Ten minutes later three policemen had arrived, and, finding there was no entrance from the rear, had burst open the door.
The houses adjoining were both empty, so no neighbours were awakened by the noise.
We entered undisturbed.
From the spacious hall several doors opened right and left; while immediately opposite was a broad staircase.
With but a hasty glance around we passed to a door which stood open, and from which a flood of light was issuing. There our eyes encountered a terrible sight.
Lying on her back upon the carpet, with her arms outstretched above her head, was a tall and undeniably beautiful woman of about thirty years of age. Her wealth of fair hair had become unfastened, and fell in disorder about her bare shoulders. Her lips were still apart, as if in her last moments she had uttered a cry, and her clear blue eyes, wide open, had in them a stony stare – that of death.
Attired in an elegant evening dress of soft white silk, her low bodice revealed the fatal wound in her breast from which the blood slowly oozed, forming a dark crimson pool upon the carpet. Upon her wrist was a splendid diamond bracelet of an uncommon pattern, for it was shaped to represent a double-headed snake, and under the gaslight the gems danced and gleamed with a thousand fires.
The appearance of the murdered woman was hideous enough in itself, but something else we saw startled us, and sent an increased thrill of horror through our nerves.
We were awe-struck by the sight of it, yet there was nothing extraordinarily revolting – merely a half sheet of notepaper upon which was a large red seal of a peculiar character, fastened to the breast of the dress.
“Good God! The Seal!”
It was the ejaculation of one of the constables as he knelt and unpinned the paper.
Breathlessly, we bent over the piece of paper and closely examined it, for we were all aware of the unparalleled and inexplicable mysteries with which not only London but the whole world was ringing.
It had an awful significance.
That its exact dimensions and strange hieroglyphics may be the more readily conceived, I reproduce it here.
The horrible mystery connected with the fatal device flashed vividly across my mind in an instant, as, with a sickly, giddy feeling in my head, my heart beating violently, and my hands trembling as if palsied, I examined it. What did it mean? I wondered in a dazed fashion, for my thoughts seemed in a whirl of maddening velocity. There was no power in my mind to grasp the meaning of the hideous fact at first, and only a stupefied, dull sense of evil filled my soul.
My mental vision grew gradually clearer after a few moments; as if slowly awakening from a frightful dream, I drew myself together, trying to grasp the full interpretation of the mysterious symbol.
Within the past few months there had been no fewer than six murders in different countries, and in every case a piece of paper with a seal identical with the one we had just discovered had been found pinned upon the breast of the victim; yet in no instance had there been a clue to the murderer, though all the vigilance of the police, both at Scotland Yard and elsewhere, had been directed towards the elucidation of the mystery.
We stood aghast and pale, for the discovery had completely dumbfounded us.
There had been something so uncanny, almost supernatural, about the six other crimes, which so closely followed each other, that for the moment we were quite unnerved at this latest essay of the unrevealed assassin.
A momentary glance sufficed to convince the constables that a brutal murder had been committed, and after a few moments’ hesitation two of their number hurried out – one to fetch the divisional surgeon, the other to report to the inspector on duty at the station.
The two constables remaining gently lifted the corpse, and placing it upon a low lounge near, began to examine the apartment. It was a luxuriously-furnished drawing-room, and the gas, which burned in crimson glass, threw a soft harmonious light over the furniture and hangings, which were composed of pale blue satin; and upon the costly nick-nacks which plainly showed the owner was possessed of artistic tastes and refinement. A room, in fact, which bore the unmistakable traces of the daily presence of a woman of wealth and culture.
Glancing round, I could see that some of the articles were of great value. The pictures were for the most part rare, the quaint old Dresden and Sèvres upon the brackets, and the ivory carvings, were all curiosities of no ordinary character, while upon the mantelshelf stood a French clock, the tiny peal of silver bells of which chimed merrily, even as I looked.
Presently the officers concluded their examination of the room, and taking one of the candles from the piano, proceeded upstairs to search the house.
Accompanying them, I, an unwilling witness of this midnight tragedy, found the whole of the rooms furnished in elegant taste, no expense having been spared to make them the acme of comfort and luxury. Every nook and corner was searched, without success, so we returned again to the drawing-room.
To our surprise we found the body had moved slightly from the position in which we had placed it. The woman’s bloodless face seemed gradually to assume the faintest flush, her eyelids quivered, and in a strange, low whisper she uttered a word which to us was unintelligible.
Again she articulated it with evident difficulty; then a convulsive shudder shook her frame, her breast heaved, and her features again grew pale and rigid.
We stood watching her for a moment. One of the constables placed his hand upon her breast, but withdrew it, saying, “It’s all over with her, poor thing; I’m afraid the doctor won’t be able to do her any good.”
And we sat down to await the arrival of the inspector and surgeon, conversing only in low whispers.
A few minutes had elapsed, when they entered.
The doctor, as soon as he saw her, shook his head, saying, “Dead, poor woman! Ah! stabbed to the heart, I see.”
“Murder, evidently,” exclaimed the inspector, glancing round; then turning to the constables, he asked, “Have you searched the house?”
“Yes, sir,” they replied.
“Found anything?”
“This, we found in the hall,” replied one of the men, taking a small Indian dagger from a side-table, “and this paper was pinned upon her dress.”
The production of the seal caused both the inspector and doctor to start in surprise, and the former, after examining it, placed it carefully in his pocket-book.
Taking the knife in his hand, the inspector examined it minutely. It was stained with blood – evidently the weapon with which the murderer had dealt the fatal blow.
The doctor also looked at it, and wiping the blood from the victim’s breast, gazed upon the wound, saying, “Yes, that’s the knife, without a doubt; but who did it is the question.”
“Who’s this gentleman?” asked the officer, jerking his thumb towards me.
“Gentleman who informed us, sir.”
“Do you know who lives here?” he asked, sharply, turning to me.
“No, I do not. I am quite a stranger; in fact, I have never been in this street before in my life.”
“Hum!” he grunted, in a rather suspicious manner. “And how came you to know anything about the affair?”
“I chanced to be passing at the time, and my attention was attracted by a scream. I found a space between the blind and the window, and my curiosity being aroused, I looked in and saw the woman had been murdered.”
“Is that all you know?” he asked.
“That’s all.”
“Well, you won’t mind just stepping round to the station for a few minutes, will you? Then you can give us your version of the matter.”
“Oh, certainly I will, with pleasure,” I replied. The inspector having given some instructions to his men, the body of the murdered woman was covered with a table-cloth, and we went out leaving two constables in charge of the premises.
Dawn was spreading now; the stars had disappeared, and there were some saffron tints in the east, heralding the sun’s coming. At the corner of Montague Street the doctor wished us “good-morning,” and strode away in an opposite direction, scarcely well pleased at being aroused from his bed and called out to witness so unpleasant a sight.