The Corpus Delicti by Melville D. Post
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.I attempted to point out the difficulties . she met them all by saying that we_should both go to Spain, there I_could marry her and we_could return to America and drop into my place in society without causing more than apassing comment .

"I concluded to meet the matter squarely once for all . I_said that i_would convert half of_the property into money and give it to her, but that i_would_not marry her . she did_not fly into astorming rage as I had expected, but went quietly out_of_the room and presently returned with two papers, which she read . one was_the certificate of her marriage to Walcott duly authenticated; the other was_the dying statement of her father, the Mexican gambler, and of Samuel Walcott, charging me with murder . it_was in proper form and certified by_the Jesuit priest .

"' now,' she said, sweetly, when she had finished, ' which do_you prefer, to recognize your wife, or to_turn all the property over to Samuel Walcott's widow and hang for_his murder ? '

" i_was dumfounded and horrified . I_saw the trap that i_was in and I consented to_do anything she should say if she_would only destroy the papers . this she refused to_do .I pleaded with her and implored her to destroy them . finally she gave them to_me with a great show of returning confidence, and I tore them into bits and threw them into_the fire .

" that was three months_ago . we arranged to_go to Spain and do as she said . she was to sail this_morning and i_was to_follow . of_course I never intended to_go .I congratulated myself on_the fact that all trace of evidence against me was destroyed and_that her grip was now broken . my plan was to induce her to sail, believing that i_would follow . when she was gone i_would marry miss St .Clair, and if Nina San Croix should return i_would defy her and lock her up as a lunatic . but i_was reckoning like an infernal ass, to imagine for a moment that I_could thus hoodwink such a woman as Nina San Croix .

" to- night I received this ." Walcott took the envelope from_his pocket and gave it to mason ." you saw the effect of it; read it and you_will understand why . I_felt the death hand when I_saw her writing on_the envelope ."

mason took the paper from_the envelope . it_was written in Spanish, and ran:

"Greeting to Richard warren .

" the great Senor does his little Nina injustice to_think she_would go away to Spain and leave him to_the beautiful American . she_is_not so thoughtless . before she goes, she shall be, Oh so very rich ! and_the dear Senor shall be, Oh so very safe ! the archbishop and_the kind church hate murderers .

"NINA SAN CROIX .

" of_course, fool, the papers you destroyed were copies .

"N .SAN C ."

to this_was pinned a line in a delicate aristocratic hand saying that_the archbishop would willingly listen to madam San Croix's statement if she_would come to him on Friday morning at eleven .

" you_see," said Walcott, desperately, " there_is no possible way out . I_know the woman-- when she decides to_do a thing that_is_the end of it . she has decided to do_this ."

mason turned around from_the table, stretched out his long legs, and thrust his hands deep into his pockets .Walcott sat with_his head down, watching mason hopelessly, almost indifferently, his face blank and sunken . the ticking of_the bronze clock on_the mantel shelf was loud, painfully loud . suddenly mason drew his knees in and bent over, put both his bony hands on_the table, and looked at Walcott .

" sir," he_said, " this_matter is in_such shape that_there_is only one_thing to_do . this growth must_be cut out at_the roots, and cut out quickly . this_is_the first fact to_be determined, and a fool would know it . the second fact is_that you_must do_it yourself . hired killers are like the grave and_the daughters of_the horse leech,-- they cry always, ' give, give .' they_are only palliatives, not cures . by using them you swap perils . you simply take a stay of execution at best . the common criminal would know this . these are the facts of your problem . the master plotters of crime would see here but two difficulties to meet:

"A practical method for accomplishing the body of_the crime .

"A cover for_the criminal agent .

" they_would see no farther, and attempt to guard no farther . after they had provided a plan for_the killing, and ameans by_which the killer could cover his trail and escape from_the theater of_the homicide, they_would believe all the requirements of_the problems met, and would stop . the greatest, the very giants among them, have stopped here and have_been in great error .

" in every crime, especially in_the great ones, there exists a third element, preeminently vital . this third element the master plotters have either overlooked or else have_not had the genius to construct . they plan with rare cunning to baffle the victim . they plan with vast wisdom, almost genius, to baffle the trailer . but they fail utterly to_provide any plan for baffling the punisher . ergo, their plots are fatally defective and often result in ruin . hence the vital necessity for providing the third element-- the escape ipso jure ."

mason arose, walked around the table, and put his hand firmly on Samuel Walcott's shoulder ." this_must_be_done to- morrow night," he continued; " you_must arrange your business matters to- morrow and announce that you_are going on a yacht cruise, by order of your physician, and may not return for some weeks . you_must prepare your yacht for a voyage, instruct your men to touch at a certain point on Staten island, and wait until six o'clock day after tomorrow morning . if_you_do_not come aboard by_that_time, they_are to_go to one_of_the south American ports and remain until further orders . by this_means your absence for an indefinite period will_be explained . you_will go to Nina San Croix in_the disguise which you_have always used, and from her to_the yacht, and by this_means step out of your real status and back into_it without leaving traces . i_will come here to- morrow evening and furnish you with everything that you shall need and give_you full and exact instructions in every particular . these details you_must execute with_the greatest care, as_they_will be vitally essential to_the success of_my plan ."

through it all Walcott had_been silent and motionless . now he arose, and in_his face there must_have been some premonition of protest, for mason stepped back and put out his hand ." sir," he_said, with brutal emphasis, " not a word . remember that you_are only the hand, and_the hand does_not think ." then he turned around abruptly and went out_of_the house .

III

the place which Samuel Walcott had selected for_the residence of Nina San Croix was far up in_the northern suburb of New_York . the place was very old . the lawn was large and ill kept; the house, a square old- fashioned brick, was set far back from_the street, and partly hidden by trees . around it all was a rusty iron fence . the place had the air of genteel ruin, such as one finds in_the Virginias .

on a Thursday of November, about three o'clock in_the afternoon, a little man, driving a dray, stopped in_the alley at_the rear of_the house . as he opened the back gate an old Negro woman came down the steps from_the kitchen and demanded to_know what he_wanted . the drayman asked if_the lady of_the house was in . the old Negro answered that she was asleep at_this hour and could_not_be seen .

" that_is good," said the little man, " now there won't be any row .I brought up some cases of wine which she ordered from_our house last week and which the boss told me to deliver at once, but I forgot it until to- day . just let me put it in_the cellar now, Auntie, and don't say a word to_the lady about_it and she won't ever know that_it_was not brought up on_time ."

the drayman stopped, fished a silver dollar out of_his pocket, and gave it to_the old Negro ." there now, Auntie," he_said, " my job depends upon_the lady not knowing about_this wine; keep it mum ."

"Dat's all right, honey," said the old servant, beaming like a may morning ."De cellar door is open, carry it all in and put it in de back part and nobody ain't never going to_know how long it_has_been in DAR ."

the old Negro went back into_the kitchen and_the little man began to unload the dray . he carried in five wine cases and stowed them away in_the back part of_the cellar as_the old woman had directed . then, after having satisfied himself that no one was watching, he_took from_the dray two heavy paper sacks, presumably filled with flour, and a little bundle wrapped in an old newspaper; these he carefully hid behind the wine cases in_the cellar . after awhile he closed the door, climbed on_his dray, and drove off down the alley .

about eight o'clock in_the evening of_the same day, a Mexican sailor dodged in_the front gate and slipped down to_the side of_the house . he stopped by_the window and tapped on_it with_his finger . in a moment a woman opened the door . she was tall, lithe, and splendidly proportioned, with a dark Spanish face and straight hair . the man stepped inside . the woman bolted the door and turned round .

"Ah," she said, smiling, " it_is you, Senor ? how good of you ! "

the man started ." whom else did you expect ? " he_said quickly .

"Oh ! " laughed the woman, " perhaps the archbishop ."

"Nina ! " said the man, in a broken voice that expressed love, humility, and reproach . his face was white under the black sunburn .

for a moment the woman wavered .a shadow flitted over her eyes, then she stepped back ." no," she said, " not yet ."

the man walked across to_the fire, sank down in a chair, and covered his face with_his hands . the woman stepped up noiselessly behind him and leaned over the chair . the man was either in great agony or else he_was a superb actor, for_the muscles of_his neck twitched violently and_his shoulders trembled .

"Oh," he muttered, as_though echoing his thoughts, " I_can't do_it, I_can't ! "

the woman caught the words and leaped up as_though some one had struck her in_the face . she threw back her head . her nostrils dilated and her eyes flashed .

" you_can't do_it ! " she cried ." then you_do love her ! you shall do_it ! do_you hear me ? you shall do_it ! you killed him ! you got rid of him ! but you shall_not get rid of me . I_have the evidence, all of it . the archbishop will_have it to- morrow . they shall hang you ! do_you hear me ? they shall hang you ! "

the woman's voice rose, it_was loud and shrill . the man turned slowly round without looking up, and stretched out his arms toward the woman . she stopped and looked down at him . the fire glittered for a moment and then died out of her eyes, her bosom heaved and her lips began to tremble . with a cry she flung herself into his arms, caught him around the neck, and pressed his face up close against her cheek .

"Oh ! Dick, Dick," she sobbed, " I_do love you so ! I_can't live without you ! not another hour, Dick ! I_do want you so_much, so_much, Dick ! "

the man shifted his right arm quickly, slipped a great Mexican knife out of_his sleeve, and passed his fingers slowly up the woman's side until he_felt the heart beat under his hand, then he raised the knife, gripped the handle tight, and drove the keen blade into_the woman's bosom . the hot blood gushed out over his arm, and down on_his leg . the body, warm and limp, slipped down in_his arms . the man got up, pulled out the knife, and thrust it into asheath at his belt, unbuttoned the dress, and slipped it off of_the body . as he_did this a bundle of papers dropped upon_the floor; these he glanced at hastily and put into his pocket . then he_took the dead woman up in_his arms, went out into_the hall, and started to_go up the stairway . the body was relaxed and heavy, and for_that reason difficult to carry . he doubled it up into an awful heap, with_the knees against the chin, and walked slowly and heavily up the stairs and out into_the bathroom . there he laid the corpse down on_the tiled floor . then he opened the window, closed the shutters, and lighted the gas . the bathroom was small and contained an ordinary steel tub, porcelain lined, standing near the window and raised about six inches above the floor . the sailor went over to_the tub, pried up the metal rim of_the outlet with_his knife, removed it, and fitted into its place a porcelain disk which he_took from_his pocket; to_this disk was attached a long platinum wire, the end of_which he fastened on_the

Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5]