Within That Room! by John Russell Fearn

Author:John Russell Fearn
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Tags: traditional British mystery, murder, police procedural, horror, crime
ISBN: 9781434448729
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2012-05-04T04:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

FLASHING GLIMPSE

De. Gillingham looked surprised. “The police? What reason would he have for that? Merriforth knew that Sunny Acres possesses a ghost. He put down his own misfortune to his curiosity. No thought of police ever entered his mind.”

“A pity,” Dick said. “You see, I believe that Mr. Merriforth was murdered! Cleverly, inhumanly—and if one can put it this way, legally. No charge could be brought against anybody, because the whole plot is more or less foolproof. But I am convinced that his death was—engineered.”

Dr. Gillingham registered an expression of shocked surprise, for a moment, then he fell to thought. Finally he spoke.

“You’re making a dangerous statement, Mr. Wilmott, and for your own sake I shouldn’t let it go any further. Sunny Acres has had a ghost for fifty years. The whole district knows about it—the simian ears, the demon’s head, the curved tail—”

“I know, but the evil influence directly responsible for the death of Merriforth never existed prior to the time he encountered it! Formerly, the ghost produced no dangerous results beyond just appearing. I believe that the terror angle is created, and I am helping Miss Grantham to try to find the truth. We ourselves have just barely managed to escape a similar onslaught.”

“How very strange! Well, maybe there was some chicanery connected with Merriforth’s death—I cannot say. Legally he died from heart failure, and there my responsibility ends.”

From his manner the interview was obviously at a close.

“You’ve been very kind, doctor,” Vera said gratefully. “We just wanted to make sure how my uncle died. Later on maybe we’ll be able to tell you why he died. Thanks again.”

She shook the doctor’s hand and Dick followed suit. Soon they were out in the sunlight again, walking thoughtfully along the street.

“Yes, it’s clever,” Dick reflected, “very clever! We can’t prove that your uncle was murdered, Vera, and if you or I die the same way no one could prove that to be murder either! It would all be put down to psychic phenomena.”

“I should go easy on calling it murder,” Vera said, “until we’ve got some proof that the malign influence is caused by material means.... Just what good did it do to eliminate uncle anyway?”

Dick said: “I can only assume that the Falworths got rid of your uncle under the impression that his death would release the castle for sale if the executors of the will were agreeable. Then they discovered that you had inherited it—or maybe they knew of it already if your uncle had mentioned you to them—so they figured that you would be more concerned with selling the castle than living in it. When they found otherwise, they tried to get rid of you in the same way they had got rid of your uncle.”

“Yes, it all fits in,” Vera agreed, “even though you seem to be taking a lot for granted. But why, Dick? What has that castle got to warrant murdering the owners?”

“That,” Dick said, “is the problem we have to solve.

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