‘You’re all against me!’ Valerie declared, tears spangling the ends of her lashes.

‘No, dear, but it is always better to speak the truth. I have often thought it a pity that girls should smoke so much. It is very bad for the complexion, but I make it a rule never to interfere in what doesn’t concern me.’

‘Let that be a lesson to you!’ Paula said to Valerie, quite in Stephen’s manner.

The Inspector, possibly feeling that of all the women present Maud was the most rational, turned to her, and asked: ‘Did you see what Miss Dean did with the case, madam?’

‘No,’ Maud replied. ‘I expect something happened to divert my attention. Not that I was watching particularly, because there was no reason why I should.’

‘If she had given the case back to Mr Herriard, do you think you would have noticed it?’

‘Oh no, I don’t suppose I should!’

‘She didn’t give it back to him,’ Mathilda said.

‘Well, what did she do with it, miss?’

‘I don’t know. Like Mrs Herriard, I didn’t notice.’

‘I simply put it on the table!’ Valerie said. ‘Willoughby was in the middle of reading his play. I don’t know what became of it afterwards.’

‘Look here, miss!’ said the Inspector patiently. ‘We’ll get this settled once and for all, if you please! Did Mr Herriard give you his case, or did he not?’

‘I don’t call it giving me his case just because I asked him for a cigarette, and he hadn’t the decency to get up and hand me one, but just chucked his case at me! And I don’t see why –’

‘He did throw his case to you?’

‘Yes, but –’

‘Then don’t keep on saying you don’t remember!’ said the Inspector severely. ‘Now then, sir: are you sure you hadn’t got the case on you when you left the room?’

‘Perfectly.’

‘That’s true!’ Joseph exclaimed. ‘Now I come to think of it, you asked him for a cigarette, Paula, when we came down from poor Nat’s room, and he put his hand in his pocket, as though to pull out his case, and then just nodded to the box –’ He stopped short, as the infelicitous nature of his testimony apparently dawned on him. ‘Not that that proves anything!’ he added, in a hurry.

‘No, sir,’ agreed the Inspector dryly, and turned from him to Valerie again. ‘You say you put the case down on the table, miss –’

‘I didn’t say I actually did! I only said I most probably did!’ replied Valerie, who seemed to have decided that her only safety lay in prevarication. ‘And it’s no use badgering me, because –’

‘Valerie, my child!’ Joseph said, taking one of her hands, and holding it between both of his. ‘The Inspector only wants to get at the truth of what happened! You mustn’t think that you’ll be incriminating anyone just by telling him quite frankly what you did with Stephen’s case.’

‘I don’t care about that,’ said Valerie, stating a self-evident fact. ‘But I know quite well Mathilda’s trying to put it onto me, and it isn’t fair!’