Chapter 15 #3
“The Grand Duke hit Miss Dalrymple over the head with a dinosaur bone,” said Alec, without any great degree of conviction.
“I do not! Chentlemans not hit ladies. Only want mine ruby, de odders for police to find I was leave. I not never will not hit Miss Dalrymple,” declared Rudolf Maximilian passionately.
“Can’t’ve, sir, and that’s the truth. We was chasing him, four of us, right up till he went up to the Upper Mammals on the second floor and we nabbed him when he tried to hide in with the chimpanzees.”
“’Sright, sir,” said Sergeant Drummond, coming in behind the others. “Had him in sight the whole time, if it was only his heels. What’s been going on here, then?”
Alec, still kneeling with his arm around Daisy’s shoulders, looked down at her and said, “Miss Dalrymple claims to know.”
“Not know,” Daisy demurred, “but it’s more of an educated deduction than sheer guesswork.”
“Pray tell,” said Alec.
“Mr. Tring, those jewels at your feet, are they actually embedded in the plaster?”
Tom bent down and picked up a chunk in one massive hand. With the other, he hauled Steadman to his feet as he straightened, keeping hold of the curator’s arm. “Yes, Miss Dalrymple, right inside.”
“That settles it, I think.” Her head aching like billy-oh, Daisy cut her explanation as short as possible. “Mr. Steadman stole the jewels and hid them in the dinosaurs’ heads. Grand
Duke Rudolf could conceivably have done so, but he couldn’t possibly have moulded some into the Saltopus skull. I believe he overheard Sergeant Jameson and me discussing it, and decided to try for his ruby, but he must have missed our planning to search tonight.”
“Was lots noisy pee-ople,” said Rudolf sulkily.
“He must have come in here very soon after Atkins cleared the public out. Mr. Jameson and I found him here, assumed he was the thief, and gave chase. I hadn’t considered that this was the logical time for Mr. Steadman to retrieve his loot, on a Sunday evening, when none of his colleagues would be working late. ”
There, that would have to satisfy them for now. Daisy’s head was pounding and swimming at the same time, and she simply did not have the pep to go into more detail. As for the murder, she didn’t even want to think about it. She had to leave something for Alec to solve.
“And now, please, darling, I want to go home!”
“Can you stand, love? Careful.” He helped her to rise, steadied her when she wobbled, then swept her up into his arms. “Sergeant Tring, you’re in charge. You can take both of ’em in. We have evidence and witnesses enough to hold them both.”
The sun shone bright on Primrose Hill. The night’s hoar frost lingered in shady spots, but the air was warm. Ginger pigtails flying, Belinda raced ahead with Nana on the lead.
“They make me feel old,” said Daisy.
“How’s the bump?”
“Still there. And painful to the touch,” she warned as Alec unceremoniously pulled off her hat and ran his fingers gently through her curls. “No headache for the past three days, thank heaven.”
“I could kill the brute!” Alec said savagely, then he sighed. “No, I couldn’t. He certainly didn’t intend to kill you, or he’d have succeeded. Weedy as he looks, he’s actually quite muscular.”
“From heaving dinosaur bones about, I expect. That is, I take it you mean Steadman, not Grand Duke Rudolf?”
“Oh, yes, it was Steadman who hit you, and who killed Pettigrew. Your educated deductions were remarkably correct in all essentials.”
Daisy frowned up at him, indignant. “What do you mean, remarkably?”
“Pax, sweetheart!” Alec kissed her nose. “Just that you really were slightly concussed at the time you expounded your theory.”
“Oh, right-oh. But that was all about the jewels. Did he confess to murdering Pettigrew?”
“In the end. Once we focused on Steadman, and asked the right questions, we obtained other evidence with which to confront him.”
“Such as?”
“He told the assistants in the work room he was going to compare the bones he was working on with some in the reptile gallery, not leaving to go home, as he told us. We could have eliminated the Grand Duke early on, incidentally, and ffinch-Brown as well, if I’d taken note of the hammer shaft’s being found in the basement. Neither had access.”
“Gosh, I never thought of that, either,” Daisy admitted. Seeing Alec on the point of asking who had told her about the shaft, she hurried on: “Steadman met Pettigrew in the reptile gallery purely by chance?”
“Yes. Steadman’s claiming self-defense. With a good lawyer, he might get away with manslaughter, though the theft will count against him. He’ll be put away for a good
long stretch for that, I’m sure. The odd thing is, all he seems worried about is that we shouldn’t think he stole the gems for personal reasons. He …”
“Don’t tell me! He wanted to set up his own expedition to hunt dinosaurs?”
“Daisy, how the deuce … ?”
“You know my methods, Watson.”
“He told you!”
“Yes, actually. Alec, what about Rudolf Maximilian?”
“We’re dropping charges. He’s dropping his claim to the ruby. There’s some talk of a royal pension for his family.”
“Oh, good!”
“Daddy! Aunt Daisy!” Belinda came tearing down the slope towards them, laughing as the puppy almost pulled her off her feet.
“Just one quick question, love, before they get here. I’ve been promised a fortnight’s leave. Will you marry me right away? I’m afraid there won’t be time to arrange an elaborate wedding.”
“Spiffing!” said Daisy.