Реймонд Маршалл - The Paw in the Bottle

‘Even if a burglar succeeded in getting so far, and none of them have up to now,’ Wesley said, ‘he would still be trapped if he entered the safe. There’s a concealed beam of light from a lamp on one side of the wall which is projected across the safe so as to fall on a photo-electric cell fixed to the opposite wall.’

Benton leaned forward and peered into the safe.

‘What happens then?’ he asked, looked at Blanche and raised his eyebrows. She shook her head.

‘The interruption of the beam by a person walking into the safe causes a decrease in the current through the cell,’ Wesley went on. ‘This in its turn causes an increase of the grid voltage applied to a triode valve and brings into operation a series of relays which switch on the thruster for closing the door.’

‘That’s very ingenious,’ Benton said. ‘So if I enter the safe, the door shuts and I’d be trapped, is that it?’

‘Yes, and if no one let you out, you’d suffocate,’ Wesley told him.

‘I don’t think I’ll try it then,’ Benton laughed uneasily, dabbed his face again with his handkerchief. ‘There’s some means of controlling the door I suppose?’

‘Of course. You turn out the light that falls on the cell. It’s safe then.’

‘But is all this necessary? It seems so elaborate and must have cost a tidy sum to construct.’

‘It’s more than a toy,’ Wesley said, and moved away. ‘I shall get the cost back eventually on the reduced insurance rates. The insurance company was very impressed with it and consequently greatly reduced their rates. The furs alone are insured for thirty thousand and then there’s Blanche’s jewellery.’

‘I hadn’t thought about the insurance,’ Benton said. ‘Yes, I see. It’s remarkable, and thanks for showing it to me.’

‘And now let’s go to your stuffy old club,’ Blanche said. ‘Do join us, Howard.’

‘I’m sorry,’ he said abruptly. ‘I have a lot of dictation to do. But you go.’

‘Well, if you’re sure,’ Benton said, exchanged glances with Blanche. ‘Come as you are, Blanche. You don’t need to change.’

Blanche took down the mink coat from its hanger, slipped it on.

‘Will you close up the safe, Howard?’

‘Yes,’ he said curtly, and waited for them to go.

Julie stepped away from the chink in the curtain and waited too, her heart pounding, terrified that Blanche would suddenly take it into her head to call her. But Blanche was too preoccupied with Benton to think of Julie.

When she heard the front door slam, Julie sighed with relief, and once again peered through the curtains. What she saw rooted her to the floor. Wesley had taken off his black-lensed glasses and was moving about the room, no longer hesitant nor groping. By the brisk way he closed the safe, she realized he wasn’t blind at all. She was so startled by this discovery that she gave a half-stifled exclamation. Wesley heard her. He turned quickly, stared at the curtained recess behind which she was hiding.

Without the black-lensed glasses, which she now realized had been as effective as a mask, he was a stranger to her and his odd, glittering eyes frightened her.

‘You can come out, Julie,’ he said quietly.

Howard Wesley stood before the big brick fireplace in his study. Facing him, in an arm-chair, bewildered and flustered, sat Julie.

She was still dazed by the shock of discovering he could see, and she had followed him into his study, quite incapable of thinking of an excuse to explain why she had been hiding behind the curtains.

Although he appeared at ease, Wesley was strangely pale, and for some minutes neither of them said anything.

‘You mustn’t think I’m angry with you,’ Wesley said suddenly. ‘There’s no need to be frightened.’

She looked up. His eyes were compelling: dark and glittering as if all his being had come to focus in them.

‘It’s very important you should say nothing about my sight,’ he went on quietly. ‘For the time being no one must know I can see: not even Mrs. Wesley. I can’t go into explanations, but I do want you to assure me you’ll say nothing. Can I rely on you?’

She was surprised he didn’t at once demand to know what she had been doing hiding behind the curtains, and at the same time she felt the return of confidence to know that he was asking her to keep a secret.

‘Oh, yes,’ she said. ‘I won’t say anything.’

‘Look at me, Julie,’ he went on, and as she met his eyes he smiled. ‘You will promise, won’t you? It means success or failure in my work. That’s as much as I can tell you. It’s very important.’

‘Well, if it is so important perhaps I can make use of it in some way,’ she thought. ‘Perhaps that’s why he hasn’t asked me what I was doing behind the curtain.’

‘Yes, I promise,’ she said.

What was a promise anyway? She would see what was going to happen and act accordingly.

‘Thank you.’ He thrust his hands into his pockets. ‘Let’s talk about you. You’re in some trouble, aren’t you?’

She looked away, not saying anything.

‘Now look, Julie, you’d better be frank. I know more about you than you think. You’re here for a purpose, aren’t you?’

She felt herself change colour. How did he know that? How much did he know?

‘A purpose?’ she repeated blankly. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Here, read this. It came yesterday.’ He took from his wallet a sheet of notepaper and handed it to her.

She stared at the writing and went cold. Hewart! Hewart writing to Wesley. The note was brief and sent the blood from her face:

Dear Sir,

Take warning, Harry Gleb is a fur thief. Julie Holland and Gleb are friends. If you don’t watch out you’ll lose your furs.

The old beast had said he would get even. He must have been watching her.

‘Is it true you and this chap Gleb are after the furs?’ Wesley asked quietly.

She hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell him the truth. He wanted her to keep his secret. It wasn’t likely he would do anything to her. After the way that little beast Theo had treated her, she had no compunction for giving them away. It was her only chance to be free of them.

‘They made me,’ she burst out, and taking out her hand-kerchief she pretended to cry. ‘You don’t know what they’re like. They threatened me with vitriol. They hit me. I didn’t want to do it.’

Wesley sat down.

‘Now don’t get upset. Let’s begin at the beginning. Who wrote this note?’

‘Sam Hewart. I... I worked for him,’ Julie said, still hiding her face with her handkerchief. ‘He owns a café in Hammersmith. I knew his café was a meeting place for crooks, but I thought I’d be able to keep clear of them. I wanted the money so badly. I’ve never had any fun. You don’t know what it’s like to be poor. All my life I’ve had to go without things I wanted.’

There was a long pause, then Wesley said, ‘You mustn’t go on like this, you know. If I can help you, I will, but I must know all the details first. Did you meet this chap Gleb at the café?’

‘Yes,’ Julie said, and poured out the whole sordid tale: how Harry had made love to her, how he had promised to marry her, how he got her the job as Blanche’s maid, and how Theo had called at the flat. She held nothing back.

‘I know I shouldn’t have come here,’ she concluded, dabbing her eyes, but keeping her face turned away so Wesley couldn’t see she was pretending to cry. ‘But I swear I didn’t know what they were planning to do until I saw the safe. Then when I tried to back out that awful Theo came and hit me. He threatened me with vitriol. He terrified me.’