‘What sort of general reaction?’

‘Doors opening and slamming. Hewson calling out for his sister, Lazenby and Pollock shouting to each other and a stampede upstairs. I’m afraid,’ Caley said with what could only be described as an arch glance out of his curious eyes, ‘I did not hurtle into the lists. Not then and there. You see, Alleyn, we had, to quote an extremist, supped rather full of horrors and, to be quite honest, my immediate reaction was to think: “Oh, no! Not again!’ Meaning it in a general sense, you understand.’

‘So—what did you do?’

‘In effect, listened to what seemed to be an increasing hubbub, had a bit of an argument with what passes for my conscience and finally, I’m afraid more than reluctantly, went up topside myself.’

Where you found?’

‘Damn’ all that could be distinguished. Everybody milling about in the fog and asking everybody else what the hell they were doing and where was Miss Hewson.’

‘Can you say how many persons you could distinguish?’

He thought for a moment. ‘Well—yes. I suppose—I got a general idea. But it couldn’t be less reliable. I heard—these three men again—calling out to each other and I heard the Skipper warn people not to go overboard, I remember Lazenby called out that he thought we ought to leave Miss Hewson alone and that she would get over it best by herself. And Hewson said he couldn’t leave her. And Pollock, you were milling round asking what the police thought they were doing. So I yelled for the police—it seemed a reasonable thing to do—and a great bumbling copper landed on the deck like a whale.’

Nobody looked, now, at the motionless figure behind the corner table.

‘Do I gather,’ Alleyn said, ‘that at no stage did you hear Dr Natouche’s voice? Or hear him come down to his cabin?’

Caley was silent.

‘I did, then,’ Pollock said. ‘I heard him just before she began to call out “Let me go”. He was with her. He said something to her. I’ll swear to that. Gawd knows what he did.’

‘Did anyone hear Dr Natouche after they heard Miss Hewson for the last time?’

As if they were giving responses in some disreputable litany, Pollock, Hewson and Lazenby loudly said ‘No.’

‘Skipper?’

The Skipper laid his workaday hands out on his knees and frowned at them. ‘I can’t say I did. I was forrard in my cabin and in bed when it started up. I shifted into this rig and came along. They were on deck and someone was bawling for the police. Not her. A man. Mr Bard, if he says so. She’d gone. I never heard the doctor at any stage and I didn’t bump into him like I did the others.’