Missing or Murdered by Robin Forsythe

Author:Robin Forsythe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dean Street Press
Published: 2015-12-31T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

As Vereker travelled back to town that afternoon he found, in spite of himself, that his thoughts continued to alternate between those that were distinctly annoying and those that were strangely intoxicating. The source of his annoyance was the unpleasant personality of Sidney Smale, for that personality had, in an unexpected way, thrust itself with a jarring lunge into a delicately framed edifice of theory about the Bygrave mystery. And he had appeared in a most sinister garb, especially in the light of Heather’s recent information as to his sudden disappearance. That Mrs. Cathcart had not received those bearer bonds Vereker was inclined to believe. The difficulty was that he could not be certain.

“Now let us be frank,” he soliloquized. “You have been most favourably impressed by a very beautiful woman. She has denied receiving any money from Lord Bygrave, and you are averse to thinking that this prepossessing lady is capable of lying. Perhaps you are biased by some early habit of associating beauty with goodness. You must thrust this habit from you when dealing with criminal investigation. Especially as an amateur. The lady, in spite of the impression made by her charms, may be a most unreliable character. The anger she displayed might have been assumed: such an assumption would be the easiest thing in the world to a woman of great dramatic talent, as undoubtedly she was. Yet, again, even though she had prevaricated about the £10,000 worth of bearer bonds, she might be entirely innocent of any connexion with Lord Bygrave’s disappearance. But how had he discovered her address at Farnaby? Why had he desired to write to her again! She was his wife!”

This last piece of information had come as a lively shock to Vereker. Intimate as he had been with Henry Darnell, he had never been allowed to peep into the cupboard containing that skeleton! Vereker laughed at the word “skeleton” as it passed through his mind. She was an altogether delightful skeleton even though her temper had been incompatible with a lifelong domestic association with Bygrave. Vereker, as he thought of her—he called her by her professional name of Ida Wister to himself—could see very clearly what a wide abyss separated her vivacious, self-assured, volatile temperament from the diffident, grave and studious Bygrave. And what a beautiful head and neck she had! And hands and feet! How he would like to hear her sing! After hearing her, he felt it would be more difficult than ever to credit her with anything evil. He must avoid hearing her sing! Really fine art would bias his mind hopelessly in her favour. Then his thoughts oscillated swiftly to Mr. Sidney Smale. Could he possibly have appropriated that £10,000 worth of bearer bonds and, when the moment was favourable, disappeared? The receipt was, according to Mrs. Cathcart, a shameless forgery. Could Smale have perpetrated that forgery? If Lord Bygrave had discovered that forgery and taxed Smale with it—the assumption pointed to a possibly grave conclusion! Why had he surrendered the receipt? It was a risky, if bold move in a game of bluff.

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