Jane Carter Investigates: Episode One-Hundred and Thirty-One
An indifferent and untidy maid answered
my knock and admitted me to a dark and dusty but once-lavish living room. As I
waited for Henrietta, I looked around the room. The wallpaper was coming loose
in curling tendrils, and the expensive but neglected upholstered furniture had
assumed a moth-eaten appearance. The entire room seemed to have given up on
itself and fallen into a chronic depression.
Henrietta came slowly down the circular
stairway. She hesitated as she recognized me but could not retreat.
“How do you do,” she said stiffly.
“Nice of you to call.”
“I think you know why I came,” I said.
“We were unable to talk freely when I was here before.”
“I’ve told you all there was to tell,”
Henrietta declared, seating herself opposite me. “Frankly, I can’t see that the
affair is any of your concern. I wore the disguise because I didn’t wish to be
recognized on board the Flamingo.”
“Your explanation isn’t very
satisfactory, I’m afraid. Rosie Larkin is staying at our home now.”
“What of it?”
“She was robbed that night on the
boat.”
“We discussed it before,” Miss Roberts
said in exasperation. “You insult me by suggesting that I may have snatched the
girl’s pocketbook! Why should I steal when my father is wealthy? I’ve always
had whatever I want.”
“I should like very much to believe
you,” I said. “But unless you are willing to offer a complete explanation, I am
afraid I can’t.”
“Very well, if I must know, I’ll tell
you,” Miss Roberts replied angrily. “You may have read in the newspapers that I
am engaged to marry Major Howard Atchley?”
“The story escaped me.”
“I admire Howard very much,” resumed
Henrietta, still in an icy tone. “He comes from an excellent family, is well to
do, and, in Father’s opinion, will make me a good husband.”
“Your opinion differs?”
“I admire Howard, but I do not love
him, and I never shall. On the night you saw me aboard the Flamingo, I had gone with another friend of mine, Carl Feldman,
intending to enjoy the excursion trip.”
“Your father knew nothing about it?”
“I told him I was going with another
girl.”
“Oh, I see.”
“There was nothing wrong about it,”
Henrietta said irritably. “But I’m fairly well known. I realized that if I were
recognized, Father or Howard might learn about it. Then there would be trouble,
for Howard is a very jealous person.”
“So you resorted to the wig and veil?”
“Yes, that was my sole reason. Major
Atchley met me at the boat. Before joining him, I threw the bundle of clothing
into the river. Now, are you satisfied with my explanation?”
“I am,” I said. “In fact, I never
believed that you had robbed Rosie.”
“You certainly acted as if you did.”
“Perhaps I only wanted to learn the
truth.”
“Is there anything else you wish to
know?” she asked after giving me a cold hard stare. “Any more humiliating
details of my private life you wish me to divulge?”
“Nothing, Miss Roberts. I was only
thinking that I would like to help you and your father.”
“Thank you. We don’t require
assistance.”
“Perhaps you don’t,” I said, “but your
father needs friends. He admitted to me that if it weren’t for you he would be
tempted to end it all.”
“Father never said that!”
“He did.”
“I can’t believe it. Father’s the most
cheerful person in the world!”
“In your presence, possibly. The loss
of the Morning Press must have been a heavy blow to him.”
“Father wasn’t forced to give up the
paper,” Henrietta protested. “He did it because he was tired of working so
hard.”
“Was that what he told you?”
“Yes, it was. I know of no other
reason.”
“The general belief seems to be that
your father speculated on the stock market, losing large sums of money.”
“That can’t be true. To my knowledge
Father never gambled. He may have bought a few stocks from time to time, but
only for investment purposes.”
“Then you feel sure he did not dispose
of the Press because he needed money?”
Henrietta hesitated before she
answered. “It never occurred to me before, but Father has been rather close the
past year. I thought it was sheer carelessness that he is letting this place
run down, because he always gives me everything I want.”
“Why does he favor your marriage to the
Major?”
“Perhaps money does enter into it,”
Henrietta said. “Many times, Father has reminded me that I would have every
luxury as Howard’s wife.”
“Your friend Carl is poor?”
“He has a fairly good position, but not
much money. Father always seemed to like Carl. That was why I couldn’t
understand when he asked me not to see him anymore.”
“I am sure your father thinks only of
your welfare.”
“But I would rather marry Carl and be
poor always than to have riches with Howard.”
“You’ve not told your father that?”
“Why, no. It never occurred to me that
money had influenced him.”
“There’s another rumor,” I said. “I
suppose I shouldn’t mention it.”
“I wish you would.”
“I’ve heard it said that your father
disposed of the Press because he had been blackmailed.”
“By whom?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea. It’s
only a rumor.”
“There may be truth in it. You’ve
opened my eyes, Miss Carter. I’ve been very blind.”
“Then you think someone may have forced
your father to pay money?”
“I don’t know. But Father has acted
strangely ever since he gave up the paper. Once a month, on the fourth, he
receives a visit from an odd-looking man. He always tries to get me out of the
house before the fellow comes.”
“Don’t you know the man’s name?”
“No, Father has never told me. The man
seldom stays longer than ten minutes.”
“Can you describe him?”
“Not very well, because I never saw him
at close range. I should say he’s middle-aged. Short and stocky with light
brown hair. I’ve never seen him smile. He doesn’t seem at all the sort Father
would choose for a friend.”
“Your father offers no explanation as
to why the man comes?”
“None. He refuses to discuss the
subject. I’ve noticed, though, that for days after the fellow leaves he’s very
nervous and morose.”
“Excuse me for asking so many
questions, Miss Roberts, but do you know of any reason why your father might be
blackmailed?”
“No, I don’t. I am sure he’s never been
involved in anything dishonorable.”
I was convinced that Henrietta had
given a truthful account of the situation and had no more of significance to
tell. I was not particularly welcome, so
I stood up to take my leave.
“I am glad you came,” Henrietta said,
extending her hand. “Please excuse my rudeness. There were so many things I
failed to understand.”
“You must forgive me, too,” I said. “I
didn’t mean to meddle. I truly want to help your father.”
“I wish I could help him, too. In the
past, I fear I’ve been very selfish and inconsiderate. Oblivious, one might
say.”
“There’s a way to help your father if
you’re willing to do it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You say that on the fourth of each
month a man comes here to see your father. If you tried, could you learn his
name?”
“I might drop in upon them at an
awkward moment, compelling Father to introduce me.”
“Are you willing to do it?”
“Yes, but I fail to see what will be
gained.”
“Perhaps nothing. Perhaps a great
deal,” I said. “If the man is a blackmailer, it should surely help for us to
know his name.”
“I’ll learn what I can.”
“Then until the fourth, goodbye. And
please, not a word to your father. We must work in secret.”
I drove on toward Paul Firth’s home. A
quarter of a mile away I parked Bouncing Betsy and set off on foot, hoping to attract
no attention should the owner of the Willows be at home.
It was well that I took the precaution.
I was three hundred yards from the house when I saw a man emerge from behind
the barn. He was too tall to be Paul Firth.
The man moved stealthily across the
yard to the front door of the farmhouse. His face turned slightly in my
direction. It was Anchor Jim.
Anchor Jim dropped a white envelope on
the front porch, then he pounded forcefully on the door several times before
darting into the shelter of the lilac bushes.
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