Page:The Viaduct Murder (1926).pdf/258

michael," he said, "there's others do worse and never get found out. A nice, clean death he'll make of it. Goes to Communion every morning, you know⁠—an example to all of us." I told him, of course, that I was not narrow-minded, and could see good in all religions.

Well, the outlines of the thing seem to have been very simple indeed. Davenant saw that Brotherhood meant to persecute the lady because of the money, and determined to try and dissuade him. Brotherhood was just leaving the office when Davenant reached it; Davenant hailed a taxi, and followed him. Brotherhood did not go straight to the station; he went to a flat somewhere out Chelsea way⁠—no doubt this was where he used to spend his weekends. No doubt he had decided that this double life must come to an end, now that it was necessary for him to live on his wife's money, and therefore wanted to collect all his personal effects. He came out in about ten minutes' time, cramming an old-fashioned watch into his waistcoat pocket⁠—presumably, in the hurry of the moment, he wound up this watch, which had been left about in the flat, mistiming it by an hour. With the help of the taxi-man he managed to get an enormous trunk on to the cab and then set out for the station. He was nipping pretty freely from a flask in his pocket. Davenant shadowed him all the way at a distance: he could not have kept up with him if he had not heard his orders to the taxi-driver.