Flynn’s Weekly Detective Fiction. Vol. 27, No. 1, September 17, 1927
- Автор: Valentine, Corley H. W.
- Год: 1927
- Язык: английский
- Год: The Red Star News Company
- Жанр: Другие детективы
Электронная книга - «Flynn’s Weekly Detective Fiction. Vol. 27, No. 1, September 17, 1927». Краткое содержание книги:
When the sergeant arrived with the wagon the corpse was conveyed to a mortuary where an inquest was held. No one appeared to identify or claim the body, and after a short stir in the papers it was buried.
About three weeks later the editor of a London newspaper which possessed a great deal of influence with the government, was informed that a Mme. Franz von Veltheim wished an interview with him.
“What, another?” he exclaimed. “Show her in at once.”
Von Veltheim was always news, and the paper had been gently prodding Scotland Yard for its inability to locate the notorious blackmailer.
An unusually handsome woman entered. She was wearing black and showed signs of deep grief. The editor greeted her, asked her to be seated and then remarked: “You say that you are Mme. von Veltheim. May I inquire which one of them?”
“The only one,” she replied. “I am the lady he originally married, and though he has deserted me many times, I have always loved him.”
“When did you last see him?”
“About two months ago.”
“Have you heard from him since?”
“That is what I have come to see you about. I have received a marked copy of the Times describing the finding of a body near the Thames a few weeks ago. I feel sure that it was my husband. I beg of you to use your influence with the home secretary to have the body disinterred and settle my doubts.”
The editor was delighted. Here was the makings of a big story, and after he had satisfied himself of the truth of the woman’s claim, he started a campaign of publicity to accomplish his object. Scotland Yard supported him, and after some delay the secretary issued a permit to exhume the body.
This was done. It was laid out on a slab in the mortuary and Mme. von Veltheim was brought in. She approached it shudderingly and forced herself to gaze at the face. Then she shrieked, “It is my husband!” and fainted.
When she revived, a police official urged her to look again and make sure. Again she cried, “Yes, it is he,” and burst into violent tears.
When the Yard was informed, there was much jubilation and relief. The man who had set them by the ears so easily and for such a long time was gone. Word was immediately flashed to police centers all over the world; and everywhere the same feeling of release from strain was experienced. But in Capetown the chief of police frowned deeply when he read the cablegram.
“Too bad,” he murmured. “Life is full of disappointments.” Then he sent a return message to London: “Identification of von Veltheim a mistake. Known to be in Cape Colony.” And he was.
The body was later identified as that of a German spy who was known to von Veltheim. Whether he had any connection with the murder has never been discovered. One theory was that he had a hand in it and sent the marked copy to his wife in order to allay the pursuit, which had become uncomfortable. If that were so, he almost succeeded.
Meanwhile, under an alias, he had insinuated himself into South African affairs, which at that time were in a chaotic state. The friction, which a couple of years later resulted in the Boer War, was becoming acute. South Africa was in a turmoil of conflicting interests. The diamond and gold discoveries in the Rand and the Transvaal had greatly enhanced its value in the eyes of the world.
England, with its large number of colonists, was anxious to establish it as a colonial dependency of the type of Canada and Australia. The Boer settlers, in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, were divided. Most of them desired a free Boer Republic, as did their president, Paul Kruger, but others, chiefly of the wealthier classes, felt that their financial condition would be better under a British protectorate. This bit of history is necessary for the better understanding of the following occurrences.
Yon Veltheim never showed more remarkable cleverness, more amazing ability to make people believe in him, than he did in “running with the hares and hunting with the hounds” in this South African involvement.
He was openly and loudly a friend of the Boers, a “defender of the downtrodden,” a “savior of the oppressed.” The Boer farmers, cattle raisers and miners swore by him, refused to believe the rumors that were rife in connection with him.
And at the same time he was working and plotting against them in the pay of one of the enemies of Kruger’s policies, the diamond millionaire Woolf Joel. The latter was one of a group of wealthy Boers who favored consolidation with England, and his political activities included much that could not bear daylight.
Von Veltheim was a wonderful tool, but he was a tool with two edges directed by a brain and nerve quite capable of turning sharply and cutting the hand that was wielding it. In Johannesburg, capital of the Transvaal, Joel and the adventurer met and worked secretly together for awhile. But the millionaire was deceived.
He thought he had purchased a faithful hireling, one to be manipulated while useful and discarded when no longer needed. But he soon realized that this man was learning too much about his affairs; worse than that, was attempting to use that knowledge for his own enrichment.
They met on the street one day, and Joel spoke briefly and decisively. “We are through,” he said. “I will have nothing more to do with you.” Then he walked on.
Von Veltheim looked after him with a sardonic grin on his face, and a bystander heard him murmur: “You will not? How wrong you are.”
The next day Joel was alone in his private office when von Veltheim entered and carefully closed the door behind him. The clerks in the outer room heard the mutter of the conversation change rapidly to exclamations of anger. Then — a shot!
When they burst into the room they saw Woolf Joel’s body lying slumped back in his chair, his right hand clasping a pistol. Von Veltheim was standing on the other side of the desk, also holding a pistol from which smoke was rising. He made no attempt to resist arrest, and, in response to questions, said only, “I did it in self-defense.”
Feelings ran very high in Johannesburg while preparations for the trial were going on. The prevalent idea among those who knew of the relationship between Joel and his slayer was that von Veltheim had attempted to blackmail the millionaire and had reenforced his threats with a revolver. The foolhardy Boer had clutched his own weapon, but not quickly enough.
This version had strong evidence in its favor, and it seemed as if the adventurer’s career had come to its conclusion.
The trial lasted for several days, and from the beginning von Veltheim dominated the atmosphere of the court. The prosecution had built up a strong case, aided by evidence as to his character supplied by police headquarters from all parts of Europe.
But there were two powerful elements working in his favor. One of these was the influence of his individuality; the other was the faith and favor with which rank and file of the Boers regarded him as a defender of their cause. The jury was composed of these, and he made the most of it.
He was his own lawyer and could not have possessed a better one. He met attack after attack with a ready wit, a plausible lie, and, above all, an effective sincerity of manner which rapidly overcame the handicap of his weak legal position.
His version of the shooting was as follows:
Moved solely by his sympathy with the cause, he had come to persuade Joel to cease his opposition to the aims of the Boer Republic. He acknowledged that he possessed information concerning the millionaire which the latter was anxious to keep secret.
When persuasion failed, von Veltheim threatened to use this knowledge to ruin his plans. In a rush of anger the Boer reached for his revolver, whereupon von Veltheim, fearing for his life, drew his own and fired first.
In cold type the story sounds rather incredible, but related in his vivid language and convincing manner to a well disposed jury the effect was undeniable. And the verdict was justifiable homicide. The spectators cheered the prisoner and the jury. Von Veltheim was a hero.