‘Well,’ said Alleyn at last, ‘that’s what you call a fat little treasuretrove, Bailey.’

‘I reckon it must have dropped off his overall when he was stretching that stuff above the point of the knife, sir. That’s what I reckon.’

‘Yes. It’s possible.’

‘He must have used gloves for the job. There are one or two smudges about the show that look like glove-marks, and I think one of them’s got a trace of the clay. We’ve photographed the whole outfit.’

‘You’ve done rather well, Bailey.’

‘Anything more, sir?’

‘Yes, I’m afraid there is. I want you to find the deceased’s room and go over it. I don’t think we should let that wait any longer. One of the maids will show you where it is. Come and get me if anything startling crops up.’

‘Very good, Mr Alleyn.’

‘And when that’s done, you can push off if you want to. You’ve left a man on guard, I suppose?’

‘Yes, sir. One of these local chaps. Getting a great kick out of it.’

‘Guileless fellow. Away you go, Bailey. I’ll see you later on.’

‘OK, sir.’

‘Nitric acid?’ ruminated Fox, when Bailey had gone.

‘I think it’s the acid they used for etching. I must ask Miss Troy about it.’

‘Looks as if all we’ve got to do is to find Garcia, don’t it, sir?’

‘It do, Fox. But for the love of Mike don’t let’s be too sure of ourselves.’

‘That bit of clay, you know, sir—how could it have got there by rights? He’d no business up on the model’s throne now, had he?’

‘No.’

‘And according to Malmsley’s story, the drape must have been fixed when the rest of them had gone up to London.’

‘Yes. We’ll have to trace ‘em in London just the same. Have to get on to these others now. Go and take a dip in the dining-room, Fox, and see what the fairies will send us in the way of a witness.’

Fox went off sedately and returned with Katti Bostock. She came in looking very four-square and sensible. Her short and stocky person was clad in corduroy trousers, a red shirt and a brown jacket. Her straight black hair hung round her ears in a Cromwellian cut with a determined bang across her wide forehead. She was made up in a rather slap-dash sort of manner. Her face was principally remarkable for its exceedingly heavy eyebrows.

Alleyn pushed forward a chair and she slumped herself down on it. Fox went quietly to the desk and prepared to make a shorthand report. Alleyn sat opposite Katti.

‘I’m sorry to bother you again, Miss Bostock,’ he said. ‘We’ve got a good deal of tidying up to do, as you may imagine. First of all, is nitric acid used in the studio for anything?’

‘Etching,’ said Katti. ‘Why?’