The Goddess: a Demon
Copyright© 2024 by Richard Marsh
Chapter 12: What Was on the Bed
And we—we five men—remained for a moment or two, in silence, looking on. In our breasts, I imagine, were widely different emotions. Surprise, and something else, was, apparently, the dominant feeling of Inspector Symonds and his colleague. They exchanged a few whispered words. Then the Inspector made a movement towards Miss Moore, with something in his mien I did not like. I placed myself in front of him.
“Well, sir,” I inquired, “what do you want?”
He looked at me askance; then turned towards the policeman who had been placed in the passage to guard the outer door.
“What is the meaning of these people being here? I thought I told you to admit no one. Is this the way you obey orders?”
The policeman was apologetic.
“Well, sir, that young lady was through before I knew what she was up to. Then this gentleman sent me flying down the passage, and the rest of ‘em got in; it was more than I could do to stop them.”
The Inspector showed himself indisposed to accept his satellite’s excuses.
“Tell that for a tale, my man; you will hear of this again. I will only have men with me who are able to carry out to the letter the instructions I give them.” He addressed himself to me. “Mr. Ferguson, if you are not careful you will get yourself into trouble. You appear not to realise the serious nature of your conduct. It is not what I should have expected from a gentleman in your position. Surely you cannot wish to place yourself in opposition to the law?”
“Thank you for your warning; and don’t you trouble yourself about my wishes. Let me advise you not to step out of the four corners of your province; men circumstanced as you are sometimes take liberties, which is a mistake.”
“Stand on one side, Mr. Ferguson. I do not take my instructions from you. I wish to speak to that young lady.”
“Then speak to her from where you are—though what you can have to say to her is more than I am able to imagine. She is not well, and does not want to be brought into too close contact with undesirable strangers.”
“Not well? What is the matter with her?”
“I might reply by inquiring what affair that is of yours; but I don’t mind informing you that she suffers from hallucinations.”
“Hallucinations? Oh, they’re hallucinations, are they?”
There was something in his tone for which I could have knocked him down. He spoke to her across the room.
“What is your name?”
“My name? I don’t know what my name is.”
“Not know your name? Come, that won’t do. Tell me what your name is.”
“The lady does not know her name; do you not hear her say so? You will doubt the lady’s word, Mr. Symonds, at your peril.”
“Remove your hand; do you wish to dislocate my shoulder? You forget your own strength, as well as other things, Mr. Ferguson. If you will not tell me who this lady is, and she herself cannot, then I must detain her till inquiries have been made.”
“Detain her? What do you mean?”
“This lady has forced her way into this room, and I have myself heard her, with my own ears, accuse herself, at least, of participation in the murder of this unfortunate man.”
His colleague chimed in: “There can be no sort of doubt upon that point. I heard her too. She said, ‘I killed him.’”
He went to the other side of the bed, and replaced the sheet over the dead man’s head and face. The policeman put in his word.
“I beg your pardon, sir, but she’s been behaving in the most extraordinary manner in the other room. It seems, from what she’s been saying, and doing, that she was there when the gentleman was being murdered, and she’s been acting it all over to herself again as it were. Struck him with a great knife, she said she did.”
“You heard her admit that she struck him with a knife?”
“I did—more than once; and these two gentlemen, and that lady heard her, too. She said that she meant to kill him all along; and then she said she struck him in the back with a great knife, and he fell forward on his face; and she acted how she struck him, and how he fell.”
“In face of that statement my duty’s plain; the lady must be detained.”
He was going on, but I cut him short.
“Then I say that the lady shall not be detained; I will save you, Mr. Symonds, from making one of the most serious mistakes you ever made in your life. Miss Adair, escort the lady from the room. I will see that no one touches her. Now, constable, out of the way.”
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