Part 32 (1/2)
”How did he go, and where?”
”Not known, sir.”
”Good Lord!” moaned the Superintendent, ”and what's your salary?”
The sergeant's good-humour was impregnable.
”Give me time,” he said, and the sentence was almost drowned in a loud knock at the door. An instant later Kilshaw rushed in.
”What's this, Dawson?” he cried to the Superintendent; ”what's this about the murder?”
”You haven't heard, sir?”
”I went out of town to avoid this infernal row to-day, and am only just back.”
Dawson smiled discreetly. He could understand that the proceedings of the day would not attract Mr. Kilshaw.
”But is it true,” Kilshaw went on eagerly, ”that Mr. Benham has been murdered?”
”Well, it looks like it, sir,” and Dawson gave a full account of the circ.u.mstances.
”And the motive?” asked Kilshaw.
”Robbery, I suppose. His pockets were empty, and according to our information he was generally flush of money; where he got it, I don't know.”
”Ah!” said Kilshaw meditatively; ”his pockets empty! And have you no clue?”
”Not what you'd call a clue. Did you know the gentleman, sir?”
Kilshaw replied by saying that Mr. Puttock had introduced Benham to him and the acquaintance had continued--it was a political acquaintance purely.
”You don't know anything about him before he came here?”
Kilshaw suddenly perceived that he was being questioned, whereas his object had been to question.
”You say,” he observed, ”that you haven't got what you'd call a clue.
What do you mean?”
”You can tell Mr. Kilshaw, if you like,” said the Superintendent to the sergeant, who repeated his information.
”Gaspard! why that's the fellow the Premier--” and Mr. Kilshaw stopped short. After a moment, he asked abruptly, ”Were there any papers on the body?”
”None, sir.”
”I suppose there's nothing really to connect this man Gaspard with it?”
”Oh, nothing at present, sir. Did you say you'd known the deceased before he--?”