Arthur Upfield - The New Shoe

Penwarden lit his pipe with hands which trembled as much as when he assisted Bony from the coffin. The pipe gave no ease to the memory of that night, and again he discarded it.

“Eldred got off that train at Geelong in the late afternoon after Dick’s been waiting outside the station since the day before. Dick seen him leaving the station and went to meet him. Eldred’s a bit nervous of something, and he wants to know this and that, and Dick tells him he had Eli’s car parked opposite. They get into the car, and then, just before they can get away, a stranger to Dick comes up and says ‘I’m going with Eldred! Little spot of business to settle.’

“Dick looks at Eldred and Eldred nods all right, and the Stranger gets into the back seat with Eldred. They don’t talk, and Dick drives through the town and when he comes to the Belmont Hotel, he stops there for a drink. The others won’t leave the car, and Eldred don’t want Dick to go into the pub, but Dick is a bit sore by this time and he has his way. After a bit, he bought a bottle of brandy and went out to the car. Dick gets in and drives on for Split Point.

“All the way to Anglesea, Eldred and the stranger in the back don’t speak a word, and when they get to the top of the hill by the Memorial Dick pulls off the road and parks, and he says he don’t go no further until he hears what’s what.

“It’s getting dark by this time, and ’cosDick hasn’t hadnothin ’ to eat since breakfast, he oughtn’t to have opened that brandy bottle. The bottle goes the round, and then Eldred says that the stranger thinks he’s got aholt on him. The stranger says he’s certainly got a goodholt on Eldred, and that if he don’t part up with something over four hundred pounds owing to him, he’ll see Eldred’s father about it. Then he tells Dick how Eldred’s been in business with him, selling drugs and smuggled pearls and suchlike, and had cleared off from Sydney thinking he’d escape paying the stranger his share.

“There’s quite an argument up there by the Memorial. Eldred don’t deny anything, and the stranger tells of other things about Eldredworse’n peddling cocaine. Dick says ’tis best to take ’emboth back to Geelong, for he don’t want either of ’em, let alone both, walking in on Eli and his wife. But the stranger won’t hear of that. Says nothing will stop him talking to Eldred’s father, exceptin ’ four hundred and some pounds.

“The argument gets hot and hotter, and presently Eldred tells the stranger that if hedon’t get out of the car, he’ll bash him. So the stranger leaves, and Eldred gets out, too. Then Eldred punches the stranger and knocks him down. Dick can see him lying in the faint light from the rear lamp, and he can see most of Eldred, too. And as the stranger’s lying on his back, Eldred shoots him.

“Dick’s out like a flash. In time to stop Eldred firing again. He wrestles for the gun and takes it off Eldred, and when he bends down over the stranger, he knows murder has been done. They sit on the running board, with the dead man at their feet. Eldred is crying and Dickdon’t know what to do. He’sthinkin ’ of Eli, and Eldred’s mother. And he’s stillthinkin ’ of them when he ’fesses up to me.

“In the dark we sit here for a long time,” continued old Penwarden. “Mostly it’s silent, sometimes Dickaskin ’ me what to do, sometimes Eldred whining it wasn’t hisfault, that he didn’t mean to shoot. And me justthinkin ’ what’s best to do.

“Even now you’ve got me to rights, Mr Rawlings, sir, I’m not fretful over what I advised Dick to do. There’s Eldred, a no-good waster, a be-devilled human who’s never given anything but sorrow. There’s the stranger, another waster, adefier of the law, a despoiler of souls with his evil drugs. There’s Eli, well-nigh helpless, sittin ’ andlyin ’ and justthinkin ’ and being troubled like Job. And there’s his wife who never spared herself, who poured out a mighty love upon her only man child. They mustn’t know about murder. And there’s only Dick Lake and me to stop ’emknowing.

“What use to tell Eldred he oughtn’t to have done it? What use to say anything to Eldred? Eldred’s finished. He finished himself. If he hadn’t killed that drug smuggler, he’d end up by killing someone else. So this is what I told him and Dick Lake.

“ ‘It’sno good thinking you can get rid of the body. If you took it to Fred Ayling’s camp, he’d find a burial placeso’s it would never be found. But in the first place, you wouldn’t get it past Dick’s home, for one of the children would hear the car, and you couldn’t pass without stopping; and in the second place, we won’t have Fred Ayling brought into it.

“ ‘Inthe buccaneers’ cave you have skeleton keys of the Lighthouse, so you told me a long, long time ago. One of you will fetchthem keys. You’ll drive the body to the picnic ground, and carry it up to the Lighthouse. It must be midnight now, and no one will be abroad this wet night. You’ll strip the body naked… strip it of everything. You’ll take the body into the Lighthouse. It’ll be two months before the next inspection’s done, and if you plant it in the locker it mightn’t be found even then. You take everything belonging to the dead man to your old cave. No one has ever found that cave beside you boys, and no one is likely to now.’

“Dick, he says it’s a good plan, and they’ll carry it out. Eldred chips up like me andhim is great friends, but I stops him quick. Itells him that when the body and the dead man’s things are safely stowed, Dick drives him back to Geelong. Eldred is to keeptravellin ’, to get as far away as he can, and keep away.

“Eldred wants to see his father and mother beforeleavin ’ Split Point. I tells him no. Itells him if he went home, or if he ever comes back, I’ll tell the police about him. He tries to argue that if they plant the body like Isaid, and the clothes like I said, he could go home to see his parents. Itells Eldred that he take it or leaves it, and Dick he tells Eldred that, too. We don’t argue with him, and Eldred says he’ll do what we say.

“Iruns over the plan again, and Dick says he’s got it all clear. Dick’s more himself, now, more confident, but Eldred’s snivelling, and I’mthinkin ’ Dick will have it all to do. In the dark, I hunted out some light rope, for no one could get down to the cave withouthavin ’ to use both hands. Withoutlightin ’ the lamp, I let ’emout, bided there five minutes and went home. It was ten minutes after one.”

The old man ceased speaking, and Bony significantly waited. Yet again, Penwarden lit his pipe, and this time was calm enough to smoke. Bony completed the rolling of another cigarette before the old man proceeded.

“After that night, I didn’t see Dick for a week. In that week, of course, the inspector, coming down by chance, found the body. Murder will out, Mr Rawlings, sir. I ought to have remembered that saying. Anyway, Dick came to tell me he’d driven Eldred to Ballarat, and Eldred had tipped a transport driver to take him across to Adelaide. And that’s all.”

“But how does Fred Ayling come into it?” Bony asked, and the old man sighed.

“Dick had to tell Fred. He’d never keep anything from him. Fred came here with Dick, to talk over what had been done with the dead man’s clothes and luggage. Fred wanted Dick to fetch the things, and he’d take ’emback to his camp and destroy ’emproperly. Not then, though. Not till after the detectives had given up and gone away. Dick backed me when I said they’d be safe enough where they were.

“But that wasn’t so, Mr Rawlings, sir. You found the cave. Mary Wessex seen you go down to it, and she told Fred about you, and how she hit you with a rock. Fred told Dick, and said he must bring up them clothes, if you’d of left them there. Didn’t mean Dick to go to the cave when it was raining like it did that night. I didn’t know anything about that till, day afore yesterday, Fred came here to tell me, and saying that as you didn’t look like a policeman you was an accomplice of the dead man come toferrit out what happened to him.”