Murders in, Volume 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

repay Miss Smith for all her trouble—in a lump sum, and for the asking. I suppose she and her backers—she really must have backers—can’t be out after something in the house, can they? Something of great value?”
    â€œThere isn’t anything in the house worth such a conspiracy. Even the silver wouldn’t be worth it. I suppose she must be a member of a gang, mustn’t she? And poor Uncle’s alone in the house with her, except for the servants! I can’t bear it. We must get rid of her somehow.”
    â€œYou’re not sufficiently afraid of her to risk publicity, and your uncle’s annoyance, though.”
    â€œRisk! If we put him in the papers—oh, it doesn’t bear thinking of. And besides, he simply dotes on the woman! I’m only afraid that the shock of finding she’s an impostor will kill him.”
    â€œPerhaps nothing could shake his faith in her. Nothing will, if it’s an obsession.”
    â€œBut he’s so perfectly sensible on every other subject. He’s very shrewd about money. He would loathe having been made a fool of. If we could convince him, by degrees…”
    â€œDelicate job. I suppose he guards her like a dragon?”
    â€œShe needn’t meet anybody, unless she chooses. She certainly wouldn’t see you, unless she thought you had just come to look at the books. She hasn’t been off the place since she came, and I never get a moment alone with her.”
    â€œWell, let’s see. What about catching her out, in some way? The clothes she came in; could we get hold of them? One single modern hook or eye, you know.”
    â€œMr. Gamadge, it’s too maddening! She burned them up.”
    â€œBurned them up!”
    â€œUncle told me so. He said she hated the sight of them. He was telling me the refugee story, and he said that she had worn the things for weeks, and asked permission to burn them.”
    â€œI suppose she told him that they awakened sad memories of the fourth dimension. Miss Smith is very clever.”
    â€œIt’s a gang—a gang of swindlers.”
    â€œHow about these Chandors—the New Soul people? It sounds a little like the kind of game an occultist outfit might think up.”
    â€œWe did discuss them, but Angela says they’re most respectable, have a lot of important clients, dine out, make loads of money. She doesn’t think they’d risk a thing like this.”
    â€œWell, we have three bets left. Miss Smith may give herself away; she can’t know all the habits and customs, to say nothing of the phraseology, peculiar to England and America in the early part of the nineteenth century.”
    â€œUncle wouldn’t know enough to ask her the proper questions, or catch her if she made a mistake; and he wouldn’t let anybody else ask her anything at all. I don’t see how she can keep it up forever, though—playing such a part. And living in seclusion like that I should think would drive her mad.”
    â€œI’m afraid she doesn’t mean to keep it up forever. Our second chance is to identify her with somebody. Would Mr. Vauregard let me take a picture of her, I wonder?”
    â€œI can see her letting you take her picture!”
    â€œIf I brought a jolly little miniature candid camera along, Mr. Vauregard might think it a charming idea; and she couldn’t do anything about it, short of flying from the room.”
    â€œShe’d fly from the room, and say she felt ill, or something.”
    â€œI can’t try it out today, because I have no such camera, and can’t use one effectively, anyway. Harold will have to teach me. He does all the photographing around here, mostly in the laboratory. The only trouble is, one can’t do much, secretly, with a photograph. The police—”
    â€œPlease don’t talk about the police, Mr. Gamadge. Angie has a fit if you mention them.”
    â€œThey can be