There entered, hat in hand, bowing all round, a little fat, beady-eyed man, whose beard was blue-black and glossy, whose lips were red, whose nose was his most decided feature. His hat was new and shining, his black overcoat of superfine cloth was ornamented with a collar of undoubted sable; he carried a gold-mounted umbrella. But there was one thing on him that put all the rest of his finery in the shade. In the folds of his artistically-arranged black satin stock lay a pearl--such a pearl as few folk ever have the privilege of seeing. It was as big as a moderately sized hazel nut, and the three men who looked at it knew that it was something wonderful.

"Take a chair, Mr. Van h.o.e.ren," said Mr. Pawle genially. "You want to tell me something about this Ashton case? Very much obliged to you, I'm sure. These gentlemen are both interested--considerably--in that case, and if you can give me any information that will throw any light on it--"

Mr. Van h.o.e.ren deposited his plump figure in a convenient chair and looked round the circle of faces.

"One thing there is I don't see in them newspapers, Mr. Pawle," he said in strongly nasal accents. "Maybe n.o.body don't know nothings about it, what? So I come to tell you what I know, see? Something!"

"Very good of you, I'm sure," replied Mr. Pawle. "What may it be?"

Mr. Van h.o.e.ren made a significant grimace; it seemed to imply that there was a great deal to be told.

"Some of us, my way, we know Mr. Ashton," he said. "In Hatton Garden, you understand. Dealers in diamonds, see? Me, and Haas, and Aarons, and one or two more. Business!"

"You've done business with Mr. Ashton?" asked the old lawyer. "Just so!"

"No--done nothing," replied Mr. Van h.o.e.ren. "Not a shilling's worth. But we know him. He came down there. And we don't see nothing in them papers that we expected to see, and today two or three of us, we lunch together, and Haas, he says: 'Them lawyer men,' he says, 'they want information.

You go and give it to 'em. So!"

"Well--what is it?" demanded Mr. Pawle.

Mr. Van h.o.e.ren leaned forward and looked from one face to another.

"Ashton," he said, "was carrying a big diamond about--in his pocketbook!"

Mr. Armitstead let a slight exclamation escape his lips. Viner glanced at Mr. Pawle. And Mr. Pawle fastened his eyes on his latest caller.

"Mr. Ashton was carrying a big diamond about in his pocketbook?" he said.

"Ah--have you seen it?"

"Several times I see it," replied Mr. Van h.o.e.ren. "My trade, don't it?

Others of us--we see it too."

"He wanted to sell it?" suggested Mr. Pawle.

"There ain't so many people could afford to buy it," said Mr. Van h.o.e.ren.

"Why!" exclaimed Mr. Pawle. "Was it so valuable, then?"

The diamond merchant shrugged his shoulders and waved the gold-mounted umbrella which he was carefully nursing in his tightly-gloved hands.

"Oh, well!" he answered. "Fifty or sixty thousand pounds it was worth--yes!"

CHAPTER XII

THE GREY MARE INN

The three men who heard this announcement were conscious that at this point the Ashton case entered upon an entirely new phase. Armitstead's mind was swept clean away from the episode in Paris, Viner's from the revelations at Marketstoke, Mr. Pawle suddenly realized that here, at last, was something material and tangible which opened out all sorts of possibilities. And he voiced the thoughts of his two companions as he turned in amazement on the fat little man who sat complacently nursing his umbrella.

"What!" he exclaimed. "You mean to tell me that Ashton was walking about London with a diamond worth fifty thousand pounds in his pocket?

Incredible!"

"Don't see nothing so very incredible about it," retorted Mr. Van h.o.e.ren.

"I could show you men what carries diamonds worth twice that much in their pockets about the Garden."

"That's business," said Mr. Pawle. "I've heard of such things--but you all know each other over there, I'm told. Ashton wasn't a diamond merchant. G.o.d bless me--he was probably murdered for that stone!"

"That's just what I come to you about, eh?" suggested Mr. Van h.o.e.ren.

"You see 'tain't nothing if he show that diamond to me, and such as me; we don't think nothing of that--all in our way of business. But if he gets showing it to other people, in public places--what?"

"Just so!" a.s.serted Mr. Pawle. "Sheer tempting of Providence! I'm amazed!

But--how did you get to know Mr. Ashton and to hear of this diamond? Did he come to you?"

"Called on me at my office," answered Mr. Van h.o.e.ren laconically. "Pulled out the diamond and asked me what I thought it was worth. Well, I introduce him to some of the other boys in the Garden, see? He show them the diamond too. We reckon it's worth what I say--fifty to sixty thousand. So!"

"Did he want to sell it?" demanded Mr. Pawle.

"Oh, well, yes--he wouldn't have minded," replied the diamond merchant.

"Wasn't particular about it, you know--rich man."

"Did he tell you anything about it--how he got it, and so on?" asked Mr.

Pawle. "Was there any history attached to it?"

"Oh, nothing much," answered Mr. Van h.o.e.ren. "He told me he'd had it some years--got it in Australia, where he come from to London. Got it cheap, he did--lots of things like that in our business."

"And carried it in his pocket!" exclaimed Mr. Pawle. He stared hard at Mr. Van h.o.e.ren, as if his mind was revolving some unpleasant idea. "I suppose all the people you introduced him to are--all right?" he asked.

"Oh, they're all right!" affirmed Mr. Van h.o.e.ren, with a laugh. "Give my word for any of 'em, eh? But Ashton--if he pulls that diamond out to show to anybody--out of the trade, you understand--well, then, there's lots of fellows in this town would settle him to get hold of it--what?"

"I think you're right," said Mr. Pawle. He glanced at Viner. "This puts a new complexion on affairs," he remarked. "We shall have to let the police know of this. I'm much obliged to you, Mr. Van h.o.e.ren. You won't mind giving evidence about this if it's necessary?"

"Don't mind nothing," said Mr. Van h.o.e.ren. "Me and the other boys, we think you ought to know about that diamond, see?"

He went away, and Mr. Pawle turned to Viner and Armitstead.

"I shouldn't wonder if we're getting at something like a real clue," he said. "It seems evident that Ashton was not very particular about showing his diamond to people! If he'd show it--readily--to a lot of Hatton Garden diamond merchants, who, after all, were strangers to him, how do we know that he wouldn't show it to other men? The fact is, wealthy men like that are often very careless about their possessions. Possibly a diamond worth fifty or sixty thousand pounds wasn't of so much importance in Ashton's eyes as it would have been in--well, in mine. And how do we know that he didn't show the diamond to the man with the m.u.f.fler, in Paris, and that the fellow followed him here and murdered him for it?"

"Possible!" said Armitstead.

"Doesn't it strike you as strange, though," suggested Viner, "that the first news of this diamond comes from Van h.o.e.ren? One would have thought that Ashton would have mentioned it--and shown it--to Miss Wickham and Mrs. Killenhall. Yet apparently--he never did."

"Yes, that does seem odd," a.s.serted Mr. Pawle. "But there seems to be no end of oddity in this case. And there's one thing that must be done at once: we must have a full and thorough search and examination of all Ashton's effects. His house must be thoroughly searched for papers and so on. Viner, I suppose you're going home? Do me the favour to call at Miss Wickham's, and tell her that I propose to come there at ten o'clock tomorrow morning, to go through Ashton's desk and his various belongings with her--surely there must be something discoverable that will throw more light on the matter. And in the meantime, Viner, don't say anything to her about our journey to Marketstoke--leave that for a while."

Viner went away from Crawle, Pawle, and Rattenbury's in company with Armitstead. Outside, the Lancashire business man gave him a shrewd glance.

"I very much doubt if that diamond has anything whatever to do with Ashton's murder," he said. "From what I saw of him, he seemed to me to be a very practical man, full of business apt.i.tude and common sense, and I don't believe that he'd make a practice of walking about London with a diamond of that value in his pocket. It's all very well that he should have it in his pocket when he went down to Hatton Garden--he had a purpose. But that he should always carry it--no, I don't credit that, Mr. Viner."