‘Dead,’ she murmured again.
‘For God’s sake pull yourself together,’ he repeated urgently. ‘The police may be here any minute. What do you know about Julius Brown——’
She laughed, and Gilmour stared at her in astonishment. ‘What do I know about Julius Brown?’ she said in a voice that was oddly calm. ‘Nearly everything. He was my father.’
Even as she spoke there was a sharp knock on the door. Somebody pushed it open, and two broad-shouldered men in overcoats stood on the threshold.
‘Miss Marlowe?’ inquired one of the men, stepping forward. ‘I am an officer from Scotland Yard, and I must ask you to come with us now.’
‘I’m ready,’ said Elizabeth Marlowe.
CHAPTER XXXI
CONCERNING MR. LEOPOLD KING
‘The Rajah of Nalbari!’ announced Leopold King’s secretary, and the manager of the Marquise Hotel rose deferentially from his desk.
‘I am sorry you are compelled to leave us, Your Highness. I’m doubly sorry about the unfortunate incident this afternoon. I’ve just had news that the man is dead, and a wallet of money has been found on his person. No doubt this is your property. Apparently his car overturned on one of the roads leading out of London.’
‘I am sorry the man is dead.’ And then the Rajah of Nalbari shrugged his shoulders. ‘But possibly he deserved his fate.’
‘He was a notorious criminal,’ said Leopold King. ‘In the last few months he has given the English police more trouble than they have had with anybody for years. No doubt Your Highness has heard of Lord John, as he was called?’
‘I have read about him in your English newspapers, but I little imagined that I was to be favoured with his attention. Possibly others in the hotel have been robbed?’
‘We won’t know for certain until later this evening, when everybody has returned,’ said Leopold King. ‘The man had nothing with him except the wallet of money, but this is of no proof that it was all he stole from the hotel. It’s very fortunate that Your Highness took the precaution of placing most of your valuables in the strong-room this forenoon!’
The Rajah made a gesture of assent. ‘You have my bill ready? I will write you my cheque now. I too regret that I am compelled to leave London, but I hope to return in a few days with my son and the other members of my suite. As you know, they were to have travelled from Paris to-night. As to my rooms here, I would like to retain them meantime, and, with your permission, I will leave some of my luggage until I return.’
Leopold King bowed. ‘That can easily be arranged, Your Highness. The valuables in the strong-room—would you prefer to leave these also?’
‘Yes.’ And then he hesitated. ‘On second thoughts, I will take one of the suit-cases with me. There is a diplomatic reception I must attend in Paris to-morrow evening, and there are several things I may require for formal dress. The other case can remain with you until my return to London.’
‘Certainly, Your Highness.’ Opening a cabinet, Leopold King unlocked the small safe that stood within, and took from it the two curiously-shaped keys, each with a tab bearing a number. Finally he lifted out a small leather-bound ledger and opened it. The last entry in it was the Rajah’s name, and against it was the number of the compartment which had been allotted to him in the strong-room.
‘You are confident,’ said the Rajah, ‘that this man—this criminal you call Lord John—could not have had access to this place in your absence?’
Leopold King laughed. ‘Your Highness need have no doubts on that score. It is quite impossible. This is one of the most cleverly constructed strong-rooms in London. However, to ease your mind, I suggest that Your Highness examines your valuables before you leave for Paris.’
‘No, I will accept your word,’ said the Rajah quickly. ‘Please forgive me for having suggested there might be anything wrong!’
But Leopold King was insistent. ‘Really, I prefer that Your Highness examines your property.’
The Rajah frowned: ‘As you wish. My valet has the key of the suit-cases; he is there in your secretary’s room.’
‘With your permission, I’ll ask him to come in.’
Leopold King went to the door and, with a gesture to the valet, gave an order to his secretary: ‘Please see that we aren’t disturbed for the next ten minutes, Miss Wilton.’
He closed the door and, following his usual habit of precaution when the strong-room was to be opened, pushed home the tiny bolt. Presently the big steel door, set deep in the wall, swung smoothly open, and King turned to the Rajah of Nalbari with a smile. ‘Your Highness will note the thickness of the wall, as well as the strength of the locks. I am the only person who knows the combination, and these two keys are necessary as well. Your Highness——’
But the sentence was never completed. The Rajah’s valet had stepped silently behind Leopold King. There was a soft thud, followed by a groan as the hotel manager dropped senseless to the carpet.
In a couple of strides the man who called himself the ‘Rajah of Nalbari’ had the small leather-bound book in his hand.
‘Isadore Mainz . . . Countess of Terracina . . .’ He murmured several other names, noting the serial numbers of the compartments in the strong-room.
The two men set to work swiftly but calmly. Within a few minutes half a dozen small steel doors stood open in the strong-room, and a knife with the edge of a lancet was ripping open jewel-boxes and tearing through the leather sides of attaché-cases. Next the ‘Rajah’ lifted out the two large suit-cases from his own compartment and emptied on the floor the tightly-packed newspapers with which they had been weighted.
The manager was still insensible; the small bronze club, cased in soft rubber, had caught him at the base of the skull with paralysing force. The two men lifted him into the strong-room, and pushed the big door gently shut.
‘Right,’ said the Rajah tersely. The man who had acted as valet crossed the room with swift steps, opening the door that led into the secretary’s office.
‘His Highness’s compliments,’ he said with a smile, ‘and would you be so gracious as to go up to his rooms personally and make sure that nothing has been forgotten? His Highness is busy with Mr. King, but will be ready to leave in a few minutes.’
He watched her until she stepped into the lift, then nodded to the man behind him. A few seconds later the ‘Rajah of Nalbari’ was walking sedately across the entrance hall of the hotel towards the front door, followed by his valet, who carried two grey suit-cases. The commissionaire who opened the door of the waiting car received a tip which made him swallow quickly with surprise. The ‘Rajah of Nalbari’s’ brief sojourn at the Marquise Hotel had cost him exactly one pound sterling.
CHAPTER XXXII
AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR
‘I have bad news for you, gentlemen,’ said the Assistant Commissioner looking round at the officers he had summoned to his room.
The hour was nine o’clock that night. The Chief Constable of the C.I.D. sat in the arm-chair beside the Assistant Commissioner’s desk, and in the other chairs were the Central Superintendent, two of the four Area Superintendents, and three other Inspectors of the Central C.I.D. Staff.
‘I have had a telephone message from the Commissioner himself, gentlemen. A question has just been asked in Parliament, and the Home Secretary has had considerable difficulty in replying. To put it quite bluntly, I’m afraid there’s going to be a full-dress strafe.’ The assembled officers glanced at each other uncomfortably and waited in silence for the Assistant Commissioner to continue.
‘I can’t blame you, gentlemen, for being ignorant of the fact that no such person as the Rajah of Nalbari exists, or has ever existed. I didn’t know it myself until I rang up the India Office, who tell me that Nalbari is an insignificant town in Assam. Nor can I blame you for what has happened in full daylight at the Marquise Hotel. The responsibility is as much mine as any one’s. The Press has been rather scathing lately, and I fancy that to-morrow’s newspapers will make racy reading. What worries the Home Secretary, apparently, is the trend of public opinion; people in London are getting nervous, an obvious reflection on the Yard. In view of the recent reorganization here’—he was referring to his own appointment, as well as the promotion of other officers in the room—‘this is regrettable. The position is a critical one. Critical.’ He repeated the word with slow emphasis, and looked up. ‘No signs of Chief Inspector Tripp yet?’