The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories Read online

  Marroway or Mrs. Rustington can do all the

  searching you like."

  "Well, that's that then," said Mr. Pointz.

  "What are you setting up to be? A first class jewel

  thief?"

  "I might take to it as a career--if it really

  paid."

  "If you got away with the Morning Star it

  would pay you. Even after recutting that stone

  would be worth over thirty thousand pounds."

  "My!" said Eve, impressed. "What's that in

  dollars?"

  Lady Marroway uttered an exclamation.

  "And you carry such a stone about with

  you?" she said reproachfully. "Thirty thousand

  pounds." Her darkened eyelashes quivered.

  Mrs. Rustington said softly: "It's a lot of

  money And

  then there's the fascination of the

  stone itself

  It's beautiful."

  THE REGATTA MYSTERY

  "Just a piece of carbon," said Evan Llewellyn.

  "I've always understood it's the 'fence' that'

  the difficulty in jewel robberies," said Sir Georg

  "He takes the lion's share--eh, what?"

  "Come on," said Eve excitedly. "Let's star

  Take the diamond out and say what you said la

  night."

  Mr. Leathern said in his deep melancholy voic

  "I do apologize for my offspring. She ge

  kinder worked up--"

  "That'll do, Pops," said Eve. "Now then, M

  Pointz--"

  Smiling, Mr. Pointz fumbled in an inne

  pocket. He drew something out. It lay on the pale

  of his hand, blinking in the light.

  A diamond ....

  Rather stiffly, Mr. Pointz repeated as far as h

  could remember his speech of the previous evenin

  on the Merrirnaid.

  "Perhaps you ladies and gentlemen would Ilk

  to have a look at this? It's an unusually beautift

  stone. I call it the Morning Star and it's by way c

  being my mascot--goes about with me anywhere

  Like to see it?"

  He handed it to Lady Marroway, who took i

  exclaimed at its beauty and passed it to Mr. Leatl

  ern who said, "Pretty good--yes, pretty good," i

  a somewhat artificial manner and in his tur,

  passed it to Llewellyn.

  The waiters coming in at that moment there wa

  a slight hitch in the proceedings. When they hat

  gone again, Evan said, "Very fine stone" ant

  passed it to Leo Stein who did not trouble to mak,

  any comment but handed it quickly on to Eve.

  12

  Agatha Christie

  "How perfectly lovely," cried Eve in a high affected

  voice.

  "Oh!" She gave a cry of consternation as it

  slipped from her hand. "I've dropped it."

  She pushed back her chair and got down to

  grope under the table. Sir George at her right, bent

  also. A glass got swept off the table in the confusion.

  Stein, Llewellyn and Mrs. Rustington all

  helped in the search. Finally Lady Marroway

  joined in.

  Only Mr. Pointz took no part in the proceedings.

  He remained in his seat sipping his wine and

  smiling sardonically.

  "Oh, dear," said Eve, still in her artificial

  manner. "How dreadful! Where can it have rolled

  to? I can't find it anywhere."

  One by one the assistant searchers rose to their

  feet.

  "It's disappeared all right, Pointz," said Sir

  George, smiling.

  "Very nicely done," said Mr. Pointz, nodding

  approval. "You'd make a very good actress, Eve.

  Now the question is, have you hidden it somewhere

  or have you got it on you?"

  "Search me," said Eve dramatically.

  Mr. Pointz' eye sought out a large screen in the

  corner of the room.

  He nodded towards it and then looked at Lady

  Marroway and Mrs. R.ustington.

  "If you ladies will be so good--"

  "Why, certainly," said Lady Marroway, smiling.

  The two women rose.

  Lady Marroway said,

  THE REGATTA MYSTERY

  13

  "Don't be afraid, Mr. Pointz. We'll vet her

  properly."

  The three went behind the screen.

  The room was hot. Evan Llewellyn flung open

  the window. A news vender was passing. Evan

  threw down a coin and the man threw up a paper.

  Llewellyn unfolded it.

  ,'Hungarian situation none too good," he

  said.

  "That the local rag?" asked Sir George.

  "There's a horse I'm interested in ought to have

  run at Haldon today--Natty Boy."

  "Leo," said Mr. Pointz. "Lock the door: We

  don't want those damned waiters popping in and

  out till this business is over."

  "Natty Boy won three to one," said Evan.

  "Rotten odds," said Sir George.

  "Mostly Regatta news," said Evan, glancing

  over the sheet.

  The three young women came out from the

  screen.

  "Not a sign of it," said Janet Rustington.

  "You can take it from me she hasn't got it on

  her," said Lady Marroway.

  Mr. Pointz thought he would be quite ready to

  take it from her. There was a grim tone in her

  voice and he felt no doubt that the search had been

  thorough.

  "Say, Eve, you haven't swallowed it?" asked

  'i Mr. Leathern anxiously. "Because maybe that

  wouldn't be too good for you."

  "I'd have seen her do that," said Leo Stein

  quietly. "I was watching her. She didn't put any-thing

  in her mouth."

  14

  Agatha Christie

  "I couldn't swallow a great thing all points like

  that," said Eve. She put her hands on her hips and

  looked at Mr. Pointz. "What about it, big boy?"

  she asked.

  "You stand over there where you are and don't

  .move," said that gentleman.

  Among them, the men stripped the table and

  turned it upside down. Mr. Pointz examined every

  inch of it. Then he transferred his attention to the

  chair on which Eve had been sitting and those on

  either side of her.

  The thoroughness of the search left nothing to

  be desired. The other four men joined in and the

  women also. Eve Leathern stood by the wall

  near the screen and laughed with intense enjoy-ment.

  Five minutes later Mr. Pointz rose with a slight

  groan from his knees and dusted his trousers

  sadly. His pristine freshness was somewhat im-paired.

  "Eve," he said. "I take off my hat to you.

  You're the finest thing in jewel thieves I've ever

  come across. What you've done with that stone

  beats me. As far as I can see it must be in the room

  as it isn't on you. I give you best."

  "Are the stockings mine?" demanded Eve.

  "They're yours, young lady."

  "Eve, my child, where can you have hidden it?"

  demanded Mrs. Rustington curiously.

  Eve pranced forward.

  "I'll show you. You'll all be just mad with

  yourselves."

  She went across to the side table where the

  things from the dinner table had been roughly

  TH
E REGATTA MYSTERY

  15

  stacked. She picked up her little black evening

  bag

  ''Right

  under your eyes. Right..."

  Her voice, gay and triumphant, trailed off sud-denly.

  "Oh," she said. "Oh .... "

  "What's the matter, honey?" said her father.

  Eve whispered: "It's gone.., it's gone .... "

  "What's all this?" asked Pointz, coming for-ward.

  Eve turned to him impetuously.

  "It was like this. This pochette of mine has a big

  paste stone in the middle of the clasp. It fell out

  last night and just when you were showing that

  diamond round I noticed that it was much the

  same size. And so I thought in the night what a

  good idea for a robbery it would be to wedge your

  diamond into the gap with a bit of plasticine. I felt

  sure nobody would ever spot it. That's what I did

  tonight. First I dropped it--then went down after

  it with the bag in my hand, stuck it into the gap

  with a bit of plasticine which I had handy, put my

  bag on the table and went on pretending to look

  for the diamond. I thought it would be like the

  Purloined Letter--you know--lying there in full

  view under all your noses--and just looking like a

  common bit of rhinestone. And it was a good plan

  --none of you did notice."

  "I wonder," said Mr. Stein.

  "What did you say?"

  Mr. Pointz took the bag, looked at the empty

  hole with a fragment of plasticine still adhering to

  it and said slowly: "It may have fallen out. We'd

  better look again."

  16

  Agatha Christie

  The search was repeated, but this time it was a

  curiously silent business. An atmosphere of ten-sion

  pervaded the room.

  Finally everyone in turn gave it up. They stood

  looking at each other.

  "It's not in this room," said Stein.

  "And nobody's left the room," said Sir George

  significantly.

  There was a moment's pause. Eve ,urst into

  tears.

  Her father patted her on the shoulder.

  "There, there," he said awkwardly.

  Sir George turned to Leo Stein.

  "Mr. Stein," he said. "Just now you murmured

  something under your breath. When I asked you

  to repeat it, you said it was nothing. But as a

  matter of fact I heard what you said. Miss Eve had

  just said that none of us noticed the place where

  she had put the diamond. The words you mur-mured

  were: 'I wonder.' What we have to face is

  the probability that one person did notice--that

  that person is in this room now. I suggest that the

  only fair and honorable thing is for every one

  present to submit to a search. The diamond can-not

  have left the room."

  When Sir George played the part of the old

  English gentleman, none could play it better. His

  voice rang with sincerity and indignation.

  "Bit unpleasant, alLthis," said Mr. Pointz

  unhappily.

  :,!

  "It's all my fault," Sobbed Eve. "I didn't

  mean--"

  "Buck up, kiddo," said Mr. Stein kindly.

  "Nobody's blaming you."

  THE REGATTA MYSTERY

  17

  Mr. Leathern said in his slow pedantic manner,

  "Why, certainly, I think that Sir George's sug-gestion

  will meet with the fullest approval from all

  of us. It does from me."

  "I agree," said Evan Llewellyn.

  Mrs. Rustington looked at Lady Marroway who

  nodded a brief assent. The two of them went back

  behind the screen and the sobbing Eve accom-panied

  them.

  A waiter knocked on the door and was told to

  go away.

  Five minutes later eight people looked at each

  other incredulously.

  The Morning Star had vanished into space ....

  Mr. Parker Pyne looked thoughtfully at the

  dark agitated face of the young man opposite him.

  "Of course," he said. "You're Welsh, Mr.

  Llewellyn."

  "What's that got to do with it?"

  Mr. Parker Pyne waved a large, well-cared-for

  hand.

  "Nothing at all, I admit. I am interested in the

  classification of emotional reactions as exempli-fied

  by certain racial types. That is all. Let us

  return to the consideration of your particular

  problem."

  "I don't really know why I came to you," said

  Evan Llewellyn. His hands twitched nervously,

  and his dark face had a haggard look. He did not

  look at Mr. Parker Pyne and that gentleman's

  scrutiny seemed to make him uncomfortable. "I

  don't know why I came to you," he repeated.

  "But where the Hell can I go? And what the Hell

  18

  Agatha Christie

  can I do? It'9 the powerlessness of not being able

  to do anythirg at all that gets me .... I saw your

  advertisement and I remembered that a chap had

  once spoken if you and said that you got results.

  . . . And--w¢ll--I came! I suppose I was a fool.

  It's the sort of position nobody can do anything

  about."

  "Not at all," said Mr. Parker Pyne. "I am the

  proper persors to come to. I am a specialist in un.

  happiness. This business has obviously caused you

  a good deal of pain. You are sure the facts are

  exactly as you have told me?"

  "I don't tlaink I've left out anything. Pointz

  brought out the diamond and passed it around--that

  wretched American child stuck it on her

  ridiculous bag and when we came to look at the

  bag, the diamond was gone. It wasn't on anyone

  --old Pointz himself even was searched--he suggested

  it himself--and I'll swear it was nowhere in

  that room I A nd nobody left the room

  "No waiters, for instance?" suggested Mr.

  Parker Pyne.

  Llewellyn shook his head.

  "They went out before the girl began messing

  about with the diamond, and afterwards Pointz

  locked the door so as to keep them out. No, it lies

  between one of us."

  "It would certainly seem so," said Mr. Parker

  Pyne thoughtfully.

  "That damned evening paper," said Evan Lewellyn

  bitterly. "I saw it come into their minds--that

  that was the only way--"

  "Just tell me again exactly what occurred."

  "It was perfectly simple. I threw open the win

  THE REGATTA MYSTERY

  19

  dow, whistled to the man, threw down a copper

  and he tossed me up the paper. And there it is; you

  see--the only possible way the diamond could

  have left the room--thrown by me to an accom-plice

  waiting in the street below."

  "Not the only possible way," said Mr. Parker

  Pyne.

  "What other way can you suggest?"

  "If you didn't throw it out, there must have

  been some other way."

  "Oh, I see. I hoped you meant something more

  definite than that. Well, I can only say that I

  didn't throw it out. I can't expect you to believe
/>   me--or anyone else."

  "Oh, yes, I believe you," said Mr. Parker Pyne.

  "You do? Why?"

  "Not a criminal type," said Mr. Parker Pyne.

  "Not, that is, the particular criminal type that

  steals jewelry. There are crimes, of course, that

  you might commit--but we won't enter into that

  subject. At any rate I do not see you as the pur-!oiner

  of the Morning Star."

  "Everyone else does though," said Llewellyn

  bitterly.

  "I see," said Mr. Parker Pyne.

  "They looked at me in a queer sort of way at the

  time. Marroway picked up the paper and just

  glanced over at the window. He didn't say any-thing.

  But Pointz cottoned on to it quick enough!

  I could see what they thought. There hasn't been

  any open accusation, that's the devil of it."

  Mr. Parker Pyne nodded sympathetically.

  "It is worse than that," he said.

  "Yes. It's just suspicion. I've had a fellow

  20

  Agatha Christie