Jane Carter Investigates: Episode Twenty-Five
Emma could not be expected to join us in front of the house, so we
walked past the laundry, and stationed ourselves behind some bushes where we
could watch the front door of Old Mansion. While we waited, a car drove up in
front of the laundry. Three men got out. They did not notice us in the bushes
and hurried inside.
After a few minutes, the door of Old Mansion opened, but it was
not Emma who emerged. Glen Conrad, dressed in a dry suit, closed the gate
behind him. With a deep scowl on his face, he walked up the street in our
direction. He paused for a moment in front of the laundry, looked up at the
windows, and then moved on. He, too, failed to detect our presence.
“I wonder what is keeping Emma,” Florence said. “Perhaps we
misunderstood her signals.”
Just at that moment, we saw Emma come around the corner of the
house. I emerged from my hiding place and waved to her. Emma glanced over her
shoulder, then ran to us.
“I have only a minute to talk,” she said breathlessly. “Mrs.
Conrad mustn’t know that I have slipped away from the house.”
“Tell us what has happened, Emma,” I said. “Why did you hang up
the receiver this morning when I was talking with you?”
“Because Mrs. Conrad was coming. She warned me that I was to tell
you nothing.”
“What did you start to say about Mr. Harwood?”
“It was awful,” Emma said. “He came to Old Mansion yesterday
afternoon to inquire about a friend of his, a man named Merriweather.”
“I know,” I said. “Merriweather spent a night at Old Mansion some
days ago.”
“Mrs. Conrad claims he didn’t.”
“But I am certain of my facts,” I said to Jane. “His name is on
the register.”
“It is?” Emma said. “That’s funny, because I examined the book
myself this morning.”
“And the name wasn’t there? It should have been just above mine.”
“It wasn’t, Jane.”
“Then the Conrads have either erased it or used ink eradicator.”
“They may have. I know Mr. and Mrs. Conrad were terribly upset
when Mr. Harwood arrived.”
“What did they tell him?” Flo asked.
“I heard part of the conversation. They tried to convince him that
Merriweather hadn’t stayed at the house overnight.”
“Did Mr. Harwood accept their story?”
“He acted suspicious of it. Possibly that was why he decided to
stay all night.”
“Mr. Harwood remained at Old Mansion?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m sure the Conrads didn’t like it very much. They had an
argument over which room they would put him in.”
“Not number seven, surely?” I said.
Emma nodded.
“I heard the Conrads discussing it when they thought no one was
listening. Glen told his wife: ‘It will serve the inquisitive fool right to
sleep in that room. Maybe if he gets a good scare, he won’t be so
impertinent!’”
“And Mrs. Conrad’s reply?”
“Oh, she protested, but Glen overruled her. Mr. Harwood’s things were
taken up to room seven.”
“And then what happened?” I asked. “Was there a disturbance during
the night?”
“I heard a faint cry,” Emma said. “Then a splashing sound as if
something had fallen into the river. I can’t explain it, but the strangest
feeling went over me—I sensed that some dreadful thing had happened to Mr.
Harwood.”
“What did you do?” asked Florence.
“I slipped on my robe and ran to Mrs. Conrad’s room. She and her
husband were already awake.”
“They had heard the same noise?”
“I suppose so. We all went together to room seven, but it had been
locked from the inside. Mr. Conrad called to Mr. Harwood several times, but
there was no answer.”
“The man wasn’t—dead?” Florence gasped.
“Mr. Conrad had a master key,” Emma went on, seeming not to hear Flo’s
question. “He opened the door, but Mr. Harwood wasn’t there. His bed had been
slept in, but the man had vanished!”
“But his clothing was still in the room?” I asked.
“Yes, nothing appeared to have been touched, but the window
overlooking the river was open. That was all that seemed amiss, aside from an
odd floral smell in the room. I thought that perhaps Mr. Harwood had spilled
some aftershave, but Mr. Conrad gave me a very odd look when I suggested it.
Both he and Mrs. Conrad claimed that they smelled nothing at all. Perhaps the
smell was the reason the window had been left open. I can think of no other, as
it was a very cool evening.”
“Is it possible that Mr. Harwood deliberately jumped into the
river?” Flo asked.
“I don’t think so,”
Emma replied. “But Mr. Conrad insists that there’s no question but that he
did.”
“You’re sure you heard a splash?” I asked.
“Yes, but if Mr. Harwood’s body went into the river last night,
I’m convinced he never jumped.”
“And I agree with you,” I said. “How did the Conrads act when they
discovered Mr. Harwood was gone?”
“They were both terribly upset, especially Mrs. Conrad.”
“Could they have been acting a part?”
“I don’t believe so, Jane. Mrs. Conrad carried on dreadfully for
quite some time. She was so ill over the affair, she stayed in bed nearly all
of the morning.”
“Has Mr. Conrad notified the police yet?”
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