The Mystery Queen | Page 9

I." He associated himself with her so as to calm
her grief. "It's not your fault that your dear father is dead."
"I persuaded him to see Mrs. Brown. And she--she--she--"
"We can't say if this woman is guilty, as yet," said Durwin hastily, "so
do not blame yourself, Miss Moon. But did you smell any scent on this
Mrs. Brown?"
Lillian looked at him vacantly and shook her head. Then she burst once
more into hard and painful sobbing, trying again to embrace the dead
man.
"Don't ask her any questions, Sir," said Halliday, in a low voice to Mr.
Durwin, "you see she is not in a fit state to reply. Lillian," he raised her
up from her knees and gently but firmly detached her arms from the
dead. "My darling, your father is past all earthly aid. We can do nothing
but avenge him. Go with Mrs. Bolstreath and lie down. We must be
firm."
"Firm! Firm--and Father dead!" wailed Lillian. "Oh, what a wretch that
Mrs. Brown must be to kill him! Kill her, Dan--oh, make her suffer!
My good, kind father, who--who--oh"--she flung herself on Dan's
neck--"take me away! take me away!" and her lover promptly carried
her to the door.
Mrs. Bolstreath, who had been talking hurriedly to Inspector Tenson,
came after the pair and took the girl from Dan. "She must lie down and
have a sleeping-draught," she said softly. "If the doctor will come--"
The doctor was only too glad to come. He was a young man beginning
to practise medicine in the neighbourhood, and had been hurriedly

summoned in default of an older physician. The chance of gaining a
new and wealthy patient was too good to lose, so he quickly followed
Mrs. Bolstreath as she led the half-unconscious girl up the stairs. Dan
closed the door and returned to the Inspector and the official from
Scotland Yard. The former was speaking.
"Mrs. Bolstreath did not smell any perfume on Mrs. Brown," he was
saying, "and ladies are very quick to notice such things. Miss Moon
also shook her head."
"I don't think Miss Moon was in a state of mind to understand what you
were saying, Mr. Inspector," said Halliday, drily. "However, I am quite
sure from my own observation that Mrs. Brown did not use the
perfume. I would have noticed it at once, for I spotted it the moment I
examined the body."
"So did I," said Durwin once more; "but I thought Sir Charles might
have used it. You say he did not, therefore the scent is a clue."
"It does not lead to the indictment of Mrs. Brown, however, Sir," said
Tenson thoughtfully, "since she had no perfume of that sort about her.
But she must have killed Sir Charles, for she was the last person who
saw him alive."
"She may come forward and exonerate herself," suggested Dan after a
pause, "or she may have left her address with Sir Charles."
"I have glanced through the papers on the desk and can find no
address," was the Inspector's reply; "yet, if she gave it to him, it would
be there."
Durwin meditated, then looked up. "As she was the mother of the man
in Sir Charles's employment who was drowned," he said in his harsh
voice, and now very official in his manner, "in the offices of the
company who own the steamers--Sir Charles was a director and chief
shareholder, I understand from his secretary Mr. Penn--will be found
the drowned man's address, which will be that of his mother."

"But I can't see what motive Mrs. Brown had to murder Sir Charles,"
remarked Dan in a puzzled tone.
"We'll learn the motive when we find Mrs. Brown," said Tenson, who
had made a note of Durwin's suggestion. "Many people think they have
grievances against the rich, and we know that the late Sir Charles was a
millionaire. He doubtless had enemies--dangerous enemies."
"Dangerous!" The word recalled to Dan what Moon had said at the
dinner-table when Lillian had playfully offered him a penny for his
thoughts. "Sir Charles at dinner said something about dangerous
people."
"What did he say?" asked the Inspector and again opened his
note-book.
Dan reported the conversation, which was not very satisfactory, as
Moon had only spoken generally. Tenson noted down the few remarks,
but did not appear to think them important. Durwin, however, was
struck by what had been said.
"Sir Charles asked me here to explain about a certain gang he believed
was in existence," he remarked.
"What's that, Sir?" asked the Inspector alertly. "Did he tell you
anything?"
"Of course he didn't. How could he when he was dead when I arrived?"
retorted Durwin with a frown. "He simply said that he wished to see me
in my official