‘It’s all right. I’m going. Shut up,’ mumbled Troy, and went.

Fox came in.

‘All right,’ said Alleyn. ‘Tell them to get Pilgrim, and come in.’

Fox spoke to someone outside and joined Alleyn at the fire.

‘We’ll have to go warily, Fox. He may give a bit of trouble.’

‘That’s so, sir.’

They waited in silence until Basil Pilgrim came in with one of the

Yard men. The second man walked in after them and stood inside the door.

‘Good morning,’ said Pilgrim.

‘Good morning, Mr Pilgrim. We would like to clear up one or two points relating to your former statement and to our subsequent investigations.’

‘Certainly.’

Alleyn consulted his notebook.

‘What does your car do to the gallon?’ he asked.

‘Sixteen.’

‘Sure of that?’

‘Yes. She may do a bit more on long runs.’

‘Right. Now, if you please, we’ll go back to Friday evening during your visit to Captain and Mrs Pascoe. Do you remember the procedure when coffee was brought in?’

‘I suppose so. It was in the hall.’

He looked, with that curiously restless turn of his head, from Alleyn to Fox and back again.

‘Can you tell us who poured out and who handed round the coffee?’

‘I suppose so. Though what it can have to do with Sonia—or Garcia—Do you mean about Val’s coffee being bitter? Mine was bitter, too. Beastly.’

‘We should like to know who poured the coffee out.’

‘Mrs Pascoe.’

‘And who handed it round?’

‘Well—I did.’

‘Splendid. Can you remember the order in which you took it round?’

‘I’m not sure. Yes, I think so. I took mine over with Val’s to where she was sitting, and then I saw Pascoe hadn’t got his, and I got it for him. Mrs Pascoe had poured out her own. Then I went back and sat with Val and I had my coffee.’

‘You both took black coffee?’

‘Yes.’

‘And sugar?’

‘And sugar.’

‘Who put the sugar in the coffee?’

‘Good Lord! I don’t know. I believe I did.’

‘You didn’t say anything about your coffee being bitter?’

‘I didn’t like to. I gave Val a look and made a face and she nodded. She said: “Sybil, darling, your coffee is perfectly frightful.”

Mrs Pascoe was—‘ he laughed—‘well, she was a bit huffy, I think. Val is always terribly direct. They both appealed to me and I—well, I just said I thought the coffee wasn’t quite what one usually expects of coffee, or something. It was dashed awkward.’

‘It must have been. Later on, when Miss Seacliff complained of feeling unwell, you gave her some aspirin, didn’t you?’

‘Yes. Why?’ asked Pilgrim, looking surprised.

‘Was the bottle of aspirins in your pocket?’

‘What do you mean? I went upstairs and got it out of my suitcase. Look here, what are you driving at?’