He ignored this. ‘And he didn’t answer?’

‘I’ve already said so.’

‘Didn’t that strike you as a bit queer?’

‘No.’

‘When you knocked on his door, and called to him, and he didn’t answer, you didn’t think it in any way queer?’ he persisted.

‘No, I tell you!’ She saw that he was incredulous, and added in a goaded voice: ‘I knew he didn’t want to see me.’

‘Why not?’

‘That’s got nothing to do with you!’

‘Oh yes, it has, miss! The fact is that you were wanting money from your uncle, which he wouldn’t give you, and you’d quarrelled with him on account of it. Isn’t that so?’

‘You know it all, don’t you?’ she sneered.

‘I advise you to consider your position,’ he said.

‘There’s nothing to consider! You can’t prove I ever went into my uncle’s room! All you can prove is that we quarrelled, and if you take the trouble to enquire a little farther into our affairs, you’ll find that we’ve quarrelled hundreds of times before!’

‘Let me remind you, miss, that when I first asked you what you did when you got upstairs this evening, you never said a word about going to your uncle’s room.’

‘No! Because I could see from the look of you what sort of a fool you’d make of yourself if I told you that!’

She had succeeded at last in nettling him. He told her that she had better be careful what she said, but when she ironically thanked him for his warning, and asked if he had anything more to say, prudence made him swallow his irritation, and reply in an even tone that she might go.

The young detective, who had been a silent spectator of this scene, remarked that she was a hard-boiled dame. The Inspector grunted, refusing to commit himself.

‘I thought you’d have pushed her a bit more, sir,’ ventured the detective.

‘I daresay you did. The difference between us is that I wasn’t born yesterday,’ replied the Inspector. ‘There’s no knowing with her sort. Send Roydon in to me!’

Willoughby strolled in presently, with the butt of a cigar between his fingers, and addressed the Inspector with a rather overacted air of tolerance. ‘Well, Inspector, what is it now?’ he said.

Confronted with the valet’s evidence, he changed colour, but said with more annoyance than guilt: ‘Look here, what are you getting at? If you think I went to Mr Herriard’s room, you’re damned well wrong!’

‘When I put the question to you, sir, you stated that you did not leave your room until you came down to dinner. I have reason to believe that you did.’

‘Naturally when you asked me that I thought you meant did I go to Mr Herriard’s room!’

‘But that wasn’t what I asked you sir. Did you or did you not leave your room before you went down to the drawing-room?’

‘Oh well, if you insist on such accuracy, yes, I did! Not that it has the least bearing on the case, which is why I didn’t mention it.’