Free Murder on the Celtic by Conrad Allen

afternoon, Sir Arthur. No need of my services, I see.”
    â€œNot yet.”
    â€œI hope that it continues that way — though I doubt it.”
    â€œSo do I, alas.”
    â€œOnce the word spreads that you are on board, you’re bound to be stared at by all and sundry. You may even be at the mercy of autograph hunters. It’s an occupational hazard for an author. When I sailed on the
Baltic
last year,” said Dillman, “Bernard Shaw was aboard. Unlike you, he enjoyed being recognized. In fact, he went out of his way to court public attention.”
    Conan Doyle grinned. “Just like GBS!”
    â€œNeedless to say, he did not seek my protection.”
    â€œActually, I may need rather more than that.”
    â€œOh?”
    â€œYes,” said the other. “There’s a possibility that we may have to report someone to you for obtaining money by false pretenses.”
    â€œAnd who might that be, Sir Arthur?”
    Conan Doyle raised a palm. “Let’s not prejudge the case. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, so this lady should be given the benefit of the doubt. Until I’ve met her, I can’t be sure about her. My wife, however,” he went on, “has reservations and her instincts are rarely wrong.”
    â€œWhat seems to be the trouble?”
    â€œWe have a medium aboard.”
    â€œSomeone who conducts a séance?”
    â€œExactly, Mr. Dillman. Knowing of our interest in spiritualism, she made contact with my wife and invited us to join her at a séance.”
    â€œAt a price, I suspect.”
    â€œThat’s what alerted me. Not that she’s charging us, mark you,” said Conan Doyle. “We were offered free entry. But the other people will have to pay. This lady is a professional.”
    â€œDo you intend to go?”
    â€œOf course. She could have genuine gifts.”
    â€œIs that often the case, Sir Arthur?”
    â€œFrankly, no. There’s a large amount of fraudulence and I’ve been able to expose it in some instances. I’m sure that you can guess the kind of thing — hidden wires, mirrors, cunning effects. At a séance we attended in Cornwall once,” he remembered, “I dragged out the man who was concealed behind the curtains. He’d been speaking into a megaphone with a ghostly voice.”
    â€œBut some people have genuine gifts, you say?”
    â€œNo question of it. They act as gatekeepers to the other world.”
    â€œWhat do you know of this particular lady?”
    â€œNothing beyond what my wife told me,” said Conan Doyle. “She’s English, middle-aged and very plausible. She claims to have held many successful séances in America, but we only have her word for that. On the face of it, the lady is above reproach.”
    â€œLady Conan Doyle, however, has doubts about her.”
    â€œYes, Mr. Dillman. That’s why I wanted to warn you.”
    â€œI’ll be interested to hear how you get on, Sir Arthur. I’ve dealt with every imaginable crime in my time but I’ve never encountered this kind of thing. If she is indeed a fraud,” promised Dillman, “then she’ll be arrested for obtaining money by deception.”
    â€œThe secondary charge carries more weight in my book.”
    â€œSecondary charge?”
    â€œThat of willful cruelty.”
    â€œI don’t understand.”
    â€œThat’s because you’ve never been to a séance. People who do take part place the utmost faith in the medium. They open themselves up, Mr. Dillman, and bare their souls. They are so desperate to make contact with loved ones who have passed on,”said Conan Doyle, “that they render themselves open to exploitation. They are often utterly defenseless. To take advantage of such vulnerable people is more than cruelty,” he added solemnly. “It’s downright brutality.”

FIVE
    T he concert that was held in the