The After House
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Mary Roberts Rinehart >> The After House
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"He was able to walk. They walked beside him."
"In your testimony, taken at the time and entered in the ship's
log, you say you 'judged by the sounds.' Here you say you 'opened
the door and saw them.' Which is correct?"
"I saw them."
"You say that Mr. Singleton said he wished to 'get at' the captain.
Are those his exact words?"
"I do not recall his exact words."
"Perhaps I can refresh your mind. With the permission of the court,
I shall read from the ship's log this woman's statement, recorded by
the man who was in charge of the vessel, and therefore competent to
make such record, and signed by the witness as having been read and
approved by her:--
"'Mr. Singleton said that he hoped the captain would come, as he and
Mr. Turner only wanted a chance to get at him . . . . There was a
sound outside, and Karen thought it was Mr. Turner falling over
something, and said that she hoped she would not meet him. Once or
twice, when he had been drinking, he had made overtures to her, and
she detested him . . . . She opened the door and came back into the
room, touching me on the arm. "That beast is out there," she said,
"sitting on the companion steps. If he tries to stop me, I'll call
you."'"
The reading made a profound impression. The prosecution, having
succeeded in having the log admitted as evidence, had put a trump
card in the hands of the defense.
"What were the relations between Mr. Turner and the captain?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Were they friendly?"
"No--not very."
"Did you overhear, on the night of August 9, a conversation between
Mr. Turner and Mr. Vail?"
"Yes."
"What was its nature?"
"They were quarreling."
"What did Williams, the butler, give you to hide, that night?"
"Mr. Turner's revolver."
"What did he say when he gave it to you?"
"He--said to throw it overboard or there would be trouble."
"Mrs. Sloane, do you recognize these two garments?"
He held up a man's dinner shirt and a white waistcoat. The
stewardess, who had been calm enough, started and paled.
"I cannot tell without examining them." (They were given to her,
and she looked at them.) "Yes, I have seen them."
"What are they?"
"A shirt and waistcoat of Mr. Turner's."
"When did you see them last?"
"I packed them in my trunk when we left the boat. They had been
forgotten when the other trunks were packed."
"Had you washed them?"
"No."
"Were they washed on shipboard?"
"They look like it. They have not been ironed."
"Who gave them to you to pack in your trunk?"
"Mrs. Johns."
"What did you do with them on reaching New York?"
"I left them in my trunk."
"Why did you not return them to Mr. Turner?"
"I was ill, and forgot. I'd like to know what right you have going
through a person's things--and taking what you want!"
The stewardess was excused, the defense having scored perceptibly.
It was clear what line the young Jew intended to follow.
Oleson, the Swede, was called next, and after the usual formalities:--
"Where were you between midnight and 4 A.M. on the morning of
August 12?"
"In the crow's-nest of the Ella."
"State what you saw between midnight and one o'clock."
"I saw Mate Singleton walking on the forecastle-head. Every now
and then he went to the rail. He seemed to be vomiting. It was
too dark to see much. Then he went aft along the port side of the
house, and came forward again on the starboard side. He went to
where the axe was kept."
"Where was that?"
"Near the starboard corner of the forward house. All the Turner
boats have an emergency box, with an axe and other tools, in easy
reach. The officer on watch carried the key."
"Could you see what he was doing?"
"No; but he was fumbling at the box. I heard him."
"Where did he go after that?"
"He went aft."
"You could not see him?"
"I didn't look. I thought I saw something white moving below me,
and I was watching it."
"This white thing--what did it look like?" "Like a dog, I should
say. It moved about, and then disappeared."
"How?"
"I don't understand."
"Over the rail?"
"Oh--no, sir. It faded away."
"Had you ever heard talk among the men of the Ella being a haunted
ship?"
"Yes--but not until after I'd signed on her!"
"Was there some talk of this 'white thing'?"
"Yes."
"Before the murders?"
"No, sir; not till after. I guess I saw it first."
"What did the men say about it?"
"They thought it scared Mr. Schwartz overboard. The Ella's been
unlucky as to crews. They call her a 'devil ship.'"
"Did you see Mr. Singleton on deck between two and three o'clock?"
"No, sir."
The cross-examination was very short:--
"What sort of night was it?"
"Very dark."
"Would the first mate, as officer on watch, be supposed to see that
the emergency case you speak of was in order?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did the officer on watch remain on the forecastle-head?"
"Mr. Schwartz did not; Mr. Singleton did, mostly except when he went
back to strike the bells."
"Could Mr. Singleton have been on deck without you seeing him?"
"Yes, if he did not move around or smoke. I could see his pipe
lighted."
"Did you see his pipe that night?"
"No, sir."
"If you were sick, would you be likely to smoke?"
This question, I believe, was ruled out.
"In case the wheel of the vessel were lashed for a short time, what
would happen?"
"Depends on the weather. She'd be likely to come to or fall off
considerable."
"Would the lookout know it?"
"Yes, sir."
"How?"
"The sails would show it, sir."
That closed the proceedings for the day. The crowd seemed reluctant
to disperse. Turner's lawyers were in troubled consultation with
him. Singleton was markedly more cheerful, and I thought the
prosecution looked perturbed and uneasy. I went back to jail that
night, and dreamed of Elsa--not as I had seen her that day, bending
forward, watching every point of the evidence, but as I had seen her
so often on the yacht, facing into the salt breeze as if she loved
it, her hands in the pockets of her short white jacket, her hair
blowing back from her forehead in damp, close-curling rings.
CHAPTER XXI
"A BAD WOMAN"
Charlie Jones was called first, on the second day of the trial. He
gave his place of birth as Pennsylvania, and his present shore
address as a Sailors' Christian Home in New York. He offered,
without solicitation, the information that he had been twenty-eight
years in the Turner service, and could have been "up at the top,"
but preferred the forecastle, so that he could be an influence to
the men.
His rolling gait, twinkling blue eyes, and huge mustache, as well
as the plug of tobacco which he sliced with a huge knife, put the
crowd in good humor, and relieved somewhat the somberness of the
proceedings.
"Where were you between midnight and 4 A.M. on the morning of
August 12?"
"At the wheel."
"You did not leave the wheel during that time?"
"Yes, sir."
"When was that?"
"After they found the captain's body. I went to the forward
companion and looked down."
"Is a helmsman permitted to leave his post?"
"With the captain lying dead down in a pool of blood, I should
think-"
"Never mind thinking. Is he?"
"No."
"What did you do with the wheel when you left it?"
"Lashed it. There are two rope-ends, with loops, to lash it with.
When I was on the Sarah Winters--"
"Stick to the question. Did you see the mate, Mr. Singleton, during
your watch?"
"Every half-hour from 12.30 to 1.30. He struck the bells. After
that he said he was sick. He thought he'd been poisoned. He said
he was going forward to lie down, and for me to strike them."
"Who struck the bell at three o'clock?"
"I did, sir."
"When did you hear a woman scream?"
"Just before that."
"What did you do?"
"Nothing. It was the Hansen woman. I didn't like her. She was
a bad woman. When I told her what she was, she laughed."
"Were you ever below in the after house?"
"No, sir; not since the boat was fixed up."
"What could you see through the window beside the wheel?"
"It looked into the chart-room. If the light was on, I could see
all but the floor."
"Between the hours of 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., did any one leave or
enter the after house by the after companion?"
"Yes, sir. Mr. Singleton went down into the chart-room, and came
back again in five or ten minutes."
"At what time?"
"At four bells--two o'clock."
"No one else?"
"No, sir; but I saw Mr. Turner--"
"Confine yourself to the question. What was Mr. Singleton's manner
at the time you mention?"
"He was excited. He brought up a bottle of whiskey from the
chart-room table, and drank what was left in it. Then he muttered
something, and threw the empty bottle over the rail. He said he
was still sick."
The cross-examination confined itself to one detail of Charlie
Jones's testimony.
"Did you, between midnight and 3 A.M., see any one in the chart-room
besides the mate?"
"Yes--Mr. Turner."
"You say you cannot see into the chart-room from the wheel at night.
How did you see him?"
"He turned on the light. He seemed to be looking for something."
"Was he dressed?"
"Yes, sir."
"Can you describe what he wore?"
"Yes, sir. His coat was off. He had a white shirt and a white vest."
"Were the shirt and vest similar to these I show you?"
"Most of them things look alike to me. Yes, sir."
The defense had scored again. But it suffered at the hands of Burns,
the next witness. I believe the prosecution had intended to call
Turner at this time; but, after a whispered conference with Turner's
attorneys, they made a change. Turner, indeed, was in no condition
to go on the stand. He was pallid and twitching, and his face was
covered with sweat.
Burns corroborated the testimony against Singleton--his surly
temper, his outbursts of rage, his threats against the captain.
And he brought out a new point: that Jones, the helmsman, had been
afraid of Singleton that night, and had asked not to be left alone
at the wheel.
During this examination the prosecution for the first time made
clear their position: that the captain was murdered first; that Vail
interfered, and, pursued by Singleton, took refuge in his bunk,
where he was slaughtered; that the murderer, bending to inspect his
horrid work, had unwittingly touched the bell that roused Karen
Hansen, and, crouching in the chartroom with the axe, had struck her
as she opened the door.
The prosecution questioned Burns about the axe and its disappearance.
"Who suggested that the axe be kept in the captain's cabin?"
"Leslie, acting as captain."
"Who had the key?"
"I carried it on a strong line around my neck."
"Whose arrangement was that?"
"Leslie's. He had the key to Mr. Singleton's cabin, and I carried
this one. We divided the responsibility."
"Did you ever give the key to any one?"
"No, sir."
"Did it ever leave you?"
"Not until it was taken away."
"When was that?"
"On Saturday morning, August 22, shortly before dawn."
"Tell what happened."
"I was knocked down from behind, while I was standing at the port
forward corner of the after house. The key was taken from me while
I was unconscious."
"Did you ever see the white object that has been spoken of by the
crew?"
"No, sir. I searched the deck one night when Adams, the lookout,
raised an alarm. We found nothing except--"
"Go on."
"He threw down a marlinespike at something moving in the bow. The
spike disappeared. We couldn't find it, although we could see where
it had struck the deck. Afterwards we found a marlinespike hanging
over the ship's side by a lanyard. It might have been the one we
looked for."
"Explain 'lanyard."'
"A cord--a sort of rope."
"It could not have fallen over the side and hung there?"
"It was fastened with a Blackwell hitch."
"Show us what you mean."
On cross-examination by Singleton's attorney, Burns was forced to
relate the incident of the night before his injury--that Mrs. Johns
had asked to see the axe, and he had shown it to her. He maintained
stoutly that she had not been near the bunk, and that the axe was
there when he locked the door.
Adams, called, testified to seeing a curious, misty-white object on
the forecastle-head. It had seemed to come over the bow. The
marlinespike he threw had had no lanyard.
Mrs. Turner and Miss Lee escaped with a light examination. Their
evidence amounted to little, and was practically the same. They
had retired early, and did not rouse until I called them. They
remained in their rooms most of the time after that, and were busy
caring for Mr. Turner, who had been ill. Mrs. Turner was good
enough to say that I had made them as safe and as comfortable as
possible.
The number of witnesses to be examined, and the searching grilling
to which most of them were subjected, would have dragged the case
to interminable length, had it not been for the attitude of the
judges, who discouraged quibbling and showed a desire to reach the
truth with the least possible delay. One of the judges showed the
wide and unbiased attitude of the court by a little speech after an
especially venomous contest.
"Gentlemen," he said, "we are attempting to get to a solution of
this thing. We are trying one man, it is true, but, in a certain
sense, we are trying every member of the crew, every person who
was on board the ship the night of the crime. We have a curious
situation. The murderer is before us, either in the prisoner's
dock or among the witnesses. Let us get at the truth without
bickering."
Mrs. Johns was called, following Miss Lee. I watched her carefully
on the stand. I had never fathomed Mrs. Johns, or her attitude
toward the rest of the party. I had thought, at the beginning of
the cruise, that Vail and she were incipient lovers. But she had
taken his death with a calmness that was close to indifference.
There was something strange and inexplicable in her tigerish
championship of Turner--and it remains inexplicable even now. I
have wondered since--was she in love with Turner, or was she only
a fiery partisan? I wonder!
She testified with an insolent coolness that clearly irritated the
prosecution--thinking over her replies, refusing to recall certain
things, and eyeing the jury with long, slanting glances that set
them, according to their type, either wriggling or ogling.
The first questions were the usual ones. Then:
"Do you recall the night of the 31st of July?"
"Can you be more specific?"
"I refer to the night when Captain Richardson found the prisoner
in the chart-room and ordered him on deck."
"I recall that, yes."
"Where were you during the quarrel?"
"I was behind Mr. Vail."
"Tell us about it, please."
"It was an ordinary brawl. The captain knocked the mate down."
"Did you hear the mate threaten the captain?"
"No. He went on deck, muttering; I did not hear what was said."
"After the crimes, what did you do?"
"We established a dead-line at the foot of the forward companion.
The other was locked."
"Was there a guard at the top of the companion?"
"Yes; but we trusted no one."
"Where was Mr. Turner?"
"Ill, in his cabin."
"How ill?"
"Very. He was delirious."
"Did you allow any one down?"
"At first, Leslie, a sort of cabin-boy and deck steward, who seemed
to know something of medicine. Afterward we would not allow him,
either."
"Why?"
"We did not trust him."
"This Leslie--why had you asked him to sleep in the storeroom?"
"I--was afraid."
"Will you explain why you were afraid?"
"Fear is difficult to explain, isn't it? If one knows why one is
afraid, one--er--generally isn't."
"That's a bit subtle, I'm afraid. You were afraid, then, without
knowing why?"
"Yes."
"Had you a revolver on board?'"
"Yes."
"Whose revolver was kept on the cabin table?"
"Mine. I always carry one."
"Always?"
"Yes."
"Then--have you one with you now?"
"Yes."
"When you asked the sailor Burns to let you see the axe, what did
you give as a reason?"
"The truth--curiosity."
"Then, having seen the axe, where did you go?"
"Below."
"Please explain the incident of the two articles Mr. Goldstein
showed to the jury yesterday, the shirt and waistcoat."
"That was very simple. Mr. Turner had been very ill. We took
turns in caring for him. I spilled a bowl of broth over the garments
that were shown, and rubbed them out in the bathroom. They were
hung in the cabin used by Mr. Vail to dry, and I forgot them when
we were packing."
The attorney for the defense cross-examined her:
"What color were the stains you speak of?"
"Darkish--red-brown."
"What sort of broth did you spill?"
"That's childish, isn't it? I don't recall."
"You recall its color."
"It was beef broth."
"Mrs. Johns, on the night you visited the forward house and viewed
the axe, did you visit it again?"
"The axe, or the forward house?"
"The house."
She made one of her long pauses. Finally:--
"Yes."
"When?"
"Between three and four o'clock."
"Who went with you?"
"I went alone."
"Why did you go beyond the line that was railed off for your safety?"
(Sharply.) "Because I wished to. I was able to take care of myself."
"Why did you visit the forward house?"
"I was nervous and could not sleep. I thought no one safe while
the axe was on the ship."
"Did you see the body of Burns, the sailor, lying on the deck at
that time?"
"He might have been there; I did not see him."
"Are you saying that you went to the forward house to throw the
axe overboard?"
"Yes--if I could get in."
"Did you know why the axe was being kept?"
"Because the murders had been committed with it."
"Had you heard of any finger-prints on the handle?"
"No."
"Did it occur to you that you were interfering with justice in
disposing of the axe?"
"Do you mean justice or law? They are not the same."
"Tell us about your visit to the forward house."
"It was between two and three. I met no one. I had a bunch of
keys from the trunks and from four doors in the after house. Miss
Lee knew I intended to try to get rid of the axe. I did not need
my keys. The door was open---wide open. I--I went in, and--"
Here, for the first time, Mrs. Johns's composure forsook her. She
turned white, and her maid passed up to her a silver smelling-salts
bottle.
"What happened when you went in?"
"It was dark. I stood just inside. Then something rushed past me
and out of the door, a something--I don't know what--a woman, I
thought at first, in white."
"If the room was dark, how could you tell it was white?"
"There was a faint light--enough to see that. There was no noise
--just a sort of swishing sound."
"What did you do then?"
"I waited a moment, and hurried back to the after house."
"Was the axe gone then?"
"I do not know."
"Did you see the axe at that time?"
"No."
"Did you touch it?"
"I have never touched it, at that time or before."
She could not be shaken in her testimony and was excused. She had
borne her grilling exceedingly well, and, in spite of her flippancy,
there was a ring of sincerity about the testimony that gave it weight.
Following her evidence, the testimony of Tom, the cook, made things
look bad for Singleton, by connecting him with Mrs. Johns's intruder
in the captain's room. He told of Singleton's offer to make him a
key to the galley with wire. It was clear that Singleton had been
a prisoner in name only, and this damaging statement was given weight
when, on my recall later, I identified the bunch of keys, the file,
and the club that I had taken from Singleton's mattress. It was plain
enough that, with Singleton able to free himself as he wished, the
attack on Burns and the disappearance of the axe were easily enough
accounted for. It would have been possible, also, to account for
the white figure that had so alarmed the men, on the same hypothesis.
Cross-examination of Tom by Mr. Goldstein, Singleton's attorney,
brought out one curious fact. He had made no dark soup or broth for
the after house. Turner had taken nothing during his illness but
clam bouillon, made with milk, and the meals served to the four women
had been very light. "They lived on toast and tea, mostly," he said.
That completed the taking of evidence for the day. In spite of the
struggles of the clever young Jew, the weight of testimony was
against Singleton. But there were curious discrepancies.
Turner went on the stand the next morning.
CHAPTER XXII
TURNER'S STORY
"Your name?"
"Marshall Benedict Turner."
"Your residence?"
"West 106th Street, New York City."
"Your occupation?"
"Member of the firm of L. Turner's Sons, shipowners. In the coast
trade."
"Do you own the yacht Ella?"
"Yes."
"Do you recognize this chart?"
"Yes. It is the chart of the after house of the Ella."
"Will you show where your room is on the drawing?"
"Here."
"And Mr. Vail's?"
"Next, connecting through a bath-room."
"Where was Mr. Vail's bed on the chart?"
"Here, against the storeroom wall."
"With your knowledge of the ship and its partitions, do you think
that a crime could be committed, a crime of the violent nature of
this one, without making a great deal of noise and being heard in
the storeroom?"
Violent opposition developing to this question, it was changed in
form and broken up. Eventually, Turner answered that the
partitions were heavy and he thought it possible.
"Were the connecting doors between your room and Mr. Vail's
generally locked at night?"
"Yes. Not always."
"Were they locked on this particular night?"
"I don't remember."
"When did you see Mr. Vail last?"
"At midnight, or about that. I--I was not well. He went with me
to my room."
"What were your relations with Mr. Vail?"
"We were old friends."
"Did you hear any sound in Mr. Vail's cabin that night?"
"None. But, as I say, I was--ill. I might not have noticed."
"Did you leave your cabin that night of August 11 or early morning
of the 12th?"
"Not that I remember."
"The steersman has testified to seeing you, without your coat, in
the chart-room, at two o'clock. Were you there?"
"I may have been--I think not."
"Why do you say you 'may have been--I think not'?"
"I was ill. The next day I was delirious. I remember almost
nothing of that time."
"Did you know the woman Karen Hansen?"
"Only as a maid in my wife's employ."
"Did you hear the crash when Leslie broke down the door of the
storeroom?"
"No. I was in a sort of stupor."
"Did you know the prisoner before you employed him on the Ella?"
"Yes; he had been in our employ several times."
"What was his reputation--I mean, as a ship's officer?"
"Good."
"Do you recall the night of the 31st of July?"
"Quite well."
"Please tell what you know about it."
"I had asked Mr. Singleton below to have a drink with me. Captain
Richardson came below and ordered him on deck. They had words, and
he knocked Singleton down."
"Did you hear the mate threaten to 'get' the captain, then or later?"
"He may have made some such threat."
"Is there a bell in your cabin connecting with the maids' cabin off
the chart-room?"
"No. My bell rang in the room back of the galley, where Williams
slept. The boat was small, and I left my man at home. Williams
looked after me."
"Where did the bell from Mr. Vail's room ring?"
"In the maids' room. Mr. Vail's room was designed for Mrs. Turner.
When we asked Mrs. Johns to go with us, Mrs. Turner gave Vail her
room. It was a question of baths."
"Did you ring any bell during the night?"
"No."
"Knowing the relation of the bell above Mr. Vail's berth to the bed
itself, do you think he could have reached it after his injury?"
(Slowly.) "After what the doctor has said, no; he would have had to
raise himself and reach up."
The cross-examination was brief but to the point:
"What do you mean by 'ill'?"
"That night I had been somewhat ill; the next day I was in bad shape."
"Did you know the woman Karen Hansen before your wife employed her?"
"No."
"A previous witness has said that the Hansen woman, starting out of
her room, saw you outside and retreated. Were you outside the door
at any time during that night?"
"Only before midnight."
"You said you 'might have been' in the chart-room at two o'clock."
"I have said I was ill. I might have done almost anything."
"That is exactly what we are getting at, Mr. Turner. Going back to
the 30th of July, when you were not ill, did you have any words with
the captain?"
"We had a few. He was exceeding his authority."
"Do you recall what you said?"
"I was indignant."
"Think again, Mr. Turner. If you cannot recall, some one else
will."
"I threatened to dismiss him and put the first mate in his place.
I was angry, naturally."
"And what did the captain reply?"
"He made an absurd threat to put me in irons."
"What were your relations after that?"
"They were strained. We simply avoided each other."
"Just a few more questions, Mr. Turner, and I shall not detain you.
Do you carry a key to the emergency case in the forward house, the
case that contained the axe?"
Like many of the questions, this was disputed hotly. It was
finally allowed, and Turner admitted the key. Similar cases were
carried on all the Turner boats, and he had such a key on his ring.
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