The Greatest Works of S. S. Van Dine (Illustrated Edition). S.S. Van Dine

suppose both Sibella and Ada, as well as the old lady, should die: what would become of the money?”

      “If either of the girls had a husband, the estate would pass to him. But, in event of Sibella and Ada dying single, everything would go to the State. That is to say, the State would get it provided there were no relatives alive—which I believe is the case.”

      Heath pondered these possibilities for several minutes.

      “I can’t see anything in the situation to give us a lead,” he lamented. “Everybody benefits equally by what’s already happened. And there’s three of the family still left—the old lady and the two girls.”

      “Two from three leaves one, Sergeant,” suggested Vance quietly.

      “What do you mean by that, sir?”

      “The morphine and the strychnine.”

      Heath gave a start and made an ugly face.

      “By God!” He struck the table with his fist. “It ain’t coming to that if I can stop it!” Then a sense of helplessness tempered his outraged resolution, and he became sullen.

      “I know how you feel.” Vance spoke with troubled discouragement. “But I’m afraid we’ll all have to wait. If the Greene millions are an actuating force in this affair, there’s no way on earth to avert at least one more tragedy.”

      “We might put the matter up to the two girls and perhaps induce them to separate and go away,” ventured the Inspector.

      “That would only postpone the inevitable,” Vance returned. “And besides, it would rob them of their patrimony.”

      “A court ruling might be obtained upsetting the provisions of the will,” submitted Markham dubiously.

      Vance gave him an ironical smile.

      “By the time you could get one of your beloved courts to act the murderer would have had time to wipe out the entire local judiciary.”

      For nearly two hours ways and means of dealing with the case were discussed; but obstacles confronted nearly every line of activity advocated. Finally it was agreed that the only practicable tactics to be pursued were those of the routine police procedure. However, before the conference broke up, certain specific decisions had been taken. The guard about the Greene estate was to be increased, and a man was to be placed on the upper floor of the Narcoss Flats to keep a close watch on the front door and windows. On some pretext or other a detective was to be kept inside of the house as many hours as possible during the day; and the telephone-line of the Greenes was to be tapped.

      Vance insisted, somewhat against Markham’s inclination, that every one in the house and every person who called there—however seemingly remote his connection with the case—should be regarded as a suspect and watched vigilantly; and Heath was ordered by the Inspector to convey this decision to O’Brien, lest her instinctive partiality should result in the relaxation of her scrutiny of certain persons. The Sergeant, it seemed, had already instituted a thorough investigation into the private affairs of Julia, Chester, and Rex; and a dozen men were at work on their associates and activities outside of the Greene mansion, with special instructions to gather reports of conversations which might have contained some hint or reference indicating a foreknowledge or suspicion of the crimes.

      Just as Markham rose to terminate the discussion Vance again leaned forward and spoke.

      “In case there is to be a poisoning we should, I think, be prepared. Where overdoses of either morphine or strychnine are administered immediate action will sometimes save the victim. I would suggest that an official physician be placed in the Narcoss Flats with the man set to watch the Greene windows; and he should have at hand all the necess’ry apparatus and antidotes used in combating morphine and strychnine poisoning. Furthermore, I would suggest that we arrange some sort of signal with Sproot and the new nurse, so that, should anything happen, our doctor can be summoned without a moment’s delay. If the victim of the attempted poisoning were saved, we might be able to ascertain who administered the drug.”

      The plan was readily agreed to. The Inspector took it upon himself to arrange the matter that night with one of the official police surgeons; and Heath went at once to the Narcoss Flats to secure a room facing the Greene mansion.