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FILE NO. 113
By EMILE GABORIAU "AN exceptionally daring robbery-prom-A inent bank entered-huge sum taken!" were the head-lines in a Paris paper. In following up this extraordinary case the mystery deepened, unheard-of crimes were unearthed, and thrilling situations occurred which baffled even the celebrated detective, Lecoq. It appeared that upon opening the safe one morning the cashier startled the clerks by crying out, "I have been robbed!" They gathered about, but, strangely enough, upon inspection the safe showed only a scratch, but no sign of having been broken open, although the 350,000 francs were missing that the cashier said he had placed there the day before, in order to pay Count Louis de Clameran, a friend who had been left a legacy by his brother Gaston. M. Fauvel, the president of the bank, and M. Prosper Bertomy, the cashier, were the only persons who possessed keys to the door and were credited with the knowledge of a word which made up the combination. Although their relations had been like those of father and son, each now accused the other of taking the money. The clerks were interviewed by the police, and search was made of the apartment over the bank, occupied by the president, his wife, and beautiful niece, Madeleine, whose engagement to the cashier had been mysteriously broken off -it was suspected she preferred Mme. Valentine Fauvel's hand-some nephew, Raoul Lagors. The president's record was good, but suspicion was directed toward the cashier, as he had been living extravagantly. His arrest followed, although he protested his innocence. During the inspection of the bank and the apprehending of the cashier he was seen to scribble a line hurriedly and throw it to a clerk. The latter was shadowed to the cashier's apartmerft and the note procured. It was addressed to Mme. Gypsy, informing her of his arrest and advising her to hide. During the examination at court Prosper remembered that he had been indiscreet the previous night in saying to Gypsy, when perhaps he might have been over-heard by the count and Raoul, that he had reason for constantly thinking of her at his work when she accused him of not thinking of her any longer. The word Gypsy opened the safe. For lack of sufficient evidence Prosper was released and the case filed in No. 113. On Prosper's return to his apartment, Gypsy had gone, but a note addressed in small printed letters was delivered to him, containing money. The clever Lecoq, now living with Prosper, under the disguise of an old friend of his father's, revealed that the printed letters had been cut from a prayer-book. Surely there was a woman in the case! Later a torn prayer-book was discovered hidden in Madeleine's room. Did she love Prosper and think him innocent and in need of money? Yet soon after that, to the surprise of every one, her engagement was announced to the old Count de Clameran. The reason for this was &at Madeleine, by chance, overheard a conversation between the count and her aunt. The old count threatened to tell of the family skeleton if she did not consent to the marriage. Madeleine appeared and said she would marry him to keep the secret and the honor of the family name. On learning of Madeleine's engagement, Prosper, who really had always loved her, became very angry, and, thinking there must be a sinister motive for Mme. Fauvel's allowing it, wrote an anonymous letter to M. Fauvel, telling him to watch his wife. Lecoq noticed that the good-looking Raoul still continued his frequent visits to the house. Did it mean that he was perhaps not the nephew, but the lover of Mme. Fauvel? Disguised, the great detective attended a masquerade ball and made insinuating re-marks to Mme. Fauvel concerning Raoul which caused her to faint, and when he spoke of money matters Count Louis turned pale. Returning home that night, the detective was followed by two men and stabbed, but, fortunately, not killed. Lecoq, thinking he recognized the count and Raoul, decided that they realized that the police suspected them of robbing the bank, and also that there must be an even greater mystery to unravel that had caused them to become would-be assassins. Records were looked up and an amazing story came to light. Lecoq discovered that years ago Mme. Fauvel, then Valentine de Verberie, had been engaged to the count's brother, Gaston. In defending her name at a country inn, Gaston had killed a man and fled to America, although he was thought to have been drowned while escaping. A son was born to Valentine and given away by her mother. Later she had married Fauvel, who was told nothing. The story was never unearthed until Count Louis had squandered the family money and by mere chance had heard of the child's existence from an old nurse. He made inquiries. Not long after this the count introduced a young man to Mme. Fauvel as her son, to serve his own ends and to extract hush-money. This young man was called her nephew and proved to be Raoul Lagors. The situation became even more complicated. Gaston returned from America immensely rich, not knowing of the existence of his son, but determined to see his old love Valentine once more. Louis, however, realized that for his own ends Gaston and Mme. Fauvel must never meet. He joined Gaston in the south of France and got into his good graces. Gaston made a will leaving everything to Louis; then poor Gaston became mysteriously ill and died. Louis returned to Paris rich. Madeleine seemed to wish to delay her marriage. The count feared she still loved Prosper, so he promised Raoul a large sum if he would in some way ruin the cashier's reputation, thinking thus to hasten his own marriage, as he really was in love with Madeleine. The moment came when Raoul overheard Prosper telling Gypsy he constantly thought of her at the bank. He then went to his mother and said he would shoot himself if he did not have a large sum of money that very night to pay a gambling debt. She got for him the key to the safe. The poor lady had already given him all her money and jewels and had nothing left to bestow. At the last moment she tried to stop him, hence the scratch that was discovered later. When she inquired how he knew the word that made up the combination, Raoul said that Prosper had given it to him and they were to divide the money between themselves. Owing to the anonymous letter, M. Fauvel intercepted his wife's mail, and one day found a letter from Raoul asking her to go to his villa. M. Fauvel followed, and, on entering and seeing his wife in the arms of the young man, pulled out his pistol to shoot, but fortunately it did not go off, as Gypsy, who had become Madeleine's maid, under Lecoq's instructions, in order to watch the house, had taken out the bullets. At this point the great detective appeared and told the banker the whole story. He then demanded the 350,000 francs which had been stolen and Raoul returned the money; and what was more remarkable still, Lecoq showed them papers that proved Raoul was not Mme. Fauvel's son, after all-her son had died-and the impostor was the son of a jockey hired by the count to play the part so as to secure money from Mme. Fauvel at the time when the count was poor, before Gaston had died. During the conversation Raoul had made his escape, but no one cared, for the Fauvels naturally wished to keep the story secret, and it ended happily, for M. Fauvel forgave his wife her early indiscretions. Lecoq was iust about to arrest the count for his many crimes when the wicked old man went insane and kept repeating constantly that his brother Gaston was poisoning him. Strange to relate, the great Lecoq married pretty Mme. Gypsy, whom he had known and loved for years. Prosper, of course, married Madeleine, and M. Fauvel retired from the bank. The firm is now called Prosper Bertomy and Company. This amazing record of crime still remains in the police court in Paris and can be found in File No. 113. |