Antonio Showed them into the lounge and left without asking them to take a seat. When the door closed and his footsteps were padding their way upstairs, Mullett said, “Somehow you can always spot a foreigner. Any idea where he comes from?”
Piper said, “Judging by the odd sample I’ve heard of his accent, I’d say he was Spanish.”
“Really? Do you know Spain at all?”
“I’ve been there a few times.”
“The missus and I always go to Cornwall,” Mullett said. “Must try a Continental holiday one of these days. Travel’s supposed to broaden the mind, isn’t it?”
From the distant look in his eyes he was talking merely for the sake of making conversation. All the time he seemed to be listening to the murmur of voices on the floor above.
After a long slow look at the furniture, he studied the Tretchikoff hanging in an alcove near the window. Then he went over to the fireplace and stood warming his hands behind his back.
While they waited Piper thought about Quinn. With his experience he should have no difficulty learning something of Mrs. McAllister’s affairs and what kind of person she was in private life. Quinn was a good man for that sort of job.
… He’d be a good man all round if only he kept off the beer. Wonder how much he earns? Probably make a lot more if he smartened up a bit. The stuff he writes is pretty good. Knows all there is to be known about crime reporting. In his own satirical way he’s a good friend, too. Makes a fetish of cadging cigarettes and an occasional drink, but that’s only a pose. His heart’s in…
Then the door opened and Mrs. Haupmann came in. She was slim and graceful just like Quinn had described her but he had not mentioned the drawn look about her eyes. Piper told himself she had probably had no sleep because she had waited up all night for news of her husband.
Superintendent Mullett introduced himself and explained that Piper was assisting the police in their inquiries. “… in view of the circumstances we are most anxious to get in touch with Mr. Haupmann as soon as possible.”
With a fretful movement of her hands, she asked, “What circumstances? My husband’s gone on business … that’s all.”
“Did you know yesterday that he was going away?”
She smoothed both hands down over her hips and looked at. Piper as if she resented his presence. She said, “Not exactly. He’s a busy man and sometimes he forgets to tell me.”
“Doesn’t that worry you?”
“No. I’m used to it by now.”
“From what Mr. Piper’s told me you were most concerned last night.”
Without looking at Piper, she said, “That was very silly of me. I ought to have known there was no need to get alarmed.”
“Does that mean you’ve heard from your husband since last night, Mrs. Haupmann?”
She glanced down at the rings on her left hand before she answered, “Yes.”
“May I ask how he got in touch with you?”
“He phoned me.”
“When was this, Mrs. Haupmann?”
“About—seven o’clock this morning.”
Mullett spread his feet farther apart and cleared his throat. He said, “Forgive me asking all these questions but I’m obliged to verify the circumstances in a case of this kind. Did you receive the phone call before or after the police officer visited you in connection with the attempted theft of your husband’s car?”
She spent an awkward few moments in thought, her tired eyes shifting from Mullett to Piper and back to Mullett again. At last, she said, “Before—of course. I remember telling the officer that my husband had gone out of town.”
“Yes, that’s what he reported. But apparently you didn’t tell him where Mr. Haupmann had gone … and I’d be grateful for the information. I have to communicate with him.”
“I’m sorry”—she looked down again at her pretty hands—“but I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know where he is at the present time. He’s travelling about from one place to another. It happens quite often in business … as I’m sure you understand.”
“I understand more than that,” Mullett said. He took hold of his lapels and began rocking backwards and forwards, his shoes squeaking each time he settled back on his heels.
“In the light of information I’ve received, Mrs. Haupmann, I must advise you that this is a more serious affair than appeared at first sight. We have reason to believe that your husband has recently been threatened with violence. In the past weeks certain things have happened which support this belief. …”
He paused as if expecting her to make some comment. His face looked very sad, his deep-set eyes vaguely apologetic.
Mrs. Haupmann asked, “What things?”
“There was a fire in the warehouse of the Falcon Shoe Manufacturing Company on Christmas Eve—a fire that we know was deliberately started. Then two days ago someone meddled with the brakes of Mr. Haupmann’s car and only luck saved your daughter from being involved in a nasty accident. So you see——”
“No, I don’t see. Who told you this nonsense about my husband’s car?”
She turned her shoulder on the superintendent and looked at Piper. She asked, “Was it you?”
Piper said, “I got the information from your daughter and I believe it to be true. When I spoke to her on the phone last night I advised her to tell you about it.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course. It’s a very serious matter. I don’t suffer from hallucinations, Mrs. Haupmann. If you’ll send for your daughter. …”
“Gizelle isn’t at home just now.”
Mrs. Haupmann faced Mullett again. She said, “There seems to have been a lot of upset over nothing at all. My daughter didn’t say anything to me. I’m afraid you’ve been given a completely wrong impression. If you like I’ll ask her to phone you when she gets in and she can tell you herself. I’m sure you’ll find——”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Mullett said, “but evidently I didn’t make myself quite clear. Irrespective of the conversation that your daughter is supposed to have had with Mr. Piper yesterday afternoon there are far too many questions still unanswered for me to let this matter drop.”
“When my husband returns he won’t be pleased if you’ve created a lot of gossip.”
“I’ll do my best to be discreet… and you can help. If Mr. Haupmann left the factory in his car, why did he leave it, unlocked, in a back alley only two or three minutes’ run from his place of business?”
Mrs. Haupmann shrugged. She said, “I don’t know anything at all about the car.”
“Neither does anybody else. If he’d meant to use some other form of transport to complete his journey, such as a taxi, why bother with the car in the first instance? Why didn’t he leave it in the yard at his factory where it would’ve been safe … instead of abandoning it, unlocked in a fairly rough neighbourhood?”
The question seemed to cause Mrs. Haupmann some slight amusement. With a look in her blue eyes that reminded Piper of Gizelle, she said, “I’m not a policeman but I should’ve thought there was a simple answer to that.”
Superintendent Mullett asked patiently, “What is your answer?”
“This man that you’ve arrested must’ve stolen the car from outside the factory and driven it to the place you’re talking about. Then he left it there for some reason … and he was caught when he came back.”
In the same patient voice, Mullett said, “He couldn’t have driven the car anywhere prior to the time he was seen getting into it. He had no ignition key in his possession.”
With the air of someone trying to be helpful, Mrs. Haupmann said, “Perhaps he’d lost it.”
Mullett looked at her steadily. Then he let out his breath and grunted, “Perhaps. …”
He hitched up his coat, felt the buttons to see that they were fastened, and put his hands in his pockets. He seemed quite unmoved.
Very ponderously, he said, “I can’t force you to co-operate, Mrs. Haupmann, but you would be well advised to do so. I’m far from satisfied with the explanation you’ve given me to account for your husband’s absence—far from satisfied.”
She said, “I’m sorry you feel that way. I can’t give you any other explanation. I’ve told you——”
“Precisely nothing, madam. Don’t you realise that he’s been in considerable danger during the past few weeks and may be in even greater danger now? If you put obstacles in my way, you may regret it—for his sake.”
Mrs. Haupmann said, “I appreciate that you mean well, Superintendent, but I assure you there’s no cause for alarm. Nothing’s happened to my husband and he isn’t in any danger. He’s just gone away … and he’ll be away for some little time.”
“How long would you say that’ll be?”
“I don’t know. But, so long as I’m satisfied that everything’s all right, does he have to account to the police for his actions?”
Mullett began teetering on heel and toe again. He said, “I appreciate your motives, too … although I think you’re mistaken. You can’t avoid publicity in a case of this kind. If you really want to help your husband——”
“My husband is quite capable of taking care of himself. When we came to this country”—she tilted her head back and stared up at the superintendent with a look of near-defiance in her eyes—“I thought we’d be safe from police persecution.”
The sad lines in Mullett’s face deepened. He said, “You’ve been here long enough, Mrs. Haupmann, to understand that the police try to avoid interfering with anybody’s private life. If I can do my job without causing you distress I’ll be only too pleased.”
“There is no need for you to concern yourself with us. It’s a purely private affair and——”
“No, Mrs. Haupmann, it isn’t. Your husband’s reasons for going away may be his own business but I must get in touch with him all the same.”
“Why? Won’t it do if he comes to see you when he gets back?”
“No, I’m afraid it won’t do. Either you can’t, or won’t, tell me how long he’ll be away … and that’s the whole point. A man’s going to appear in court charged with the attempted theft of your husband’s car and Mr. Haupmann will be needed to give evidence.”
“But I don’t see——”
“Whether you see or not is immaterial. Unless we know where your husband is we can’t serve notice on him … and it’s my duty to see that he attends court.”
Mrs. Haupmann said, “I don’t understand such things. I’ve already told you why I can’t give you his address: he might be anywhere. All I can promise is that I’ll let you know when he phones me again.”
Mullett said, “Very well, madam. I have no alternative now but to work on the assumption that you haven’t heard from your husband since he left his office late yesterday afternoon, that you made up the story about a phone call this morning because you want to avoid a scandal.”
“I can’t stop you thinking what you like,” Mrs. Haupmann said. She seemed to have reached the stage of complete indifference.
He took his hands out of his pockets and bobbed his head in a stiff little bow. He said, “I intend to pursue inquiries into your husband’s whereabouts. If, in the meantime, anything should happen to him. …”
She squeezed her eyes tight shut and then opened them wide. She asked, “Why are you trying to frighten me?”
“The consequences may be even more frightening. Your husband admitted to Mr. Piper here that he was afraid of something—or someone. Did you know he increased his insurance policies just before Christmas?”
“Yes. He told me about it.”
Piper knew she was lying. He said, “Do you mind, Superintendent, if I ask Mrs. Haupmann a question?”
Mullett said, “So long as the lady doesn’t object, it’s all right with me. What is this question?”
“It concerns the North London Psychic Research Society.”
Mrs. Haupmann’s tired blue eyes travelled from one to the other and finally settled on Piper’s face. She said, “I don’t know anything about them … except that my husband is a member.”
“Have you ever attended any of their meetings?”
“No.”
“Ever met a medium called Mrs. McAllister?”
“No.”
“Do you know a man by the name of Howarth? He’s president of the society.”
She pretended to think. Then she said, “No. I’ve heard my husband mention him … but that’s all.”
Piper said, “I wish I didn’t have to do this but I’ve got no option. You’re not telling the truth, Mrs. Haupmann. I can prove that this man Howarth visited you as recently as yesterday morning.”
Whatever surprise she felt she kept it under control. In a brittle voice, she said, “That’s most interesting. You can’t possibly know who visited me because you weren’t here. As it happens I did have a visitor but he was a reporter from the——”
“—Morning Post” Piper said. “His name’s Quinn. I know him very well. He told me all about the interview and how he was just leaving when Howarth arrived. So you see, Mrs. Haupmann. …”
Her face seemed to crumble. After a moment she sighed and her hands made a gesture of resignation.
Then she looked up at Mullett and said, “I’m not a very good liar, Superintendent. It was stupid of me to think you’d believe me. I should’ve told you the truth from the beginning instead of wasting your time.”
Piper had an uneasy feeling that her admission was a second line of defence behind which still lay concealed the secret she had to protect at all costs. He was convinced that she had planned her strategy in anticipation of Mullett’s visit.
… She started out by denying everything but didn’t even take the trouble to make her story plausible. Now she pretends she’s yielded to the pressure of questioning like a woman whose resistance is at an end.…
Mullett said, “There’s a saying ‘To choose time is to save time.’ You’ve chosen the right time, Mrs. Haupmann, to be honest with me. Your husband hasn’t communicated with you since he left his office yesterday … has he?”
“No. I stayed up all night because I was afraid to fall asleep in case I might not hear the phone … but he didn’t ring.”
“Has anything like this ever happened before?”
“Not in all the years we’ve been married.”
“Then obviously circumstances must’ve prevented him getting in touch with you,” Mullett said. He was suddenly brisk and official. “Now what’s all this about a man called Howarth?”
“He’s a friend of my husband … and I asked him to come and see me.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I wanted to discuss with him something he’d mentioned to me on the phone earlier.”
“Before you deal with the subject of your discussion, tell me this: do you know him well?”
“Only as someone with whom my husband is on friendly terms.”
“How did they become friends?”
“Through doing business together. Mr. Howarth owns a shoe shop.”
“Have you met him often?”
“Three or four times.”
Superintendent Mullett’s face lost its look of melancholy. He said, “Now we’re getting along fine. What was it Mr. Howarth mentioned to you on the phone?”
“Something he’d been told”—she glanced at Piper—“by Mrs. McAllister.”
“And what had he been told?”
“That my husband was very unhappy. He was troubled by certain things he couldn’t forget although they had happened a long time ago—things connected with the war.”
“Did she say what they were?”
“No. But she knew he felt oppressed by a feeling of guilt.”
“How did she know that?”
“He’d half-admitted it to her.”
“When?”
“After one of their spiritualist meetings—the last one he’d attended.”
“Didn’t he give her any hint as to what it was he’d done to make him still feel guilty after all this time?”
“No.” Her shoulders drooped and she looked a lot older than her years. “No … not according to what she told Mr. Howarth.”
“I’ll be speaking to both of them … so it doesn’t matter,” Mullett said. “Go on, Mrs. Haupmann.”
“Well, I’d intended to have a talk with my husband about it when he came home last night—but I didn’t get the chance.” She glanced at Piper again.
“How did Mr. Howarth come to phone you yesterday morning?”
“He didn’t phone me: he wanted to have a word with my husband. I told him Fritz had just left for the factory … and we chatted for a while.” As if it mattered, she added, “He’s a very pleasant man.”
“What brought up Mrs. McAllister’s name?”
“Something quite accidental. I happened to say that I might come to one of their meetings and Mr. Howarth said he hoped I would. He’d been wondering if it was because of me that my husband had stopped attending. I asked him what he meant and he said that Fritz hadn’t been to a meeting for several weeks.”
With a look of what could have been embarrassment, she added, “That’s when I began to get worried.”
“Why?”
“Because my husband had gone out almost every Wednesday evening … and I’d taken it for granted he was going to these spiritualist meetings.”
Superintendent Mullett said, “You still don’t know where he went?”
“No. It gave me quite a shock when I realised I’d only found out by chance.”
“That’s how most things are found out. It’s been called the policeman’s friend. However … go on, Mrs. Haupmann.”
“Well, when I started questioning Mr. Howarth one thing led to another … and I thought it would be better if he came here and told me all about it. You can’t discuss things like that over the phone.”
Her hands fluttered. She looked at Mullett nervously and added, “I’m always afraid the servants may be listening.”
“Did you suspect that your husband might’ve spent those Wednesday evenings with another woman?”
Mrs. Haupmann pressed her fingers to her temples and stood with her head bent as if in concentration. When at last she looked up she let her hands slide down over her face and neck and fold themselves chastely, fingers outspread, on her breast.
She said, “No, not at first… not while I was speaking to Mr. Howarth on the phone.”
“Do you suspect it now?”
After what appeared to be an inner struggle, Mrs. Haupmann said, “Yes. It’s useless to deny it. I don’t want to believe he could do such a thing but …”
“But there seems no other explanation … m-m-m?”
“None that I can think of. It’s all happened so suddenly. Yesterday morning when Mr. Howarth phoned seems such a long time ago. My husband’s never given me the slightest reason to doubt him … but I realise now that there’s been something strange in his behaviour for several weeks.”
“Strange in what way?”
“It’s difficult to explain. He’s been moody … not his usual self.”
“Have you commented on it at all? Asked him if anything’s wrong?”
“No. He’s always been the kind of man who doesn’t like fuss … and I thought he’d get over it in his own time without any nagging by me. I certainly never associated it with—another woman. I don’t really believe that even now … although it’s happened to other wives who trusted their husbands. …”
Once again Piper felt she was admitting one thing merely to hide another. She was talking too much.
He wondered if Mullett had noticed it, if Mullett realised that her drawn look, her air of tension, were not the true indications of a woman who was worried because she suspected that her husband had been unfaithful to her. Mrs. Haupmann’s anxiety was caused by something else—something which made her behave almost as if Fritz Haupmann’s disappearance was unimportant.
Mullett said, “Quite so.”
He picked up his hat and gave her another little bow. “I think that’s about all, Mrs. Haupmann. If you should hear from your husband you will let me know, won’t you?”
“Yes, of course I will. And if you find out anything…” The unfinished request sounded automatic, as empty as though she made it merely because it was expected of her.
Superintendent Mullett said, “As soon as we have any news we’ll be in touch with you. By the way, I’d like a photograph of your husband.”
Mrs. Haupmann looked at Piper as if prompting him. He said, “That’s all right, Superintendent. Quinn’s got one. I’ll get it from him and bring it to your office.”
Mullett acknowledged the offer with a grunted, “Thanks. …”
Then he said, “Just another couple of points, Mrs. Haupmann, that I’d like to clear up before I go. I understand your husband cancelled his regular weekly bridge game the other night because he said he felt too tired. Looking back, do you think that might’ve been just an excuse?”
She played with her wedding ring as if it helped her to think. When she looked down, Piper saw her lips tighten.
What puzzled him more than anything else was her air of guilt as she put her left hand behind her back. She said, “I’m too confused to think clearly, so I don’t see what you mean. He had no need to invent an excuse. He wasn’t compelled to play if he didn’t feel like it.”
“But this weekly game’s a long-standing habit, isn’t it? Weren’t you even a little surprised?”
Mrs. Haupmann seemed to be losing interest. She said, “Perhaps I was … a little. But he did look tired. I can’t see any other reason why he should have wanted to stay at home … can you?”
Mullett said, “I thought possibly he was expecting someone to phone him. Do you remember if he received any phone calls?”
Judging by Mrs. Haupmann’s manner she considered these questions a waste of time but she was trying to avoid showing it. She said, “No, I don’t think so.”
“Did you receive any calls yourself during the course of that evening?”
“I’m not sure.” She glanced down again at her left hand. “I may have done.”
Mullett nodded as if the answer satisfied him. With his head bent he took a couple of steps towards the door, turned slowly, and went on studying the carpet.
He said, “You and your husband have used the Rover quite a lot, I suppose?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been with him on many occasions when he’s parked the car?”
Mrs. Haupmann repeated, “Yes.” Her eyes were straying to the clock on the mantelshelf.
“Is he ever careless or absent-minded?”
“No.”
“Is he in the habit of leaving his car unlocked?”
From the look on her face that question was as irrelevant as all the others. She said, “I—don’t think so.”
“Can you recall any occasion when he hasn’t troubled to lock the car?”
“No, not if he’s been leaving it for any length of time.”
Superintendent Mullett nodded again. He said, “Thank you, Mrs. Haupmann. I think that’s all—for the moment. Don’t bother to see us out. Good day to you.”
Outside the house, he told Piper, “On our way back to town you can explain all about your friend Quinn and what he was doing here yesterday. But, before I forget, I’ve got a few things for you to ponder over. To start with, what’re we to make of the fascinating Mrs. Haupmann?”
Piper said, “She’s very worried—but not about her husband.”
“That’s my conclusion, too. Secondly, whoever tampered with the brakes of the Rover must’ve been someone who was known either to people at the factory or to the Haupmanns—depending on where the tampering was done. A stranger would’ve aroused comment and that would never have done.”
“Which ought to narrow the field of search.”
“Let’s hope so. Point number three concerns the spot where his car was parked. Did he leave it there because his destination was somewhere nearby and does that mean he meant to return but was prevented from doing so?”
“There’s another possibility. Haupmann may have had an appointment to meet somebody in that back alley—somebody who arranged to pick him up there because it was more discreet than calling for him at the factory.”
“And that could indicate a woman,” Mullett said.
“Perhaps. The only thing I’m sure of is that it could scarcely have been a stranger.”
“Maybe all this ties up with another question. Where did Haupmann go on Wednesday nights when his wife thought he was at those spiritualist meetings?”
Piper said, “None of my inquiries indicated that he’s ever been interested in other women.”
“That could be because he’s played it crafty.”
“I’m not so sure. He didn’t strike me as the philandering type.”
“He isn’t necessarily a philanderer. Man is a natural polygamist. When his instinct comes in conflict with the rules of society he has to live a double life because the law won’t allow him to have two wives.”
“A wife like Mrs. Haupmann should be enough for any man.”
“I would agree with you. But then I’m not married to her. And looks aren’t everything. Samuel Johnson said that the great source of pleasure was variety. Haupmann’s other woman might be perfectly plain and with no more glamour than cold rice pudding.”
“You’ll have to produce the other woman before I believe she exists,” Piper said.
They got into the police car. As they drove away from the house, Superintendent Mullett said, “There may be a different explanation for those Wednesday nights … and that poses a very big question. Why is the happily-married Mrs. Haupmann so ready to admit that she believes her husband has been unfaithful to her?”