events of the past two days.
Charity had recovered somewhat from her
ordeal, but the effects of what she had been through were still
evident in her slightly pale face and soft, subdued voice, and she
remained close to Randall’s side. Edgerton and Royal sat opposite
them. Charity was recounting to them the details of her
experience.
“I hadn’t any idea what it was all about,”
she said, “and that’s what made it so frightening. I couldn’t seem
to make them understand that my name was not Mary Taylor, that I
had never even heard of such a person. They seemed determined not
to listen to me.”
“The real Mary Taylor would undoubtedly have
said the same,” said Edgerton, “which is why they took no stock in
your protestations.”
“But who was Mary Taylor really, Mr.
Edgerton? What did she do?”
Randall had only given Charity a brief,
hurried explanation the night before of the circumstances
surrounding her abduction, so she had yet to hear the story of
Diana Lewis’ treachery. Edgerton explained more fully now,
beginning with his own labor in tracing the jewel thieves, up
through the revelations of the previous day. Charity listened with
a serious, interested expression that gradually gave way to
astonishment.
“Then there really were pearls?” she
said slowly when he concluded.
“Very valuable ones, Miss Bradford.” Edgerton
put out his hand and took up a fold of the white silk shawl, which
reposed at that moment on Andrew Royal’s knee. He would have liked
to take the whole garment, but found the other end still held
firmly in the sheriff’s grasp. Royal had determinedly maintained
possession of the shawl all night and all morning, despite many
similar attempts on Edgerton’s part to draw it away from him;
evidently bound to hang on to his one share in the business for as
long as possible. “Do you see the larger ones here and there among
these pearl beads? You might not be able to tell the difference,
other than the size, but an expert would tell you that they’re the
real thing.”
Charity leaned forward and put out her hand
to touch the glistening hem of the shawl. “And I had them all the
time, and never knew it!”
“Didn’t any of the kidnappers see the beads?
One would think, with pearls uppermost in their mind, it would have
caught their notice at once.”
“Or that I would have noticed, since
they kept questioning me about pearls so insistently! No, no one
did. It was dark at first—and when they made me put on that dark
cloak to avoid anyone noticing us, one of the men shoved the shawl
into that carpetbag, and it wasn’t taken out again until you found
it.”
Charity’s fingertips rested on the edge of
the brocade for a moment, a slight shadow touching her face. “It
all still seems so incredible,” she said. “I—I can hardly believe
that Diana would do such a thing to me.”
“I found it hard to comprehend at first
myself, Miss Bradford,” said Edgerton. He leaned forward in his
seat, resting his elbows on his knees, and looked over at Randall
Morris. “Do you know, I have the oddest feeling of having bungled
this entire investigation, in spite of the fact that we’ve
succeeded in every way. I suppose that, following our original line
of reasoning, we would have traced the supposed ‘Mary Taylor’ to
Faraday’s old associates in time. But we’d never have happened on
Diana Lewis! And the way Mrs. Meade so quickly uncovered the
kidnapping plot undoubtedly saved Miss Bradford much more danger
and harm, by getting us there so soon—quite possibly, Miss
Bradford, even saved your life.”
Charity’s hand tightened in the one of
Randall’s that held it as he said, “Mrs. Meade—God bless her! She
had her head on straight the whole time, when the rest of us were
going round in circles.”
Edgerton nodded. “I really can’t think of any
commendation high enough. You know, I’ve thought myself a fairly
proficient detective, but they do say that woman’s
Charity had recovered somewhat from her
ordeal, but the effects of what she had been through were still
evident in her slightly pale face and soft, subdued voice, and she
remained close to Randall’s side. Edgerton and Royal sat opposite
them. Charity was recounting to them the details of her
experience.
“I hadn’t any idea what it was all about,”
she said, “and that’s what made it so frightening. I couldn’t seem
to make them understand that my name was not Mary Taylor, that I
had never even heard of such a person. They seemed determined not
to listen to me.”
“The real Mary Taylor would undoubtedly have
said the same,” said Edgerton, “which is why they took no stock in
your protestations.”
“But who was Mary Taylor really, Mr.
Edgerton? What did she do?”
Randall had only given Charity a brief,
hurried explanation the night before of the circumstances
surrounding her abduction, so she had yet to hear the story of
Diana Lewis’ treachery. Edgerton explained more fully now,
beginning with his own labor in tracing the jewel thieves, up
through the revelations of the previous day. Charity listened with
a serious, interested expression that gradually gave way to
astonishment.
“Then there really were pearls?” she
said slowly when he concluded.
“Very valuable ones, Miss Bradford.” Edgerton
put out his hand and took up a fold of the white silk shawl, which
reposed at that moment on Andrew Royal’s knee. He would have liked
to take the whole garment, but found the other end still held
firmly in the sheriff’s grasp. Royal had determinedly maintained
possession of the shawl all night and all morning, despite many
similar attempts on Edgerton’s part to draw it away from him;
evidently bound to hang on to his one share in the business for as
long as possible. “Do you see the larger ones here and there among
these pearl beads? You might not be able to tell the difference,
other than the size, but an expert would tell you that they’re the
real thing.”
Charity leaned forward and put out her hand
to touch the glistening hem of the shawl. “And I had them all the
time, and never knew it!”
“Didn’t any of the kidnappers see the beads?
One would think, with pearls uppermost in their mind, it would have
caught their notice at once.”
“Or that I would have noticed, since
they kept questioning me about pearls so insistently! No, no one
did. It was dark at first—and when they made me put on that dark
cloak to avoid anyone noticing us, one of the men shoved the shawl
into that carpetbag, and it wasn’t taken out again until you found
it.”
Charity’s fingertips rested on the edge of
the brocade for a moment, a slight shadow touching her face. “It
all still seems so incredible,” she said. “I—I can hardly believe
that Diana would do such a thing to me.”
“I found it hard to comprehend at first
myself, Miss Bradford,” said Edgerton. He leaned forward in his
seat, resting his elbows on his knees, and looked over at Randall
Morris. “Do you know, I have the oddest feeling of having bungled
this entire investigation, in spite of the fact that we’ve
succeeded in every way. I suppose that, following our original line
of reasoning, we would have traced the supposed ‘Mary Taylor’ to
Faraday’s old associates in time. But we’d never have happened on
Diana Lewis! And the way Mrs. Meade so quickly uncovered the
kidnapping plot undoubtedly saved Miss Bradford much more danger
and harm, by getting us there so soon—quite possibly, Miss
Bradford, even saved your life.”
Charity’s hand tightened in the one of
Randall’s that held it as he said, “Mrs. Meade—God bless her! She
had her head on straight the whole time, when the rest of us were
going round in circles.”
Edgerton nodded. “I really can’t think of any
commendation high enough. You know, I’ve thought myself a fairly
proficient detective, but they do say that woman’s
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