you can’t in honour disclose till it becomes a matter of life and death.”

“It doesn’t seem to be very far off being that even now.”

“There’s another thing you fellows have overlooked. That shot was obviously fired inside the room. There was nobody in the offices when Smith left, except Sir John. How many keys are there?”

“We’ve each got one. Smith has one and the cleaner has one. The clerks come whilst she is there. She does their rooms[78] first and then does ours afterwards. They arrive before she has finished.”

[78]

“Had Sir John a key?”

“Yes. We found it on his bunch in his pocket after he was dead.”

“Then his key wasn’t used. Now, Smith locked the door when he left. It’s a spring latch—that came out at the inquest. So did Smith’s alibi that evening. So did the old woman’s. That only leaves the three keys you chaps have. There’s no difficulty about getting out afterwards—it’s the getting in that matters.”

“God! Tempest, you are building up a case against us.”

“Well, there’s only one loophole; and that’s the possibility that Sir John himself opened the door to his murderer. I really think that’s the true explanation, because he had previously told Smith he wished him to go. I’m pretty certain myself that Sir John was expecting somebody whom[79] he wished to see without the visit being known. But the police will try the other tack first, and they will try and fix the responsibility on one or all of you three. Don’t let me frighten you too soon. They couldn’t get a conviction on what we or they know at present; but once, by accident or by research, they can get any fact that seems to corroborate the theory, then the position is changed. You can rest assured they are looking for such a fact already. That’s what I meant in warning you about your alibis.”

[79]

“Well, mine’s good enough,” said Baxter. “I was at the club.”

“What time did you go there?”

“About eight, and I stayed playing cards till nearly midnight.”

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