The Mermaid in the Basement (45 page)

“What? She’s actually been found?”

“Yes, sir, and she’ll testify in court that young Newton was with her at the time the murder was committed. Sir Leo says the case will be dismissed for lack of evidence. But there’s more than that.”

“What else is there?”

“The secret journal of Katherine Fairfield. Viscountess Trent has solved it. She’s translated the whole diary, and, sir, here’s the good thing. The woman lists all the lovers she had. She had been blackmailing all of them, so there’s going to be a stink over that when it becomes public.”

“I wasn’t aware that the viscountess was an expert in cyphers. We sure haven’t had any success.”

“She’ll be a brilliant woman to Sir Leo tomorrow.”

“Well, this is a surprising development. It looks like this case is out of our hands, doesn’t it, Matthew?”

“I’m very happy, sir. I was convinced of Clive Newton’s guilt, but it’s not possible anymore to think like that.”

“Well, we’ll have to rearrange our plans, then.”

“I don’t think there’s any rearranging to be done.With that diary and a witness that will possibly eliminate Clive Newton, we may have a new tack on this.”

“Very well. Keep on top of it and let me know what you find out.”

“Yes, sir, I’ll do that.”

Dylan had received a visit from Grant, who had a worried look on his face. “What’s up,Matthew, or Inspector Grant, I should say.”

“Matthew sounds good to me, Dylan. I’ve been worried about something. I thought I’d share it with you.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, things are looking good for Dora’s brother, but you know this woman Sadie is the key to the whole thing. If something happens to her, Clive will probably be convicted.”

“You’re right about that.” Dylan stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I think I’d better be sure that she has some protection. The viscountess has bought her some new clothes for her appearance in court. She looks pretty rough, but her word of testimony will save Clive.”

“You’d better be sure she’s kept alive. If the killer knew she was coming to testify, he’d kill her.”

“Right, you. I’ll take care of it.”

Dylan went at once to the Newton house. He didn’t see a sign of Yago, who was on the day shift, but when he called out, the man suddenly appeared from behind a hedge. “What is it, Mr. Dylan?”

“I’ve got a job for you, Yago. I want you to go to this address and be sure nothing happens to a woman called Sadie or to the man she lives with.”

“What could happen to her?”

“Well, she’s a key witness. I want to be absolutely sure that she’s safe.

Here’s the address. Here’s the money for the cab. Are you armed?”

“Yes, sir, I always am. I’m a servant of the Lord, but you never know when you’ll need to protect yourself.”He hesitated, then asked, “Who will look after the boy while I’m there? Lorenzo won’t come on duty until midnight.”

“I’ll take over, Gyp.”

“You got a gun, have you?”

“No, but I won’t need one. Off with you, then.”

“Yes, sir, I’ll see to it.”

Dylan moved around the house, which was hooded with darkness. Pike would be due to come on the scene in an hour, but Dylan didn’t want to leave his charge alone for even that short span of time. He moved as quietly as possible through the trees that grew thickly on the east side of the house, then stopped dead still.He wasn’t certain, but he thought he’d seen the figure of a man moving toward the back of the house.

He moved forward quickly. Suddenly another shadowy figure appeared not more than ten feet away from him.He tried to see who it might be, but the moon was behind a cloud.He advanced toward the figure,wishing that he were armed. He could make out little about the intruder, but when the man passed within a few feet, Dylan launched himself forward with all his might. He struck the man with a blow that brought a muffled cry, and the two of them rolled on the ground. Dylan felt the strength of the man, and suddenly his adversary spoke in the darkness: “I’ll put a hole in you unless you hold still!”

Dylan recognised the voice and cried out,“Matthew—it’s you!”

“Dylan, you almost broke my neck!”Matthew Grant got to his feet, and by the pale light of the sliver of a moon, the two men stared at each other.

“What are you doing here, Matthew?” Dylan whispered.

Matthew put the gun back into his pocket and moved closer to say, “I came to be sure that the family was all right.” He hesitated, then said, “I had a crazy idea. It made no sense, but I couldn’t get it out of my head.”

“What kind of crazy idea?”

“Well, I’m convinced that Clive is innocent, and so are you, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“But
somebody
killed Kate Fairfield, and it came to me that the only real evidence we had on Clive was the stolen jewellery and the bloody handkerchiefWinters and I found in Clive’s room. I was going over the possible suspects, and it came to me—something I should have thought of before.”

Dylan suddenly understood where Grant was going with this line of thinking. “You think Winters planted that evidence, don’t you?”

Grant’s voice was tense as he said, “It
had
to be him! We were both in the room, and he planted the jewellery and the handkerchief while I was looking at something else. It would only take a minute.” Grant said miserably,“ I never once thought of such a thing,Dylan! Why would I? Winters—the superintendent of Scotland Yard! And he’s a killer! And then I realised that I’d told him that you two had found the missing witness—and that the viscountess had broken the code of the murdered woman’s journal.”

A chill ran through Dylan’s mind. “He’ll have to kill Serafina now, and the witness as well.”

“That’s why I came.He doesn’t know where the woman is who’ll testify that Clive was with her—so he’ll force Lady Trent to tell him, then he’ll take the diary and—”

“And he’ll kill Serafina and the witness!” Dylan whirled and made for the house at a dead run.

“Where are you going?”Matthew called out.

“To Serafina’s room!” came the answer. Matthew broke into a run and followed Dylan toward the house.

Night had fallen, and Serafina had spent the evening with David. He had missed her since she had been away so much at the trial and looking for the missing witness. They had played games, and she had told stories, and now she was saying, “All right. Off to bed you go.”

“Can’t I stay up awhile longer, Mum?”

“No, you can’t. To bed now.” Serafina firmly took him to his room, helped him with his pajamas, and tucked him in. “Now then. Are you going to sleep tight?”

“Yes, I am.Mum, do you think Dylan will come tomorrow?”

“I think he will.”

“Good. I like him.”

“I’m glad you do. He’s a good man. Now good night, David.” She kissed him, and he gave her a hard hug. She turned and walked down the hall and went into her room. For some time she sat looking at the transcription of the journal and marveling at the evil that was in the actress. Sir Leo had given her the transcription and asked her to review it again before she gave her testimony tomorrow. It had been a grievous task for her. Finally the pendulum clock broke the silence; the house was quiet for the servants had all gone to bed.

Serafina put on her nightgown and then her robe. She moved across the suite to turn off the gaslight. The door opened suddenly, and Serafina stared at the man who entered.

“Superintendent Winters, what are you doing here?” Serafina’s expression revealed her shock.

“I think we have some business,Viscountess.”Winters moved quickly for a big man.He reached out and put his hands around her neck. “You’re going to tell me where the woman is, the witness you and the actor found.”

Like a flash of lightning, it all became clear to Serafina. “You’re the one who killed Kate Fairfield! You’re Secret Lover!”

“That’s right, and I want your transcription while I’m here.”

“I’ve already given it to Sir Leo.”

“No, you haven’t. It’s here. Grant told me.”

Serafina’s mind was working rapidly. His big hands were around her throat, and he was strong enough, she knew, to break her neck. “If I give you the diary and tell you where the witness is, will you go away and leave us alone?”

“Yes, I will.”

He released his grip, and Serafina moved over to the table. She picked up the transcript of the diary that she kept there, and turning to him, she asked, “Why did you do it,Winters?”

“I had to. She was going to tell my wife about our affair.”

“I read that much in the journal. She bled you white, didn’t she?”

“Yes,” Winters said. His handsome face was set, and his eyes were unnaturally bright. “I embezzled funds from my wife’s account to pay her off, and Kate knew it. She was going to tell my wife everything. So you see, I couldn’t let her live. She was a wicked woman.”

Serafina held out the diary, and he took it, glanced through it, and then stuck it into his pocket. “I’d like to let you live, Viscountess, but I can’t. I’ve got the transcript, but you could retranslate it. I’m sorry it has to be like this. On one condition I’ll let you live.”

“What’s that?”

“Tell me where the witness is.”

Instantly Serafina made up a name. “Her name’s Maude Simms. She lives in a room over The Blue Lion in the Seven Dials district.”

A grim satisfaction swept across Winters’s face. Perspiration had appeared on his forehead, and his face was almost grey with strain. “I’m sorry. I’m not a killer, but I’m fighting for my life.” He suddenly reached forward to seize her by the neck, but Serafina twisted free. She picked up the lamp on the table and threw it at him. He ducked, but it caught him on the forehead and shattered. It cut a furrow in his face, and the blood ran down. Serafina screamed, and he lunged at her.He grabbed her by the throat, and she beat against him with her fists, but it was useless. She fought for air, and her eyes were filled with the terrible features of Winters as he slowly strangled her.

Just then the door burst open, and a voice said, “Turn her loose, Winters!”

Winters did not release her, but he turned. Serafina twisted in his grip and saw Dylan throw himself across the room. He threw a powerful blow that caught Winters on the side of the face.Winters’s hands relaxed and he fell to his knees. He started to get to his feet, but as he did, he pulled a revolver. “I’ll have to kill you both now,” he cried in a deadly voice.He lifted the revolver, but Serafina threw herself against him. She caught his arm, and as she did, Dylan struck him a terrible blow just where his neck joined his head. The gun fired, but the bullet went harmlessly into the ceiling. The blow drove Winters to the floor, and Dylan quickly seized the revolver. At that instant, Grant rushed into the room.He took one look at Winters and said, “We were right, Dylan.”He seized Winters by the arm and pulled him to his feet. He twisted the big man’s arms and put a pair of cuffs on him.

“Shoot me!”Winters cried. “Shoot me, somebody!”

“No,” Grant said coldly. “You’ll hang,Winters.”

Dylan moved over to Serafina and put his arm around her, for she was trembling. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes. He was going to kill me.”

They all three stared at Winters, and then Grant said, “You’re under arrest for the murder of Kate Fairfield and the attempted murder of Viscountess Serafina Trent.”