09 - Superintendent Miller Is Puzzled. As A Thief In The Night by R. Austin Freeman.

09 - Superintendent Miller Is Puzzled. As A Thief In The Night by R. Austin Freeman.  
As one of the many stories written by R. Austin Freeman this book includes the most interesting character of Dr. Thorndyke. He commands the skills of a doctor, a lawyer and an investigator all rolled up into one remarkable man. In this case he must solve a murder mystery perpetrated by a most unusual criminal. There is also love and intrigue at play involving the other main characters

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter nine of As a Thief in the Night by R.
Austin Freeman. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Superintendent Miller is puzzled. On arriving at my chambers after
my conference with Thorndyke, I found awaiting me a letter
from a Maidstone solicitor offering me a briefer a case

(00:22):
of some importance that was to be tried at the
forthcoming assizes. At first I read it almost impatiently, so
preoccupied was my mind with the tragedy in which I
was involved. It seemed inopportune, almost impertinent. But in fact
it was most opportune, as I presently realized, and that
it recalled me to the realities of normal life. My

(00:44):
duties to my friends I did indeed take very seriously.
But I was not an idle man. I had my
way to make in my profession and could not afford
to drop out of the race to sacrifice my ambitions entirely,
even on the altar of friendship. I sat down and
glanced through the instructions. It was a case of alleged fraud,

(01:05):
an intricate case which interested me at once, and in
which I thought I could do myself credit, which was
also the opinion of the solicitor, who was evidently anxious
for me to undertake it. Eventually, I decided to accept
the brief, and, having written a letter to that effect,
I set myself to spend the remainder of the evening
in studying the instructions and mastering the rather involved details.

(01:26):
For time was short, since the case was down for
a hearing in a couple of days time, and the
moral would be taken up by my engagements at Hillborough Square.
I pass over the incidents of the funeral. It was
a dismal and unpleasant affair, lacking all the dignity and
pathos that relieved the dreariness of an ordinary funeral. None
of us could forget, as we sat back in the

(01:48):
morning coach, as far out of sight as possible, that
the corpse and the hearse ahead was the corpse of
a murdered man, and that most of the bystanders knew it.
Even in the chapel. The majestic service was marred and
almost vulgarized by the self consciousness of the mourners, and
at the graveside we found one another peering furtively around
for signs of recognition to all of us. It was

(02:10):
a profound relief when we were once more gathered together
in the drawing room to hear the street door close. Finally,
in the morning carriage rumble away down the square. I
took an early opportunity of mentioning the brief, and I
could see that to both the women the prospect of
my departure came as a disagreeable surprise. How soon will
you have to leave us, Madeline asked anxiously. I must

(02:33):
start for Maidstone tomorrow morning, I replied, Oh dear, she exclaimed,
how empty the place will seem, and how lost we
shall be without you to advise us. I hope, said I,
that the occasions for advice are passed, and I shall
not be so very far away if you should want
to consult me. No, said Barbara, And I suppose you
will not be away for very long. Shall you come

(02:55):
back when your case is finished, or shall you stay
for the rest of the assizes. I shall probably have
some other briefs offered which will detain me until the
assizes are over. My solicitor hinted at some other cases.
And of course there is the usual casual work that
turns up on circuit. Well, she rejoined, we can only
wish you good luck and plenty of work, though we

(03:17):
shall be glad when it is time for you to
come back, and we must be thankful that you were
here to help us through the worst of our troubles.
The general tenor of this conversation, which took place at
the lunch table, was not apparently to Wallingford's taste, for
he sat glumly consuming his food and rather ostentatiously abstaining
from taking any part in the discussion. Nor was I

(03:38):
surprised for the obvious way in which both women leant
on me was of reproach to his capacity, which ought
to have made my advice and guidance unnecessary. But though
I sympathized and away with his displeasure, it nevertheless made
me a little uneasy, for there was another matter that
I wanted to broach, one in which he might consider
himself concerned, namely my commission to Thorndyke. I had indeed

(04:02):
debated with myself whether I should not be wiser to
keep my own counsel on the subject. But I had
decided that they were all interested parties, and that it
would seem unfriendly and uncandid to keep them in the dark.
But for obvious reasons, I did not propose to acquaint
them with Thorndyke's views on the case. The announcement, when
I made it was received without enthusiasm, and Wallingford, as

(04:25):
I had feared, was inclined to be resentful. Don't you think, Mayfield?
Said he that you ought to have consulted the rest
of us before putting this private inquiry agent or whatever
he is, on the case. Perhaps I ought, I admitted,
But it is important to us all that the mystery
should be cleared up. That is quite true, said Barbara.

(04:45):
And for my part, I shall never rest until the
wretch you made away with poor Harold as dragged out
into the light of day. That is, if there really
is such a person, I mean, if Harold's death was
not after all the result of sunk ghastly accident. But
what is it wise for us to meddle? The police
have the case in hand. Surely, with all their experience
and their machinery of detection, they are more likely to

(05:08):
be successful than a private individual, no matter how clever
he may be. That I replied, is in fact doctor
Thorndyke's own view, he wished to leave the inquiry to
the police, and I may say that he will not
come into the case unless it should turn out that
the police are unable to solve the mystery, in which case,
said Wallenfurt, it is extremely unlikely that an outsider without

(05:32):
their special opportunities will be able to solve it. And
if he should happen to find a mare's nest, we
shall share the glory and the publicity of his discovery.
I don't think, said I, that you need have any
anxiety on that score. Doctor Thorndyke is not at all
addicted to finding mayre's nests, and still less to publicity.

(05:52):
If he makes any discovery, he will probably keep it
to himself until he has the whole case cut and dried.
Then he will communicate the facts to the police, and
the first news we shall have on the subject will
be the announcement that an arrest has been made. And
when the police make an arrest on Thorndyke's information, you
can take it that a conviction will follow inevitably. I

(06:15):
don't think I quite understand doctor Thorndyke's position, said Madeleine.
What is he. You seem to refer to him as
a sort of superior private detective. Thorndyke, I replied, is
a unique figure in the legal world. He is a
barrister and a doctor of medicine. In the one capacity,
he is probably the greatest criminal lawyer of our time.

(06:35):
In the other he is, among other things, the leading
authority on poisons and on crimes connected with him. And
so far as I know, he has never made a mistake.
He must be a very remarkable man. Waldingford remarked dryly.
He is, I replied, And in justification of my statement,
I gave a sketch of one or two of the
cases in which Thorndyke had cleared up what had seemed

(06:57):
to be a completely and helplessly insoluble minstory. They all
listened with keen interest, and were evidently so far impressed
that any doubts as to Thorndyke's capacity were set at rest.
But yet I was conscious, and all three of a
certain distrust and uneasiness. The truth was, as it seemed
to me, that none of them had yet recovered from

(07:18):
the ordeal of the inquest in their secret hearts. What
they all wanted, even Barbara, as I suspected, was to
bury the whole dreadful episode in oblivion. And seeing this,
I have not the courage to remind them of their
of our position as the actual suspected parties, whose innocence
it was Thorndyke's function to make clearer in view of

(07:40):
my impending departure from London. I stayed until the evening
was well advanced, though sensible of a certain impatience to
be gone, And when at length that took my leave
and set forth homeward, I was conscious of the same
sense of relief that I had felt on the previous day.
Now for a time I could dismiss this horror from
my mind, to let my thoughts occupy themselves with the

(08:01):
activities that awaited me at Maidstone, which they did so
effectually that by the time I reached my chambers, I
felt that I had my case at my fingers ends.
I had just set to work making my preparations for
the morrow, when my glance happened to light on the
glazed bookcase in which the long series of my diaries
was kept. And then I suddenly bethought me of the

(08:22):
abstract which I had promised to make for Thorndyke. There
would be no time for that now, and yet since
he had seemed to attach some importance to it, I
could not leave my promise unfulfilled. The only thing to
be done was to let him have the diary itself.
I was a little reluctant to do this, for I
had never yet allowed anyone to read it. But there

(08:42):
seemed to be no alternative, And after all, Thorndyke was
a responsible person, and if the diary did contain a
certain amount of confidential matter, there was nothing in it
that was really secret or that I need object to
anyone reading. Accordingly, I took out the current volume, and
dropping it into my hawcket, made my way round to
King's bench walk. My knock at the door was answered

(09:05):
by Thorndyke himself, and as I entered the room, I
was a little disconcerted at finding a large man seated
in an easy chair by the fire with his back
to me, and still more so when on hearing me enter,
he rose and turned to confront me. For the stranger
was none other than mister Superintendent Miller. His gratification at

(09:25):
the meeting seemed to be no greater than mine. Though
he greeted me quite courteously and even cordially, I had
the uncomfortable feeling that I had broken in on a
conference and began to make polite preparations for a strategic retreat.
But Thorndyke would have none of it, not at all.
Mayfield said. He the Superintendent is here on the same

(09:46):
business as you are, and when I tell him that
you have commissioned me to investigate this case, he will
realize that we are colleagues. I am not sure that
the Superintendent realized this so very vividly, but it was
evident that Thorndyke's in from interested him. Nevertheless, he waited
for me in Thorndyke to make the opening moves, and
only relaxed his caution by slow degrees. We were remarking

(10:09):
when you came in. He said, at length, what a
curiously baffling case this is, and how very disappointing. At
first it looked all plain sailing. There was the lady
who used to prepare the special diet for the unfortunate
men and actually take it up to him and watch
him eat it. It seemed as if we had her
in the hollow of our hand, and then she slipped

(10:30):
out the arsenic that was found in the stomach seemed
to connect the death with the food. But then there
was that confounded bottle of medicine that seemed to put
the food outside the case. And when we came to
reckon up the evidence furnished by the medicine, it proved nothing.
Somebody put the poison in. All of them had the
opportunity more or less, and all about equally. Nothing pointed

(10:52):
to one more than another. And that is how it
is all through. There is any amount of suspicion, but
the suspicion falls on a group, but people, not on
any one in particular. Yes, said Thorndyke. The issues are
most strangely confused. Extraordinarily, said Miller. This queer confusion runs
all through the case. You were constantly thinking you have

(11:14):
got the solution, and just as you were perfectly sure,
it slips through your fingers. There are a lot of clues,
fine ones, but as soon as you follow one up,
it breaks off in the middle and leaves you gaping.
You saw what happened at the search, mister Mayfield. I
saw the beginning the actual search, but I don't know
what came of it. Then I can tell you in

(11:34):
one word, nothing. And yet we seemed to be right
on the track every time. There was that secret drawer
of mister Wallingford's. When I saw that packet of white
powder in it, I thought it was going to be
a walk over. I didn't believe for a moment that
the stuff was cocaine, but it was. I went straight
to our analysts to have it tested. As the Superintendent

(11:56):
was speaking, I caught Thorndyke's eye fixed on me with
an expression of reproachful inquiry, but he made no remark,
and Miller continued. Then there were those two empty bottles.
The one that I found in the library yielded definite
traces of arsenic, But then whose bottle was it? The
place was accessible to the entire household, it was impossible

(12:18):
to connect it with any one person. On the other hand,
the bottle that I found in Miss Norris's cupboard, and
that was presumably hers, though she didn't admit it contained
no arsenic. At least the annalist said it didn't, though,
as it smelt of lavender and had a red stain
at the bottom. I feel convinced that it had had
Fouler solution in it. What do you think, doctor, Don't

(12:40):
you think the analyst may have been mistaken? No, Thorndyke
replied decidedly. If the red stain had been due to
foul Their solution, there would have been an appreciable quantity
of arsenic present, probably a fiftieth of a grain at least.
But March's test would detect a much smaller quantity than
that if no arsenic was found by a competent chemist

(13:01):
who was expressly testing for it. You can take it
that no arsenic was there, well, Miller rejoined, You know best,
but you must admit that it is a most remarkable
thing that one bottle which smelt of lavender and had
a red stain at the bottom should contain arsenic, and
that another bottle exactly similar in appearance and smelling of lavender,

(13:21):
and having a red stain at the bottom should contain
no arsenic. I am entirely with you, Miller. Thorndyke agreed.
It is a most remarkable circumstance. And you see my point,
said Miller. Every discovery turns out a cell. I find
a concealed packet of powder with the owner lying like Anonius,
but the powder turns out not to the arsenic. I

(13:44):
find a bottle that did contain arsenic, and there is
no owner. I find another similar bottle which has an owner,
and there is no arsenic in it. Row, isn't it?
I feel like the donkey with the bunch of carrots
tied to his nose. The carrots are there, all right,
but he can never get a bite at him. Thorndyke
could listen with the closest attention to the Superintendent's observations,

(14:05):
and he now began a cautious cross examination. Cautious because
Miller was taking it for granted that I had told
him all about the search, and I could not but
admire his discretion in suppressing the fact that I had not.
For while Thorndyke himself would not suspect me of any
intentional concealment, Miller undoubtedly would, and what little confidence he

(14:25):
had in me would have been destroyed. Accordingly, he managed
the Superintendent so adroitly that the latter described piecemeal all
the incidents of the search. Did Walinford say how he
came to be in possession of all this cocaine and morphine?
He asked, No, replied Miller. I asked him, but he
refused to say where he had got it. But he

(14:47):
could be made to answer, said Thorndyke. Both of these
drugs are poisons. He could be made to account for
having them in his possession, and could be called upon
to show that he came by them lawfully. They are
not ordinarily purchased the public. No, that is true, Miller admitted,
But is there any object in going into the question.

(15:07):
You see, the cocaine isn't really any affair of ours.
It doesn't seem to be, Thorndyke agreed, at least not directly.
But indirectly it may be of considerable importance. I think
you ought to find out where he got that cocaine
and morphine. Miller, the Superintendent reflected, with the air of
having seen a new light. I see what you mean, doctor,

(15:28):
said he You mean that if he got the stuff
from some chinaman or common dope merchant, there wouldn't be
much in it, whereas if he got it from some
one who had a general stock of drugs there might
be a good deal in it. Is that the point, Yes,
he was able to obtain poisons from somebody and we
ought to know exactly what facilities he had for obtaining

(15:48):
poisons and what poisons he obtained. Yes, that is so,
said Miller. Well I will see about it at once. Fortunately,
he is a pretty easy chappie to frighten. I expect
if I give him a bit of a shake up
he will give himself away. And if he won't, we
must try other means. And now, as I think we
have all said what we have to say at present,

(16:11):
I will wish you, too, gentlemen, good night. He rose
and took up his hat, and, having shaken our hands,
was duly escorted to the door by Thorndyke, who, when
he had seen his visitor safely on to the stairs,
returned and confronted me with a look of deep significance.
You never told me about that cocaine, said he No.
I admitted it was stupid of me, But the fact

(16:33):
is that I was so engrossed by your rather startling
observations on the case that this detail slipped my memory,
and it really had not impressed me as being of
any importance. I accepted Wallingford's statement that the stuff was cocaine,
and that consequently it was no concern of ours. I
don't find myself able to agree with that. Consequently, Mayfield,

(16:55):
how did you know that the cocaine was no concern
of ours? Well, I didn't see that it was, and
I don't now do you. No. I know very little
about the case at present, but it seems to me
that the fact that a person in this house had
a considerable quantity of a highly poisonous substance in his
possession is one that at least requires to be noted.

(17:15):
The point is, Mayfield, that until we know all the
facts of this case, we cannot tell which of them
is or is not relevant. Try to bear that in mind.
Do not select particular facts as important and worthy of notice.
Note everything in any way connected with our problem that
comes under your observation, and pass it on to me
without sifting or selection. I ought not to need these exhortations,

(17:38):
said I. However, I will bear them in mind. Should
I ever have anything more to communicate, Probably I never shall,
But I will say that I think Miller is wasting
his energies over Wallingford. The man is no favorite of mine.
He's an erotic ass, but I certainly do not think
he has the makings of a murderer. Thorndyke smiled a
little dryly. If you are able, said he to diagnose

(18:01):
a sight a potential murderer, Your powers are a good
deal beyond mine. I should have said that every man
has the makings of a murderer given the appropriate conditions.
Should you really, i exclaimed, Can you, for instance, imagine
either of us committing a murder? I think I can,
he replied, Of course, the probabilities are very unequal in

(18:22):
different cases. There are some men who may be said
to be prone to murder. A man of low intelligence,
a violent temper, efficient, and ordinary self control may commit
a murder in circumstances that would leave a man of
superior type unmoved. But still, the determining factors are motive,
an opportunity. Given a sufficient motive and a real opportunity,

(18:43):
I can think of no kind of man who might
not commit a homicide which would, in a legal sense
be murder. But is there such a thing as a
sufficient motive for murder? That question can be answered only
by the individual effected. If it seems to him sufficient,
it is sufficient in practice. Can you mention a motive
that would seem to you sufficient? Yes, I can blackmail.

(19:08):
Let us take an imaginary case. Suppose a man to
be convicted of a crime of which he is innocent.
As he has been convicted, the evidence, though fallacious, is overwhelming.
He is sentenced to a term of imprisonment, say penal servitude.
He serves a sentence and is in due course discharged.
He is now free, but the conviction stands against him.

(19:30):
He is a discharged convict. His name is in the
prison books, his photograph and his finger prints are in
the habitual criminal's register. He is a marked man for life.
Now suppose that he manages to shed his identity, and,
in some place where he is unknown, begins life afresh.
He acquires the excellent character and reputation to which he
is in fact entitled. He marries and has a family,

(19:53):
and he and his family prosper and enjoy the advantages
that followed deservedly from his industry in excellent moral quality.
I now suppose that at this point his identity is
discovered by a blackmailer, who forthwith fastens on him, who
determines to live on him in perpetuity, to devour the
products of his industry, to improverish his wife and children,

(20:14):
and to destroy his peace and security by holding over
his head the constant menace of exposure. What is such
a man to do. The law will help him so
far as it can, but it cannot save him from exposure.
He can obtain the protection of the law only on
condition that he discloses the facts. But that disclosure is

(20:34):
precisely the evil that he seeks to avoid. He is
an innocent man, but his innocence is known only to himself.
The fact which must transpire if he prosecutes is that
he is a convicted criminal. I say, Mayfield, what can
he do? What is his remedy? He has but one,
And since the law cannot really help him, he is

(20:56):
entitled to help himself. If I were in that man disposition,
and the opportunity presented itself, I would put away that
blackmailer with no more qualms than I should have in
killing a wasp. Then I am not going to blackmail youth, Ardyke,
for I have a strong conviction that an opportunity would
present itself. I think it very probable, he replied with

(21:17):
a smile. At any rate, I know a good many
methods that I should not adopt, and I think arsenic
poisoning is one of them. But don't you agree with me?
I suppose I do, at least in the very extreme
case that you have put. But it is the only
case of justifiable premeditated homicide that I can imagine, and
it obviously doesn't apply to Wallingford, My dear Mayfield, he exclaimed,

(21:41):
How do we know what does or does not apply
to Wallingford? How do we know what he would regard
as an adequate motive? We know virtually nothing about him
or his affairs are about the crime itself. What we
do know is that a man has apparently been murdered,
and that of the various persons who had the opportunity
to commit murder of whom he is one, none had

(22:02):
any intelligible motive at all. It is futile for us
to argue back and forth on the insufficient knowledge that
we possess. We can only dock it and classify all
the facts that we have, and follow up each of
them impartially with a perfectly open mind. But above all
we must try to increase our stock of facts. I
suppose you haven't had time to consider that abstract of

(22:24):
which we spoke, That is really what brought me round
here this evening. I haven't had time, and I shan't
have just at present, as I am starting tomorrow to
take up work on the Southeastern circuit. But I have
brought the current volume of the diary itself. If you
would care to weighe through it, I should certainly. The
complete document is much preferable to an abstract, which might

(22:45):
leave me in the dark as to the context. But
won't you want to have your diary with you? No,
I shall take a shorthand notebook to use while I
am away. That is in fact what I usually do.
And you don't mind putting this very confident shall document
into the hands of a stranger. You are not a stranger, Thorndyke.
I don't mind you, though I don't think I would

(23:07):
hand it to anybody else, not that it contains anything
that the whole world might not see, for I am
a fairly discreet diarist. But there are references to third
parties with reflections and comments that I shouldn't care to
have read by Thomas Richard and Henry. My only fear
is that you will find it rather garrulous and diffuse
better that than over condensed and sketchy said he as

(23:29):
he took the volume from me. He turned the leaves over, and,
having glanced at one or two pages, exclaimed, this is
something like a diary, Mayfield, quite in the classical manner.
The common daily jotting, such as most of us make,
are invaluable if they are kept up regularly. But this
of yours is immeasurably superior. In a hundred years time

(23:49):
it will be a priceless historical work. How many volumes
of it have you got? About twenty? And I must
say that I find the older ones quite interesting reading.
You may perhaps like to look at one or two
of the more recent volumes. I should like to see
those recording the events of the last three years. Well,
they are all at your service. I have brought you

(24:11):
my duplicate latchkey, and you will find the volumes of
the diary in the glazed bookcase. It is usually kept locked,
but as nobody but you will have access to the chambers.
While I am away, I shall leave the key in
the lock. This is really very good, if you Mayfield,
he said, as I rose to take my departure. Let
me have your address wherever you may be for the

(24:31):
time being, and I will keep you posted in any
developments that may occur. And now good bye and good luck.
He shook my hand cordially, and I betook myself to
my chambers to complete my preparations for my start on
the morrow, end of chapter nine.