Part 29 (1/2)

”It seems to be all right,” remarked Murray. ”This is the man we insured on the strength of your report, Doctor, and I guess the only thing we can do is to charge you up with an error of judgment. Fortunately, it's only a three-thousand-dollar policy.”

”I don't understand it,” said the doctor gloomily. ”I wish we could demand an autopsy.”

”Hardly justifiable, in view of the circ.u.mstances,” returned Murray. ”We have the affidavit of a first-cla.s.s physician, and we know that it's the same man, so the autopsy would be only to satisfy your curiosity. My own curiosity deals with the Wabash Avenue man who was refused. I wish we could locate him, although I don't see that it would have any bearing on this case. He seems to have disappeared utterly. Perhaps he's dead.”

Before dismissing the matter from his mind, Murray reviewed the facts carefully. There had been an application to another company from a man living at 1176 Wabash Avenue, which had been refused because of heart trouble, but the city directory for that year gave no Harkness at that address. It did give an Elmer Harkness at another address, however, which coincided with the story told by the Harkness he had insured.

”Somebody,” mused Murray, ”must have been trying to beat the other company. That's the best I can make out of it, although I can't see why he should have a.s.sumed this Elmer's name and antecedents. It's a most extraordinary case.”

The latest city directory gave Elmer Harkness as living at 2313 Wesson Street, which certainly was his address at the time the directory was issued. So much Murray had looked up before. Now, further to satisfy himself, he went through all the directories for the interval between the two years, and he was rewarded by finding the name of Elmer Harkness twice in one of them. Both were clerks, the addresses of the employers not being given, and the residence of one of them was put down as the address of the Harkness who had secured insurance.

”Then there are, or at least there were, two,” thought Murray, ”but only one came from Madison. And what has become of the missing Harkness? Why is he in only one directory? The fact that there were two helps to clear up the record of the one I insured, so far as that Wabash Avenue address is concerned, but how did both happen to give the same place and date of birth? And did both have heart trouble?”

Murray straightened up suddenly and sent for the clerk who had made the previous inquiries for him.

”Harry,” he said, ”I want you to go to the funeral of Elmer Harkness to-morrow. Go early, and get a look at him, if possible. If not, get a description of him from some of the neighbors.”

Murray reproached himself for not having searched all the directories before, although it would have made little difference. The fact that another Harkness had lived in Chicago would have had no bearing on the case, so long as the record of the one who applied for insurance was clear. In fact, it would have explained everything, except the coincidence of the alleged birth records. Still, it would have given a new line of investigation, which might have cleared up the mystery.

Harry reported promptly the next day, and almost his first words aroused Murray.

”I couldn't get a glimpse of the late lamented,” he said flippantly, ”for the casket was closed, but I learned that he had hair slightly tinged with gray and-”

”Gray!” exclaimed Murray. ”Does a man get gray hair in six months? The man we insured hadn't a gray hair in his head.”

”He was rather stout-”

”Our man was not.”

”I couldn't learn much else-”

”You've learned enough.”

”-except that when he was stricken his wife's first thought seemed to be to get a message to some mysterious man, who responded in person, had a short talk with the wife, and then disappeared. A neighbor who had come in was somewhat impressed by this, because she called him 'Elmer,' which was her husband's name.”

”What!” cried Murray, startled out of his usual imperturbability by the evidence thus unexpectedly acc.u.mulating. Then, more calmly, ”Harry, you didn't get the address to which she sent, did you?”

”The messenger,” said Harry, proud of his success, ”was a neighbor's boy. I found him. Here is the address.”

Murray took the slip of paper, looked at the address, and then sent for the company's physician.

”We'll make identification sure,” he said, ”for we both know the man, and we'll take an officer and a warrant along with us.”

Elmer Harkness was sitting on his trunk, waiting for an expressman, when the party appeared at the door of his room in a little out-of-the-way boarding-house.

”I thought you were dead,” said Murray.

”I wish I was,” said Harkness. He had almost fainted at the first sight of Murray, but had recovered himself quickly, and, having once decided that the case was hopeless, he resigned himself to the inevitable and spoke with a frank carelessness that had been entirely lacking when he was playing a part and trying to stick to the details of a prepared story.

”Any weapons?” asked the policeman, making a quick search.