breath.

‘I don’t feel clear. I’ve come back because I’m so frightened about William. When you’re frightened you can’t think straight.’

Miss Silver coughed.

‘You said just now that if you told me certain things, I might feel it my duty to go to the police. If that would be my duty, would it not be your duty also?’

A long sighing breath was released. Katharine said.

‘Yes – ’

‘Your telling me would not add to your obligation. It would merely serve to clarify it.’

‘Yes – ’

‘And you believe your husband’s life to be in danger.’

A shudder went over Katharine. She said, ‘Yes – ’ again. And then, ‘I don’t know where to begin.’

Miss Silver’s needles clicked, the blue coatee revolved. She said in an encouraging voice,

‘If you will make a start, I think you will find it is easier to go on. It is the first step which seems so difficult.’

Katharine said, ‘Yes – ’ again. She was sitting up very straight with her hands clasped in her lap. ‘I think I had better begin on the sixth of December, the day before Mr. Tattlecombe had his accident. I think I’ve told you William designs toys. They are very good indeed. Up to now they’ve been making them in a place behind the shop – William, and an old man, and a boy, and, after I went there, me. Well, of course, they ought to be much more widely known. I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of a firm called Eversleys. They are manufacturers on a big scale. One of the things they do is toys. William persuaded Mr. Tattlecombe to agree to his approaching them with a view to getting them to make his Wurzel toys under licence, and on the sixth of December he had an appointment to go and see them. It was rather a late appointment – six o’clock. He went there, and he saw the senior partner’s secretary – her name is Miss Jones. She has been there for fifteen years, and she is highly competent. The partners are Cyril and Brett Eversley. They are first cousins. Miss Jones is Cyril’s secretary. I should say she knew a good deal more about the business than he does. She saw William, and she told him that she didn’t think they would be interested in the Wurzel toys. A few days later she wrote and confirmed this.’