Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen

Like a smug man, the inspector suddenly lost his breath, and with a slightly dejected look, he put the quilt back on.Anthony put his hands in his pockets, lost in thought. "So that's what old Lolly Papp meant when he talked about 'the other way,'" he whispered at last. "What did you say, Mr. Cade?" "Nothing, Inspector General. Excuse me for my fascination. You know, I—more correctly, my friend Jimmy McGrath—had been cleverly tricked out of a thousand pounds." "A thousand pounds is a lot of money," said the Inspector-General. "It's not about a thousand pounds," said Anthony, "but I agree that a thousand pounds is a lot of money. What annoys me is that I was cheated. Like a sheep, I handed the manuscript in." Get out. It's a sad thing, Inspector, it's a sad thing."

The inspector general said nothing. "All right, all right," Anthony said. "It's no use regretting. It's not all hopeless yet. I'll just get old Stiptitch's memoirs between now and next Wednesday." "Mr. Cade, would you please go back to the chamber? I have something else to tell you." Back in the chamber, the chief inspector immediately strode to the window in the middle. "Mr. Cade, I've been thinking. The window alone is very hard. It's so hard that you think the door is bolted, maybe you're wrong. Maybe it's just caught in something. I can tell. —Yes, I am almost certain that you must be mistaken."

Anthony looked at him alertly. "What if I say I can say with certainty that I'm not mistaken?" "Don't you think you might?" said the Inspector, looking at him firmly. "Well, Inspector General, to please you, I'll just say 'maybe.'" The inspector general smiled with satisfaction. "You understand very quickly, sir. Now, let's say it casually, and you will not object to it at an opportune moment?" "Not at all. I..." Then the Inspector took him by the arm, and he stopped talking.The Inspector leaned forward and listened quietly.

Telling Antony to be silent with a gesture, he went silently to the door, and opened it suddenly. Standing at the door was a tall man with jet-black hair, a neat middle part, porcelain blue eyes, and a large, gentle face full of innocent expression. "Excuse me, gentlemen," he said slowly and at length. "I can hear the accent from the other side of the Atlantic. Is this crime scene allowed to be seen? I think you are the Metropolitan Police. Is it from the criminal department?" "I don't dare," Anthony said. "This gentleman is the Combat Inspector-General."

"Really?" said the American, looking very interested. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. My name is Hirrim Fisher, from the City of New York." "What would you like to see, Mr. Fish?" asked the Inspector-General. The American walked slowly into the room and looked carefully at the black mark on the floor. "Mr. Combat, I'm interested in crime. I've adopted an article in one of our weekly papers, 'Depraved and Criminals.'" As he spoke, his eyes gently looked around everything in the room, as if everything seemed interesting.Now his eyes lingered a little longer on the window.

"Corpse," said the inspector general.He was stating a fact that can be seen without saying it. "It has been removed." "Of course," said Mr. Fish, his eyes resting on the paneled walls. "Gentlemen, there are some noteworthy paintings in this room. One by Holbein, two by Van Dyck, And, if I'm wrong, a painting by Velazquez. I am very interested in drawing and also in first prints.The Marquis of Judham invited me here to see his first engravings. " He sighed softly. "I think the matter has been dismissed now. I think the guests should be considerate of the master and go back to the city at once."

"Sir, I'm afraid that can't be done," said the Inspector-General. "No one is allowed to leave the building until after the autopsy." "Really? When is the autopsy?" "Maybe tomorrow, maybe until Monday. We must arrange an inquest and speak to the coroner." "I see what you mean," said Mr. Fish. "Under the circumstances, though, the party is about to turn sombre." The Inspector-General led the way to the door. "We'd better get out," he said. "We still have to lock the room." He waited for the other two to come out the door, then locked the door and retrieved the key.

"I suppose," said Mr. Fish. "Are you looking for fingerprints?" "Perhaps," said the Inspector shortly. "I also thought that with weather like last night, someone breaking into the building would have left footprints on the hardwood floors." "Not one inside, many outside." "It's mine." Anthony explained vigorously. Mr. Fish gave him an innocent look. "Young man," he said, "you startle me by saying that." They came to a turning and came out into a wide corridor.Here, like a council chamber, the walls were paneled with old oak, and above it were wide galleries of famous pictures.Now, two other figures can be seen at the end of the corridor.

"Ah," said Mr. Fish, "our master of genius has come." It was ridiculous to describe the Marquis of Judhan in this way, so Anthony had to turn his head away to hide the smile on his face. "With him," continued the American, "is a lady whose name I didn't catch last night. But she's bright—very smart." With Lord Judham was Virginia Rifford. Anthony had always expected to meet her in this way.He didn't know what to do.This one depends on Virginia.Although he had full confidence in her calm attitude, he had no idea what attitude she would take.His doubts will not last long.

"Oh, it's Mr. Cade," said Virginia.She held out both hands. "You can come after all." "My dear Mrs. River, I did not expect Mr. Cade to be your friend," said Lord Judham. "He's an old friend," said Virginia, smiling at Anthony with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I ran into him by accident in London yesterday. I told him then that I was going to come here. " Anthony quickly gave him a hint. "I explained to Mrs. Redford why I couldn't come," he said. "Because the invitation was sent to a completely different person, I had to decline it. I can't impersonate and sneak in as a stranger."

"Well, well, man," said Lord Judham, "it's all a thing of the past now. I'll send for your bags at the Cricketers' Inn." "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Judham, but..." "Come on, of course you'll have to move to Chimney House. It's a bad inn—I mean, it's not comfortable to live in." "Of course you must come and live here, Mr. Cade," said Virginia gently. Anthony noticed that the situation around him had changed by now.Virginia has paved the way for him.He was no longer a complete stranger.Her position is secure.It was firm, and of course the person she was vouching for was accepted.He thought of the pistol hidden in the woods and laughed to himself. "I'll send for your luggage," said Lord Judham to Anthony. "I think it's a pity we can't hunt under the circumstances. But, you see, I don't know what to do with Eshastan. It's just unfortunate." The dejected Marquis sighed deeply. "That's settled, then," said Virginia. "You can come in handy right now, Mr. Cade. You can take me to the lake to have a look. It is very quiet and far away from the crime scene. Isn't it unfortunate that there was a murder at the Marquis of Judham? But, this It's really George's fault. You know, George hired these people." "Ah," said Lord Judham. "I shouldn't have listened to him!" He had the air of a strong man who has erred in a moment of weakness. "We couldn't help not listening to George," said Virginia. "He's always grabbing you and telling you not to get out. I'm thinking of patenting a lapel that moves." "Hope you will." Her host giggled. "I'm glad you came to us. I need support." "Thank you, Lord Judham," he added, "especially when I have become such a suspicious figure. However, I can save the Inspector's trouble by living here." "Which way, sir?" asked the Inspector-General. "It shouldn't be too difficult to spy on me," said Anthony softly. So he knew he had hit the mark by the twinkle in the Inspector's eye.