CHAPTER V.AN IMPORTANT PACKAGE.
“This is the package,” Mr. Wright ejaculated, as he held up the bundle. “I have not opened it.”
“What is the indorsement?” Carter asked.
“Listen and I will read.”
“Read.”
“‘Papers relating to the Lawrence will case.’”
“The deuce you say!”
“Read for yourself.”
Mr. Wright handed the package to the detective.
Carter took hold of it and read the indorsement.
“The writing is bold and clear,” he said. “No name signed to it.”
“It is peculiar,” Mr. Wright rejoined. “It seems strange that this should turn up just at this time, and it is remarkable that I should have been impelled to act as I did.”
“Yes,” Carter remarked, and he became thoughtful, while he held the package in his hand and gazed at it fixedly.
“What do you suppose those papers contain?”
“We will examine them.”
“Why was Isabella Porter so anxious to get possession of them?”
“That we will have to find out.”
“Who was Edward Peters?”
“I can’t answer the question.”
Carter laughed as he glanced at Mr. Wright, who joined him, remarking:
“If I were not so excited I would never have asked such a question, Mr. Carter.”
“I am aware of that.”
“Let us examine those papers. There may be something in them which will furnish you with a clew.”
“Or they may deepen the mystery.”
Carter broke the seals and tore off the wrapper.
Five documents fell into his lap.
Mr. Wright drew up his chair close to the detective’s side.
Carter picked up one of the papers and read the indorsement:
“‘Confession of George Blanchard, butler, employed by Alfred Lawrence, Esq.’”
“Phew!” Mr. Wright gave a prolonged whistle.
His and the detective’s eyes met.
For some time they did not speak.
“Confession of George Blanchard,” repeated Mr. Wright.
“We will read it,” the detective remarked, and he opened the paper.
Mr. Wright leaned back in his chair.
Carter cleared his throat and commenced to read:
“‘I, George Blanchard, knowing that I am about to die and to be called upon to face my Maker, desiring to make reparation for grievous wrongs and sins which I have committed, do make the following confession, hoping thereby to ease my conscience. May God have mercy upon my soul!“‘I was born in Manchester, England, and at the age of twenty I came to America.“‘Shortly after my arrival in New York I wasengaged by Alfred Lawrence, Esq., to act as his butler, and I went to work at his house, No. — Beach Street.“‘Mr. Lawrence was engaged in business with his uncle, after whom he was named.“‘Old Mr. Lawrence died, and when the will was read it was found that his nephew was left all of the property.“‘Simeon Rich, another nephew of the deceased, proceeded to contest the will, and he claimed that Mr. Alfred Lawrence had forged the document.“‘Previous to the death of old Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Alfred Lawrence and his wife became estranged.“‘They used to quarrel frequently.“‘Mrs. Lawrence was a cold, willful, and heartless woman.“‘One day I discovered that she was meeting Simeon Rich clandestinely. This was before the death of her husband’s uncle.“‘I saw that I had her in my power, and I made a demand upon her for hush money, which she gave to me.“‘I threatened her with exposure, and I received from her several hundred dollars.“‘One night shortly after the death of old Mr. Lawrence, Simeon Rich came to me and told me that he was going to contest the will. He said he would pay me ten thousand dollars if I would swear that I had seen Mr. Alfred Lawrence forge the will.“‘Mrs. Lawrence, he told me, would be on his side.“‘He paid me one thousand dollars down, and the balance he promised to give me as soon as the will was broken.“‘I entered into the plot.“‘Papers which would have cleared Mr. Alfred Lawrence of the charge of forgery I stole from his safe.“‘These papers I have always kept in my possession, and they will be found with this confession.“‘One of the papers was a statement of the lawyer who had drawn up the will and who had died just before the contest.“‘From time to time Simeon Rich has tried to get possession of these papers, but I would never give them to him.“‘Another paper was a letter written by Mrs. Lawrence to Rich, in which she outlined the whole plot.“‘Mr. Alfred Lawrence in some way got hold of this letter.“‘He was sent to State’s prison a year ago to-day.“‘Mrs. Lawrence and Rich have gone abroad together.“‘Two weeks ago, while crossing Broadway, I was knocked down by a runaway team and taken to this hospital.“‘I have suffered terrible agony, and the doctors have informed me that I cannot live.“‘I intrust this confession and the stolen documents, which will clear Mr. Alfred Lawrence, to my chum, Edward Peters, with instructions to deliver them to the proper authorities.“‘(Signed)George Blanchard.“‘Witnessed by:“‘Edward Peters,“‘Leonard Thompson, M. D., House Physician, Bellevue Hospital.“‘Dated August 17, 19—’”
“‘I, George Blanchard, knowing that I am about to die and to be called upon to face my Maker, desiring to make reparation for grievous wrongs and sins which I have committed, do make the following confession, hoping thereby to ease my conscience. May God have mercy upon my soul!
“‘I was born in Manchester, England, and at the age of twenty I came to America.
“‘Shortly after my arrival in New York I wasengaged by Alfred Lawrence, Esq., to act as his butler, and I went to work at his house, No. — Beach Street.
“‘Mr. Lawrence was engaged in business with his uncle, after whom he was named.
“‘Old Mr. Lawrence died, and when the will was read it was found that his nephew was left all of the property.
“‘Simeon Rich, another nephew of the deceased, proceeded to contest the will, and he claimed that Mr. Alfred Lawrence had forged the document.
“‘Previous to the death of old Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Alfred Lawrence and his wife became estranged.
“‘They used to quarrel frequently.
“‘Mrs. Lawrence was a cold, willful, and heartless woman.
“‘One day I discovered that she was meeting Simeon Rich clandestinely. This was before the death of her husband’s uncle.
“‘I saw that I had her in my power, and I made a demand upon her for hush money, which she gave to me.
“‘I threatened her with exposure, and I received from her several hundred dollars.
“‘One night shortly after the death of old Mr. Lawrence, Simeon Rich came to me and told me that he was going to contest the will. He said he would pay me ten thousand dollars if I would swear that I had seen Mr. Alfred Lawrence forge the will.
“‘Mrs. Lawrence, he told me, would be on his side.
“‘He paid me one thousand dollars down, and the balance he promised to give me as soon as the will was broken.
“‘I entered into the plot.
“‘Papers which would have cleared Mr. Alfred Lawrence of the charge of forgery I stole from his safe.
“‘These papers I have always kept in my possession, and they will be found with this confession.
“‘One of the papers was a statement of the lawyer who had drawn up the will and who had died just before the contest.
“‘From time to time Simeon Rich has tried to get possession of these papers, but I would never give them to him.
“‘Another paper was a letter written by Mrs. Lawrence to Rich, in which she outlined the whole plot.
“‘Mr. Alfred Lawrence in some way got hold of this letter.
“‘He was sent to State’s prison a year ago to-day.
“‘Mrs. Lawrence and Rich have gone abroad together.
“‘Two weeks ago, while crossing Broadway, I was knocked down by a runaway team and taken to this hospital.
“‘I have suffered terrible agony, and the doctors have informed me that I cannot live.
“‘I intrust this confession and the stolen documents, which will clear Mr. Alfred Lawrence, to my chum, Edward Peters, with instructions to deliver them to the proper authorities.
“‘(Signed)George Blanchard.“‘Witnessed by:“‘Edward Peters,“‘Leonard Thompson, M. D., House Physician, Bellevue Hospital.
“‘Dated August 17, 19—’”
For some time after Carter finished reading he and Mr. Wright sat in silence.
Mr. Wright was the first to speak.
“That confession shows that Lawrence was innocent,” he remarked.
“Yes,” the detective rejoined, “but it throws no light on the murder.”
“I wonder what became of Edward Peters and what induced him to leave the package of documents with me? If I had only known the value of those papers years ago, I would have had Lawrence out of Sing Sing in a jiffy.”
“I wonder if Doctor Leonard Thompson, whose signature is attached to this confession, is the famous specialist who now resides on upper Fifth Avenue?”
“We can easily find out by calling on him.”
“We will start for his house immediately.”
Carter put the papers into the inside pocket of his coat, and then he and Mr. Wright started for the house of the Fifth Avenue physician.
When the detective and his companion arrived at the palatial mansion they were shown into a small reception room in which a number of patients were seated.
Carter gave his card to the butler, requesting him to present it to his master and state that he desired to see the doctor on important business.
In a few minutes the butler returned and said that the doctor would see them.
Doctor Thompson was a man of fine physique and aristocratic bearing.
At first he acted rather coldly when the detective and Mr. Wright entered his private office. However,he invited them to be seated and asked what they desired.
“Were you ever house physician at Bellevue Hospital?” Carter inquired.
“I was,” Doctor Thompson replied.
“Is this your signature?”
The detective took the Blanchard confession out of his pocket and showed the doctor the signature.
“This is my signature,” the physician said, after he had glanced at it, and instantly he thawed out and became interested. “What is that paper?”
“A confession of a man named George Blanchard,” the detective answered. “He was at one time a butler for a Mr. Alfred Lawrence.”
“I remember the man. He died from injuries received in a runaway. I never knew what the confession related to.
“A man named Peters was with him all the afternoon before he died. I came up to the cot just as he signed the paper, and Peters requested me to witness the signature, which I did.
“My mind was busy with other matters, and I never thought to ask what was in the paper.
“I signed the death certificate, and, if my memory does not play me false, I think Peters claimed the body and buried it.
“A month later Peters was brought to the hospital in a dying condition. He had been stabbed, I think, in some dark street downtown.
“I recognized him as the man who had been with Blanchard and who had requested me to sign the paper.
“He died without recovering consciousness.
“I can’t tell whether any one claimed his body or not.”
“The records at Bellevue will show that?”
“Certainly.”
“Doctor, we are greatly obliged to you for this information.”
“Why are you so anxious——”
“I can’t tell you anything just at present——”
“I understand, Mr. Carter. Well, if I can be of any further service to you, don’t hesitate to call on me.”
“Thank you.”
Carter and Wright departed.
As soon as they were outside in the street, the latter turned to the former and said:
“What are you going to do next?”
“We will go over to Bellevue,” the detective rejoined.
At the hospital Carter proceeded to examine the record of deaths.
After a long search, he found the name of Edward Peters.
“Here it is,” he said, turning to Peter Wright and holding his finger on the name.
“Read what the record says,” said Wright.
“‘Peters, Edward. Forty, unmarried, native of England. Cause of death: stab wound in back, over left lobe of heart. Occupation: butler. Where employed: No. — Fifth Avenue. Name of employer: Mrs. Isabella Porter. Body claimed by Mrs. Porter. Date, September 21.’”
“Well!” Wright ejaculated, and he looked at Carter, with a quizzical expression upon his face.
“More mystery,” the detective rejoined.
“Peters stopped at the Red Dragon Inn on the night of September 20.”
“How do you know that?”
“I put the date on the wrapper of the package.”
“Did you leave that wrapper in your room?”
“I did.”
“From this record, it appears that the man was Mrs. Porter’s butler.”
“Yes. She never had a butler when they lived on West Broadway, and I was not aware that she had gone to reside on Fifth Avenue.”
“Mrs. Porter’s daughter was named after her?”
“Obviously!”
“Let us go to your hotel. When Miss Isabella Porter calls on you to-morrow, tell her that you could not find the package.”
“I’d like to know how she learned about it.”
“That we will find out all in good time.”
“I will put these papers away in a safe place.”
“Do so.”
It was quite late when the detective and Wright reached the hotel.
Carter recovered the wrapper which had been outside of the package. He sealed the documents up in an envelope, and had the bundle locked up in the hotel safe.
When he reached his house, an hour later, he did not retire to rest.
As soon as he locked the door of his sanctum, he proceeded to change his clothing.
In a quarter of an hour he had changed his appearance so completely that his most intimate acquaintance could not have recognized him.
What did he intend to do?
From the manner in which he acted, it was quite clear that he did not propose to remain in. He examined his notebook before leaving the room, and as he went out he muttered:
“We will see what kind of place Miss Porter lives in.”