American library books ยป Fiction ยป Dope by Sax Rohmer (desktop ebook reader txt) ๐Ÿ“•

Read book online ยซDope by Sax Rohmer (desktop ebook reader txt) ๐Ÿ“•ยป.   Author   -   Sax Rohmer



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Two taxicabs were standing in the yard, and into the first of these Inspector Kerry stepped, followed by Coombes, the latter breathing heavily and carrying his hat in his hand, since he had not yet found time to put it on.

โ€œVine Street,โ€ shouted Kerry. โ€œBrisk.โ€

He leaned back in the cab, chewing industriously. Coombes, having somewhat recovered his breath, essayed speech.

โ€œIs it something big?โ€ he asked.

โ€œSure,โ€ snapped Kerry. โ€œDo they send me to stop dog-fights?โ€

Knowing the man and recognizing the mood, Coombes became silent, and this silence he did not break all the way to Vine Street. At the station:

โ€œWait,โ€ said Chief Inspector Kerry, and went swinging in, carrying his overall and having the malacca cane tucked under his arm.

A few minutes later he came out again and reentered the cab.

โ€œPiccadilly corner of Old Bond Street,โ€ he directed the man.

โ€œIs it burglary?โ€ asked Detective-Sergeant Coombes with interest.

โ€œNo,โ€ said Kerry. โ€œIt's murder; and there seems to be stacks of evidence. Sharpen your pencil.โ€

โ€œOh!โ€ murmured Coombes.

They were almost immediately at their destination, and Chief Inspector Kerry, dismissing the cabman, set off along Bond Street with his lithe, swinging gait, looking all about him intently. Rain had ceased, but the air was damp and chilly, and few pedestrians were to be seen.

A car was standing before Kazmah's premises, the chauffeur walking up and down on the pavement and flapping his hands across his chest in order to restore circulation. The Chief Inspector stopped, โ€œHi, my man!โ€ he said.

The chauffeur stood still.

โ€œWhose car?โ€

โ€œMr. Monte Irvin's.โ€

Kerry turned on his heel and stepped to the office door. It was ajar, and Kerry, taking an electric torch from his overall pocket, flashed the light upon the name-plate. He stood for a moment, chewing and looking up the darkened stairs. Then, torch in hand he ascended.

Kazmah's door was closed, and the Chief Inspector rapped loudly. It was opened at once by Sergeant Burton, and Kerry entered, followed by Coombes.

The room at first sight seemed to be extremely crowded. Monte Irvin, very pale and haggard, sat upon the divan beside Quentin Gray. Seton was standing near the cabinet, smoking. These three had evidently been conversing at the time of the detective's arrival with an alert-looking, clean-shaven man whose bag, umbrella, and silk hat stood upon one of the little inlaid tables. Just inside the second door were Brisley and Gunn, both palpably ill at ease, and glancing at Inspector Whiteleaf, who had been interrogating them.

Kerry chewed silently for a moment, bestowing a fierce stare upon each face in turn, then:

โ€œWho's in charge?โ€ he snapped.

โ€œI am,โ€ replied Whiteleaf.

โ€œWhy is the lower door open?โ€

โ€œI thoughtโ€”โ€

โ€œDon't think. Shut the door. Post your Sergeant inside. No one is to go out. Grab anybody who comes in. Where's the body?โ€

โ€œThis way,โ€ said Inspector Whiteleaf hurriedly; then, over his shoulder: โ€œGo down to the door, Burton.โ€

He led Kerry towards the inner room, Coombes at his heels. Brisley and Gunn stood aside to give them passage; Gray and Monte Irvin prepared to follow. At the doorway Kerry turned.

โ€œYou will all be good enough to stay where you are,โ€ he said. He directed the aggressive stare in Seton's direction. โ€œAnd if the gentleman smoking a cheroot is not satisfied that he has quite destroyed any clue perceptible by the sense of smell I should be glad to send out for some fireworks.โ€

He tossed his oilskin and his cane on the divan and went into the room of seance, savagely biting at a piece of apparently indestructible chewing-gum.

The torn green curtain had been laid aside and the electric lights turned on in the inside rooms. Pallid, Sir Lucien Pyne lay by the ebony chair glaring horribly upward.

Always with the keen eyes glancing this way and that, Inspector Kerry crossed the little audience room and entered the enclosure contained between the two screens. By the side of the dead man he stood, looking down silently. Then he dropped upon one knee and peered closely into the white face. He looked up.

โ€œHe has not been moved?โ€

โ€œNo.โ€

Kerry bent yet lower, staring closely at a discolored abrasion on Sir Lucien's forehead. His glance wandered from thence to the carved ebony chair. Still kneeling, he drew from his waistcoat pocket a powerful lens contained in a washleather bag. He began to examine the back and sides of the chair. Once he laid his finger lightly on a protruding point of the carving, and then scrutinised his finger through the glass. He examined the dead man's hands, his nails, his garments. Then he crawled about, peering closely at the carpet.

He stood up suddenly. โ€œThe doctor,โ€ he snapped.

Inspector Whiteleaf retired, but returned immediately with the clean-shaven man to whom Monte Irvin had been talking when Kerry arrived.

โ€œGood evening, doctor,โ€ said Kerry. โ€œDo I know your name? Start your notes, Coombes.โ€

โ€œMy name is Dr. Wilbur Weston, and I live in Albemarle Street.โ€

โ€œWho called you?โ€

โ€œInspector Whiteleaf telephoned to me about half an hour ago.โ€

โ€œYou examined the dead man?โ€

โ€œI did.โ€

โ€œYou avoided moving him?โ€

โ€œIt was unnecessary to move him. He was dead, and the wound was in the left shoulder. I pulled his coat open and unbuttoned his shirt. That was all.โ€

โ€œHow long dead?โ€

โ€œI should say he had been dead not more than an hour when I saw him.โ€

โ€œWhat had caused death?โ€

โ€œThe stab of some long, narrow-bladed weapon, such as a stiletto.โ€

โ€œWhy a stiletto?โ€ Kerry's fierce eyes challenged him. โ€œDid you ever see a wound made by a stiletto?โ€

โ€œSeveralโ€”in Italy, and one at Saffron Hill. They are characterised by very little external bleeding.โ€

โ€œRight, doctor. It had reached his heart?โ€

โ€œYes. The blow was delivered from behind.โ€

โ€œHow do you know?โ€

โ€œThe direction of the wound is forward. I have seen an almost identical wound in the case of an Italian woman stabbed

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