Harry gave it. ‘Well,’ he said cheerfully, ‘I hope I did wake him, poor bugger.’

‘We’ll find out, shall we? Fox?’

Mr Fox telephoned Harry’s neighbour explaining that he was a telephone operative checking a faulty line. He extracted the information that Harry’s telephone had indeed rung just as the neighbour had turned his light off at eleven o’clock.

‘Well, God bless him, anyway,’ said Harry.

‘To go back to your overcoat. Was there a yellow silk scarf in the pocket?’

‘There was indeed. With an elegant “H” embroidered by a devoted if slightly witchlike and acquisitive hand. The initial was appropriate at least. Henry J. was as pleased as punch, poor old donkey.’

‘You liked him very much, didn’t you?’

‘As I said, he was a good bloke. We used to have a pint at the pub and he’d talk about his days on the river. Oddly enough I think he rather liked me.’

‘Why should that be so odd?’

‘Oh,’ Harry said. ‘I’m hideously unpopular, you know. I really am disliked. I have a talent for arousing extremes of antipathy, I promise you. Even Mr Conducis,’ Harry said opening his eyes very wide, ‘although he feels obliged to be helpful, quite hates my guts, I assure you.’

‘Have you seen him lately?’

‘Friday afternoon,’ Harry said promptly.

‘Really?’

‘Yes. I call on him from time to time as a matter of duty. After all he got me this job. Did I mention that we are distantly related? Repeat, distantly:

‘No.’

‘No. I don’t mention it very much. Even I,’ Harry said, ‘draw the line somewhere, you know.’

CHAPTER 8
Sunday Afternoon

‘What did you think of that little party, Br’er Fox?’

‘Odd chap, isn’t he? Very different in his manner to when he was annoying his colleagues. One of these inferiority complexes, I suppose. You brought him out, of course.’

‘Do you think he’s dropped to the obvious speculation?’

‘About the coat? I don’t fancy he’d thought of that one, Mr Alleyn, and if I’ve got you right I must say it strikes me as being very far-fetched. You might as well say – well,’ Fox said in his scandalized manner, ‘you might as well suspect I don’t know who. Mr Knight. The sharp-faced lady: Miss Bracey, or even Mr Conducis.’

‘Well, Fox, they all come into the field of vision, don’t they? Overcoat or no overcoat.’

‘That’s so,’ Fox heavily agreed. ‘So they do. So they do.’ He sighed and after a moment said majestically, ‘D’you reckon he was trying to pull our legs?’

‘I wouldn’t put it past him. All the same there is a point, you know, Fox. The landing was very dim even when the safe was open and lit.’

‘How does that interior lighting work? I haven’t had a look, yet.’