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“And, pray, why are they here?”
Trounce stepped forward and, in his most officious tone, said,“I am here, sir, to investigate the murder of Sir Alfred Tichborne,and I advise you not to interfere with my duties.”
“I have no intention of interfering. Murder, is it? When didthis occur? And how?”
Trounce shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Lastnight. He fell from a window under mysterious circumstances.”
“My-brother?” the Claimant uttered.
“That is correct, Sir Roger,” said Kenealy, turning to themonstrous figure. “May I be the first to offer my condolences?”
“Yes,” the Claimant grunted, meaninglessly.
Kenealy looked back at Trounce. “Why murder? Why not an accidentor suicide?”
“The matter is under investigation. I'll not be drawn on ituntil I have gathered and examined the evidence.”
“Very well. And you, Sir Richard-is there a reason for yourpresence?”
Burton glowered at the lawyer and said, slowly and clearly, “Idon't think I like your tone, sir.”
“Then I apologise,” Kenealy said, sounding not one whitapologetic. “I remind you, however, that I'm acting on behalf ofSir Roger Tichborne, in whose house you currently stand.”
Henry Hawkins interrupted: “That remains to be seen, Kenealy.And for your information, Sir Richard and Mr. Swinburne are here asguests of Colonel Lushington and at the behest of the Doughty andArundell families, who have a stake in this property and whoseidentities are beyond question.”
“Do you mean to imply that my client's identity is in question?”Kenealy growled.
“I absolutely do,” Hawkins answered. “And I intend to have himprosecuted. It is blatantly obvious that this individual is animposter!”
Doctor Jankyn stepped forward, shaking his head. “No, Mr.Hawkins,” he said. “You're wrong. This is Sir Roger. I couldn'tmistake him. I knew him for the first two decades of his life.”
Hawkins rounded on the physician. “I don't know what you'replaying at, sir, but if I find that you're a willing participant inthis conspiracy, I'll see you behind bars!”
“The doctor and the butler have both acknowledged my client'sidentity,” Kenealy snapped, “as has Colonel Lushington-”
“I dispute that!” said Hawkins. “The colonel made a slip of thetongue while feeling unwell, that's all.”
“Be that as it may, two individuals who were in the service ofthe family before Sir Roger sailed for South America have confirmedthat this man is who he says he is. Need I remind you that he wasalso recognised by his own mother?”
“Motherrrrr-” the Claimant moaned, gazing blankly atHawkins.
“Those present who oppose my client never even knew Sir Roger,”Kenealy continued. “It doesn't take a court of law to see where thepower lies, does it?”
“By God! What kind of lawyer are you?” Hawkins cried.
“Mr. Hawkins,” Kenealy snarled, “there is a certain degree ofdecorum demanded by the bar which, once we oppose each other beforea judge, will prevent me from saying that which I now wish to say:to wit, shut your damned mouth, sir! You are in no position tocriticise and in hardly any state to oppose. I will, against mybetter judgement, allow you and Colonel Lushington to remain inthis house as my client's guests until such a time as the law deemsyour presence here indefensible. I will then throw you out, and ifI have to put my boot to the seat of your pants, then I mostcertainly shall do so. In the meantime, Detective Inspector Trounceis welcome to stay here until his investigation is done. As for youtwo-” he turned to Burton and Swinburne “-you can depart forthwith.Your presence is neither required nor desired.”
“Kenealy!” Hawkins yelled. “How dare you! This is an absoluteoutrage!”
“I am the prosecuting lawyer, Hawkins!” Kenealy roared, his faceturning purple and the veins pulsing on his forehead. “I'm wellaware that you intend to countersue, but you haven't filed the caseyet, and until you do, there's not a damned thing you can do tooppose my client's wishes-and his wishes, at this moment, are thatBurton and Swinburne get the hell off his estate!”
Hawkins opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by Burton:“It's quite all right, Mr. Hawkins. We'll leave. We don't want tocontribute to what is obviously already a tense situation.”
“Yaaas,” the Claimant drawled. “Go now.”
Without another word, Burton took Swinburne by the arm andsteered him out of the room.
“Sir Richard!” Hawkins called as the two men crossed thethreshold. Burton looked back, met the lawyer's eyes, and gave aslight shake of his head.
As they climbed the stairs to their rooms, Swinburne said:“Well, that's that. I'd say our job here is done.”
“You really think we just met the real Sir Roger?” Burtonasked.
“Don't you?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Really? What on earth is there to be suspicious about?”
“Are you serious, Algy?”
“Yes.”
“You don't think it odd that Sir Roger was five foot eight atmost, and very slim, whereas the Claimant is pushing seven foottall and is probably the most obese individual I've ever set eyeson?”
“I suppose life in Australia can change a man, Richard. Anyway,there's no reason for us to stay, is there? Shall we return toLondon?”
“In due course.”
Thirty minutes later, as Burton was packing his portmanteau,Trounce knocked at his bedroom door, entered, and cried: “What thedevil are you playing at? Why are you scarpering?”
“We're not. Algy and I are going to get rooms at the DickWhittington I
Trounce blew out a breath. “Phew! What can I do? How does a mango about investigating ghosts? No, Captain, I'll return to the Yardthis evening and we'll see what Commissioner Mayne has to say aboutthe whole sorry business.”
“In that case, would you do me a favour and get a message toHerbert Spencer? I need him to let us back into the house and intothe pantry. One way or another, we have to find our way throughthat secret door. I'm convinced the diamond is beyond it and I wantto get to it before the ghost does. Tell him to meet Algy and me bythe lake at three in the morning.”
Trounce shook Burton's hand. “Very well. Good luck,Captain.”
“The bloomin’ door is open, Boss!” Herbert Spencer whispered.“But it weren't me what opened it!”
He glanced around nervously. The mist was rolling down the slopeagain, creeping toward the lake, and he wasn't happy.
The giant swans, as yet u
Spencer, Burton, and Swinburne were crouched under a crookedwillow.
“Open?” Burton hissed.
“Yus. I checked it afore comin’ out, an’ blow me down with afeather if the back wall weren't sunk right into the floor!”
“And what was beyond it?”
“A tu
“Take us there, Herbert. We must hurry!”
Keeping their heads low, the three men ran up the slope to theback of Tichborne House. Despite the hour, lights were burning onthe ground floor. They skirted the patio and followed Spenceraround the corner to the left side of the building, where the doorto a coal cellar stood open.
“We'll have to go down the chute, an’ I fear you'll get yourtogs a bit dirty, gents.”
“That's all right,” Swinburne whispered. “I'm an expert at thissort of thing.”
He was referring to the time he'd spent as an apprentice toVincent Sneed, the master chimney sweep. The poet had been workedhard and maltreated by his vicious boss, but his experience hadbeen instrumental in Burton's subsequent exposure and defeat of thecabal of scientists who'd been pla
Swinburne swung himself onto the coal chute and slid down intodarkness. Burton and Spencer followed him.