Free Missing or Murdered by Robin Forsythe

furnish me with a screw-driver, and he did.”
    â€œIt was the identical one?”
    â€œIt was.”
    â€œBy Jove, Heather!” exclaimed Vereker, but with little show of excitement.
    â€œThere doesn’t seem much in it, though,” continued Heather thoughtfully, “because hardly had Farnish handed the tool over to me than he volunteered the information that his lordship had lost a key to one of his bureau drawers and had broken it open some days before he left—‘with the same screw-driver.’”
    â€œYou didn’t believe him, of course.”
    â€œI won’t say that, but I noticed that of the several bundles of papers in the drawer all were tied with a proper reef-knot, and only one with a granny-knot.”
    â€œAnd you deduced—?”
    â€œNothing as yet, Mr. Vereker, but I’ve taken the usual note. You know the contents of the will?”
    â€œYes—and I know you’ve taken a note that Farnish is left £500 under its terms.”
    â€œQuite so. But from my interrogation of all the servants I find that Farnish neither drinks, smokes nor intends to get married. He’s a careful, honest, punctilious man and devoted to his lordship.”
    â€œNow, now, Heather, you’re not going to tell me you’re impressed by that stuff. I can already see you getting the handcuffs ready for dear old Farnish.”
    Inspector Heather laughed and continued:
    â€œThey’ve just rung me up from headquarters and told me that about six months ago Lord Bygrave got his bankers to dispose of about £10,000 worth of registered securities, and had them transferred into bearer bonds.”
    â€œSix months ago?” queried Vereker listlessly.
    â€œYes; but why?”
    â€œWell, that was last May. Anything could have happened to them since then. Now, if this transaction had taken place just before Lord Bygrave’s departure for Hartwood there might be some significance in it.”
    â€œI can find no trace of them, anyhow. They’re not at his bankers and they’re not in his private safe here, and it is unlikely that he would carry £10,000 about with him on a holiday,” argued the inspector.
    â€œThen I make another brilliant deduction, Heather—Lord Bygrave simply blewed them!” said Vereker.
    â€œI’ve more news for you, Mr. Vereker,” continued the inspector. “Mr. Grierson rang up to say that he would like to see you. He is coming down from town and ought to be here in a few minutes. Meanwhile I think I’ll go and send off some telegrams.”

Chapter Six
    After Inspector Heather’s departure Vereker sank back in a comfortable arm-chair, lit his pipe and gave himself up to a lengthy reverie. There was a look of uneasiness on his face; it could hardly be termed annoyance, for it took a great deal really to annoy Mr. Algernon Vereker. This uneasy look was the signal that he had been suddenly confronted with the unexpected, and it was all due to Walter’s story of the heavily-veiled lady’s visit to Bygrave Hall. This sudden irruption of a female figure into the chaotic tangle of events which constituted the mystery of Lord Bygrave’s disappearance was undeniably disconcerting.
    â€œA woman in the case—the last damned thing I would have expected!” he exclaimed. “What earthly right has a woman to figure in this case at all? It discloses a facet of Bygrave’s life the existence of which I had never suspected. It’s enough to make me forswear the rôle of amateur detective for ever and to give up the quest here and now.”
    He pondered over the incident, looking at it in many lights. There might be a romance, some romance of Bygrave’s early life, of which he knew nothing. It might be one of the most prosaic of occurrences. But why had Lord Bygrave been agitated? There was no explanation forthcoming at the moment. It might disclose itself later. In any case