While Archie was thus comforting the poor girl, Gartley village was in
an uproar. Everyone was talking about this new crime, and everyone was
wondering who had stabbed the unlucky woman. As yet the confession of
Mrs. Jasher had not been placed in the hands of the police and everyone
was ignorant that Cockatoo was the criminal who had escaped in the fog.
Inspector Date speedily arrived with his myrmidons on the scene and made
the cottage his headquarters. Later in the day, Hope, having taken a
cold bath to freshen himself up, came with the confession. This he gave
to the officer and explained the whole story of the previous night.
Date was more than astonished: he was astounded. He read the confession
and made notes; then he sent for Sir Frank Random, and examined him
in the same strict way as he had examined the artist. Jane was also
questioned. Widow Anne was put in the witness box, so as to report
about the clothes, and in every way Date gathered material for another
inquest. At the former one he had only been able to place scanty
evidence before the jury, and the verdict had been unsatisfactory to the
public. But on this occasion, seeing that the witnesses he could bring
forward would solve the mystery of the first death as well as the
second, Inspector Date exulted greatly. He saw himself promoted and
his salary raised, and his name praised in the papers as a zealous and
clever officer. By the time the inquest came to be held, the inspector
had talked himself into believing that the whole mystery had been solved
by himself. But before that time came another event happened which
astonished everyone, and which made the final phase of the green mummy
crime even more sensational than it had been. And Heaven knows that from
beginning to end there had been no lack of melodrama of the most lurid
description.
Don Pedro de Gayangos was exceedingly amazed at the unexpected turn
which the case had taken. That he should have been trying to solve a
deep mystery for so long, and that the solution, all the time, had been
in the hands of the Professor, startled him exceedingly. He admitted
that he had never liked Braddock, but explained that he had not expected
to hear that the fiery little scientist was such a scoundrel. But, as
Don Pedro confessed, it was an ill wind which blew him some good, when
the upshot of the whole mysterious tragic business was the restoration
of at least one emerald. Sir Frank brought the gem to him on the
afternoon of the day succeeding Mrs. Jasher's death, and while the whole
village was buzzing with excitement. It was Random who gave all details
to Donna Inez and her father, leading from one revelation to another,
until he capped the whole extraordinary story by producing the splendid
gem.