The Red House Mystery | Page 9

my cousin. I mean, Mark is the brother I know best."
"Your cousin?"
"Yes." He hesitated, and then said, "Is he dead? I suppose he is. Will you--do you know
anything about--about that sort of thing? Perhaps I'd better get some water."
There was another door opposite to the locked one, which led, as Antony was to discover
for himself directly, into a passage from which opened two more rooms. Cayley stepped
into the passage, and opened the door on the right. The door from the office, through
which he had gone, remained open. The door, at the end of the short passage was shut.
Antony, kneeling by the body, followed Cayley with his eyes, and, after he had
disappeared, kept his eyes on the blank wall of the passage, but he was not conscious of
that at which he was looking, for his mind was with the other man, sympathizing with
him.
"Not that water is any use to a dead body," he said to himself, "but the feeling that you're
doing something, when there's obviously nothing to be done, is a great comfort."
Cayley came into the room again. He had a sponge in one hand, a handkerchief in the
other. He looked at Antony. Antony nodded. Cayley murmured something, and knelt
down to bathe the dead man's face. Then he placed the handkerchief over it. A little sigh
escaped Antony, a sigh of relief.
They stood up and looked at each other.

"If I can be of any help to you," said Antony, "please let me."
"That's very kind of you. There will be things to do. Police, doctors--I don't know. But
you mustn't let me trespass on your kindness. Indeed, I should apologise for having
trespassed so much already."
"I came to see Beverley. He is an old friend of mine."
"He's out playing golf. He will be back directly." Then, as if he had only just realized it,
"They will all be back directly."
"I will stay if I can be of any help."
"Please do. You see, there are women. It will be rather painful. If you would--" He
hesitated, and gave Antony a timid little smile, pathetic in so big and self-reliant a man.
"Just your moral support, you know. It would be something."
"Of course." Antony smiled back at him, and said cheerfully, "Well, then, I'll begin by
suggesting that you should ring up the police."
"The police? Y-yes." He looked doubtfully at the other. "I suppose--"
Antony spoke frankly.
"Now, look here, Mr--er--"
"Cayley. I'm Mark Ablett's cousin. I live with him."
"My name's Gillingham. I'm sorry, I ought to have told you before. Well now, Mr.
Cayley, we shan't do any good by pretending. Here's a man been shot--well, somebody
shot him."
"He might have shot himself," mumbled Cayley.
"Yes, he might have, but he didn't. Or if he did, somebody was in the room at the time,
and that somebody isn't here now. And that somebody took a revolver away with him.
Well, the police will want to say a word about that, won't they?"
Cayley was silent, looking on the ground.
"Oh, I know what you're thinking, and believe me I do sympathize with you, but we can't
be children about it. If your cousin Mark Ablett was in the room with this"--he indicated
the body--"this man, then--"
"Who said he was?" said Cayley, jerking his head up suddenly at Antony.
"You did."
"I was in the library. Mark went in--he may have come out again --I know nothing.

Somebody else may have gone in--"
"Yes, yes," said Antony patiently, as if to a little child. "You know your cousin; I don't.
Let's agree that he had nothing to do with it. But somebody was in the room when this
man was shot, and--well, the police will have to know. Don't you think--" He looked at
the telephone. "Or would you rather I did it?"
Cayley shrugged his shoulders and went to the telephone.
"May I--er--look round a bit?" Antony nodded towards the open door.
"Oh, do. Yes." He sat down and drew the telephone towards him. "You must make
allowances for me, Mr. Gillingham. You see, I've known Mark for a very long time. But,
of course, you're quite right, and I'm merely being stupid." He took off the receiver.
Let us suppose that, for the purpose of making a first acquaintance with this "office," we
are coming into it from the hall, through the door which is now locked, but which, for our
special convenience, has been magically unlocked for us. As we stand just inside the door,
the length of the room runs right and left; or, more accurately, to the right only, for the
left-hand wall is almost within our reach. Immediately opposite to us, across