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There Was an Old Woman [= The Quick And the Dead]
- Автор: Куин (Квин) Эллери
- Год: 1943
- Язык: английский
- Год: Little, Brown and Company
- Жанр: Классические детективы
Электронная книга - «There Was an Old Woman [= The Quick And the Dead]». Краткое содержание книги:
But Mr. Queen only smiled to Sheila and Charley Paxton and summoned Horatio Potts.
Horatio was immense in more ways than one. For purposes of this scene he had become a completely reasonable man. If the truth were known, the sudden sanity of his answers and a certain unexpected acuteness of insight into the trend of Mr. Queen’s questions rather took the spotlight away from that great man and focused it brilliantly upon his victim.
“Very interesting, sir,” said Horatio indulgently at one point. “I never did believe my mother murdered the twins. Too gory, you know. Madame Tussaud stuff. No, indeed. That confession, though. Very clever. Don’t you think so, Mr. Queen?”
Mr. Queen thought so.
“And now you know who did it all,” said Horatio at another point. “At least that’s what I heard.”
Ellery pretended to be angry at the “leak.”
“I wish you’d enlighten me,” continued the fat man, chuckling. “Sounds like good material for a book.”
“You don’t know, of course.”
“I?” Horatio was astonished.
“Come, Mr. Potts. You hid this loaded automatic in the starling’s nest, didn’t you?” And again Ellery went through the business of opening the gun, displaying its cartridge, and closing it again.
“I hid it in the nest?” repeated Horatio. “But why?”
Ellery said nothing.
“As a matter of fact,” continued Horatio reflectively, “the very idea’s silly. If I hid Thurlow’s gun in the tree and wanted it to stay hidden, would I have found it under your nose this afternoon, Mr. Queen? No, no, sir, you’re on the wrong track.”
Ellery could only wave Horatio Potts feebly out and call for Stephen Brent.
With Sheila’s father the script resumed its character. The old man was nervous, and while Ellery was gentle with him Brent’s nervousness was not allayed.
He denied with bewilderment having known anything about the gun in the tree, and left in a trot.
His stuttering had been pronounced.
Sheila began to examine Ellery with an ominous grimness. Charley had to restrain her from jumping up and running after her father.
With Major Gotch Ellery was severe. The old pirate showed his teeth at once. “I’ve taken a lot of berserker nonsense in this house, Mister,” he roared, “but you’ve no call to speak to me this way. I don’t know a cursed thing, and that’s a fact you can’t deny!”
“I thought you were well-known in the Dutch East Indies,” said Ellery, departing from the script.
Gotch snorted. “One of its notorious characters, Mister. Bloomin’ myth. Left my mark, I did.”
“They never heard of you, Major.”
He looked aghast. “Why, the muckin’ liars!”
“Ever use another name, Major?”
The man sat still. Then he said: “No.”
Ellery, lightly: “We can find out, you know.”
“Find and be damned to you!”
“Don’t have to, as it turns out. This is the last roundup, Major. Our friend the killer hasn’t much grace left. Why’d you put the gun in the bird’s nest?”
“You’re barmy,” said the Major, shaking his head; and he left as Ellery opened the automatic for the fifth time and played with the cartridge.
“Well, Mr. Queen?” asked Detective Flint from the foyer doorway. “Where do we go from here?”
“You exit quietly, Flint.”
Flint shut the foyer door with a huffy bang.
Sheila jumped out of the shadows at once. “I don’t see why you had to drag my father into this,” she said tartly. “Treating him like the others—!”
“Smoke screen, Sheila.”
“Yes?” she said suspiciously.
“I had to go through the motions of treating all the suspects equally.”
Sheila did not seem convinced. “But why?”
“I can’t imagine what you’re driving at, Ellery,” said Charley gloomily, “but whatever it is, you haven’t learned a darned thing as far as I can see.”
“Grilling Daddy!” said Sheila.
“It’s all part of a plan, part of a plan,” said Ellery cheerfully. “It hasn’t quite worked out yet—”
“Shhh,” whispered Sheila. “Someone...”
“On the terrace...” Charley whispered.
Ellery waved them back into the gloom imperiously. He himself darted out of range of the light, flattening against a wall. There was no sound but the beating of the grandfather clock. Then they heard a quick cautious step from the terrace darkness. In his shadow, Ellery crouched on the balls of his feet.
Inspector Queen stepped into the study through one of the French doors.
Ellery shook his head, chuckling. “Dad, Dad.”
The Inspector peered about the dimly lit room, trying to locate the source of his son’s voice, moving uncertainly.
“Ellery, you fox!” cried Charley, jumping forward. “Darned if I don’t get the point!”
“But Ellery, if that’s it,” cried Sheila, running forward too, “you mustn’t. It’s dangerous!”
“What is this?” demanded Inspector Queen, blinking at them. “Mustn’t do what, Ellery?”
“Nothing, nothing, Dad.” Ellery came out of his shadow quickly. “Out of the light, Dad. We’re waiting.”
“Waiting for what? All right, I spread the word and stayed out of sight, but I’m not going to wait all night—”
Ellery pulled his father into the shadows.
“I don’t like it,” grumbled the Inspector. “What’s going on here? Why were you so tense when I came in? So quiet?” And then he spied the Colt automatic in the nest on the table.
Ellery nodded.
“So that’s it,” said the Inspector slowly. “That’s why you wanted the kit and caboodle of ’em to think you knew who the killer was. It’s a trap.”
“Of course,” said Sheila breathlessly. “He’s just interviewed everybody, asking a lot of useless questions—”
“Just so he could show them this gun on the table,” said Charley, “right near the terrace!”
“Ellery, you can’t do it,” said the Inspector with finality. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Nonsense,” said the great man.
“Suppose one of them sneaked onto the terrace. You mightn’t hear him. You certainly couldn’t see him.” The Inspector went to the table. “All he’d have to do would be stick his hand in here from the terrace, grab the gun, and fire at you point-blank.”
“It’s loaded, too, Inspector!” said Sheila. “Ellery, your father’s right.”
“Of course it’s loaded,” said Charley frowning. “He went to an awful lot of trouble to show ’em it’s loaded.”
“You wouldn’t have a chance, Ellery,” said the Inspector. “You’ve set a trap, all right — they all think you know who did it and here’s a loaded gun within easy reach — you’ve set a trap, but if you think I’m going to let you use yourself as live bait—”
“I’ve taken a few precautions,” said Ellery lightly. “Come over here, the three of you.”
The Inspector followed Ellery into the heavier shadows, away from the windows. “What precautions?”
Charley and Sheila backed off from the windows, joining them. “You’d better get out of here, Sheila—”
“Just a minute, Charley,” snapped the Inspector. “What precautions, Ellery?”
Ellery grinned. “Velie’s posted outside on the terrace behind one of those Moorish pillars. He’ll nab whoever comes in before—”
“Velie?” The Inspector stared. “I just came in from the terrace and Velie didn’t see or hear me. It’s dark as a coal passer’s glove out there — he couldn’t have known it was me — so why didn’t he nab me before I stepped through the French door?”