The After House by Mary Roberts Rinehart (dark books to read TXT) 📕
McWhirter it was who got me my berth on the Ella. It must have been about the 20th of July, for the Ella sailed on the 28th. I was strong enough to leave the hospital, but not yet physically able for any prolonged exertion. McWhirter, who was short and stout, had been alternately flirting with the nurse, as she moved in and out preparing my room for the night, and sizing me up through narrowed eyes.
"No," he said, evidently following a private line of thought; "you don't belong behind a counter, Leslie. I'm darned if I think you belong in the medical profession, either. The British army'd suit you."
"The - what?"
"You know - Kipling ide
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“You recall its color.”
“It was beef broth.”
“Mrs. Johns, on the night you visited the forward house and viewed the axe, did you visit it again?”
“The axe, or the forward house?”
“The house.”
She made one of her long pauses. Finally: -
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Between three and four o’clock.”
“Who went with you?”
“I went alone.”
“Why did you go beyond the line that was railed off for your safety?”
(Sharply.) “Because I wished to. I was able to take care of myself.”
“Why did you visit the forward house?”
“I was nervous and could not sleep. I thought no one safe while the axe was on the ship.”
“Did you see the body of Burns, the sailor, lying on the deck at that time?”
“He might have been there; I did not see him.”
“Are you saying that you went to the forward house to throw the axe overboard?”
“Yes - if I could get in.”
“Did you know why the axe was being kept?”
“Because the murders had been committed with it.”
“Had you heard of any finger-prints on the handle?”
“No.”
“Did it occur to you that you were interfering with justice in disposing of the axe?”
“Do you mean justice or law? They are not the same.”
“Tell us about your visit to the forward house.”
“It was between two and three. I met no one. I had a bunch of keys from the trunks and from four doors in the after house. Miss Lee knew I intended to try to get rid of the axe. I did not need my keys. The door was open —wide open. I - I went in, and -”
Here, for the first time, Mrs. Johns’s composure forsook her. She turned white, and her maid passed up to her a silver smelling-salts bottle.
“What happened when you went in?”
“It was dark. I stood just inside. Then something rushed past me and out of the door, a something - I don’t know what - a woman, I thought at first, in white.”
“If the room was dark, how could you tell it was white?”
“There was a faint light -enough to see that. There was no noise - just a sort of swishing sound.”
“What did you do then?”
“I waited a moment, and hurried back to the after house.”
“Was the axe gone then?”
“I do not know.”
“Did you see the axe at that time?”
“No.”
“Did you touch it?”
“I have never touched it, at that time or before.”
She could not be shaken in her testimony and was excused. She had borne her grilling exceedingly well, and, in spite of her flippancy, there was a ring of sincerity about the testimony that gave it weight.
Following her evidence, the testimony of Tom, the cook, made things look bad for Singleton, by connecting him with Mrs. Johns’s intruder in the captain’s room. He told of Singleton’s offer to make him a key to the galley with wire. It was clear that Singleton had been a prisoner in name only, and this damaging statement was given weight when, on my recall later, I identified the bunch of keys, the file, and the club that I had taken from Singleton’s mattress. It was plain enough that, with Singleton able to free himself as he wished, the attack on Burns and the disappearance of the axe were easily enough accounted for. It would have been possible, also, to account for the white figure that had so alarmed the men, on the same hypothesis. Cross-examination of Tom by Mr. Goldstein, Singleton’s attorney, brought out one curious fact. He had made no dark soup or broth for the after house. Turner had taken nothing during his illness but clam bouillon, made with milk, and the meals served to the four women had been very light. “They lived on toast and tea, mostly,” he said.
That completed the taking of evidence for the day. In spite of the struggles of the clever young Jew, the weight of testimony was against Singleton. But there were curious discrepancies.
Turner went on the stand the neat morning.
Your name?”
“Marshall Benedict Turner.”
“Your residence?”
“West 106th Street, New York City.”
“Your occupation?”
“Member of the firm of L. Turner’s Sons, shipowners. In the coast trade.”
“Do you own the yacht Ella?”
“Yes.”
“Do you recognize this chart?”
“Yes. It is the chart of the after house of the Ella.”
“Will you show where your room is on the drawing?” ,
“Here.”
“And Mr. Vail’s?”
“Next, connecting through a bathroom.”
“Where was Mr. Vail’s bed on the chart?”
“Here, against the storeroom wall.”
“With your knowledge of the ship and its partitions, do you think that a crime could be committed, a crime of the violent nature of this one, without making a great deal of noise and being heard in the storeroom?”
Violent opposition developing to this question, it was changed in form and broken up. Eventually, Turner answered that the partitions were heavy and he thought it possible.
“Were the connecting doors between your room and Mr. Vail’s generally locked at night?”
“Yes. Not always.”
“Were they locked on this particular night?”
“I don’t remember.”
“When did you see Mr. Vail last?”
“At midnight, or about that. I - I was not well. He went with me to my room.”
“What were your relations with Mr. Vail?”
“We were old friends.”
“Did you hear any sound in Mr. Vail’s cabin that night?”
“None. But, as I say, I was - ill. I might not have noticed.”
“Did you leave your cabin that night of August 11 or early morning of the 12th?”
“Not that I remember.”
“The steersman has testified to seeing you, without your coat, in the chartroom, at two o’clock. Were you there?”
“I may have been - I think not.”
“Why do you say you ‘may have been - I think not’?”
“I was ill. The next day I was delirious. I remember almost nothing of that time.”
“Did you know the woman Karen Hansen?”
“Only as a maid in my wife’s employ.”
“Did you hear the crash when Leslie broke down the door of the storeroom?”
“No. I was in a sort of stupor.”
“Did you know the prisoner before you employed him on the Ella?”
“Yes; he had been in our employ several times.”
“What was his reputation - I mean, as a ship’s officer?”
“Good.”
“Do you recall the night of the 31 st of July?”
“Quite well.”
“Please tell what you know about it.”
“I had asked Mr. Singleton below to have a drink with me. Captain Richardson came below and ordered him on deck. They had words, and he knocked Singleton down.”
“Did you hear the mate threaten to ‘get’ the captain, then or later?”
“He may have made some such threat.”
“Is there a bell in your cabin connecting with the maids’ cabin off the chartroom?”
“No. My bell rang in the room back of the galley, where Williams slept. The boat was small, and I left my man at home. Williams looked after me.”
“Where did the bell from Mr. Vail’s room ring?”
“In the maids’ room. Mr. Vail’s room was designed for Mrs. Turner. When we asked Mrs. Johns to go with us, Mrs. Turner gave Vail her room. It was a question of baths.”
“Did you ring any bell during the night?”
“No.”
“Knowing the relation of the bell above Mr. Vail’s berth to the bed itself, do you think he could have reached it after his injury?”
(Slowly.) “After what the doctor has said, no; he would have had to raise himself and reach up.”
The cross-examination was brief but to the point:
“What do you mean by ‘ill’?”
“That night I had been somewhat ill; the next day I was in bad shape.”
“Did you know the woman Karen Hansen before your wife employed her?”
“No.”
“A previous witness has said that the Hansen woman, starting out of her room, saw you outside and retreated. Were you outside the door at any time during that night?”
“Only before midnight.”
“You said you ‘might have been’ in the chartroom at two o’clock.”
“I have said I was ill. I might have done almost anything.”
“That is exactly what we are getting at, Mr. Turner. Going back to the 30th of July, when you were not ill, did you have any words with the captain?”
“We had a few. He was exceeding his authority.”
“Do you recall what you said?”
“I was indignant.”
“Think again, Mr. Turner. If you cannot recall, some one else will.”
“I threatened to dismiss him and put the first mate in his place. I was angry, naturally.”
“And what did the captain reply?”
“He made an absurd threat to put me in irons.”
“What were your relations after that?”
“They were strained. We simply avoided each other.”
“Just a few more questions, Mr. Turner, and I shall not detain you. Do you carry a key to the emergency case in the forward house, the case that contained the axe?”
Like many of the questions, this was disputed hotly. It was finally allowed, and Turner admitted the key. Similar cases were carried on all the Turner boats, and he had such a key on his ring.
“Did you ever see the white object that terrified the crew?”
“Never. Sailors are particularly liable to such hysteria.”
“During your delirium, did you ever see such a figure?”
“I do not recall any details of that part of my illness.”
“Were you in favor of bringing the bodies back to port?”
“I -yes, certainly.”
“Do you recall going on deck the morning after the murders were discovered?”
“Vaguely.”
“What were the men doing at that time?”
“I believe - really, I do not like to repeat so often that I was ill that day.”
“Have you any recollection of what you said to the men at that time?”
“None.”
“Let me refresh your memory from the ship’s log
(Reading.) “‘Mr. Turner insisted that the bodies be buried at sea, and, on the crew opposing this, retired to his cabin, announcing that he considered the attitude of the men a mutiny.”’
“I recall being angry at the men - not much else. My position was rational enough, however. It was midsummer, and we had a long voyage before us.”
“I wish to read something else to you. The witness Leslie testified to sleeping in the storeroom, at the request of Mrs. Johns”. (reading), “‘giving as her reason a fear of something going wrong, as there was trouble between Mr. Turner and the captain.’”
Whatever question Mr. Goldstein had been framing, he was not permitted to use this part of the record. The log was admissible only as a record on the spot, made by a competent person and witnessed by all concerned, of the actual occurrences on the Ella. My record of Mrs. Johns’s remark was ruled out; Turner was not on trial.
Turner, pale and shaking, left the stand at two o’clock that day, and I was recalled. My earlier testimony had merely established the finding of the bodies. I was now to have a bad two hours. I was an important witness, probably the most important. I had heard the scream that had revealed the tragedy, and had been in the main cabin of the after house only a moment or so after the murderer. I had found the bodies, Vail still living, and had been with the accused mate when he saw the captain prostrate at the foot of the forward companion.
All of this, aided by skillful questions, I told as exactly as possible. I told of the mate’s strange manner on finding the bodies; I related, to a breathless quiet, the placing of the bodies in the jollyboat; and the reading of the burial service over
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