‘She was a bit of a Polonius, was Flossie. I think she went round to work. She may even,’ said Fabian, giving a curious inflection to the phrase, ‘she may even have consulted Uncle Arthur.’

‘No,’ said Douglas.

‘How on earth can you tell?’ asked Ursula.

There was a moment’s silence.

‘It would not have been in her character,’ said Douglas.

‘Her character, you see,’ Fabian said to Alleyn. ‘Always her character.’

‘Ever since fifth column trouble started in this country,’ said Douglas, ‘Flossie had been asking questions about it in the House. Markins knew that as well as we did. If she gave him so much as an inkling that she suspected him, how d’you suppose he’d feel?’

‘And even if she decided not to accuse him straight out,’ Ursula said, ‘don’t you think he’d notice some change in her manner?’

‘Of course he would, Ursy,’ Douglas agreed. ‘How could she help herself?’

‘Quite easily,’ said Fabian. ‘She was as clever as a bagful of monkeys.’

‘I agree,’ said Terence.

‘Well, now,’ said Alleyn, ‘did any of you, in fact, notice any change in her manner towards Markins?’

‘To be quite honest,’ said Fabian slowly, ‘we did. But I think we all put it down to her row with Cliff Johns. She was extremely cantankerous with all hands and the cook during that last week, was poor Flossie.’

‘She was unhappy,’ Ursula declared. ‘She was wretchedly unhappy about Cliff. She used to tell me everything. I’m sure if she’d had a row with Markins she’d have told me about it. She used to call me her Safety Valve.’

‘Mrs Arthur Rubrick,’ said Fabian, ‘accompanied by Miss U. Harme, SV, ADC, etc., etc.!’

‘She may have waited to talk to him until that night,’ said Douglas. ‘The night she disappeared, I mean. She may have written for advice to a certain higher authority, and waited for the reply before she tackled Markins. Good Lord, that might have been the very letter she started writing while I was there!’

‘I think,’ said Alleyn, ‘that I should have heard if she’d done that.’

‘Yes,’ agreed Fabian. ‘Yes. After all, you are the higher authority, aren’t you?’

Again there was a silence, an awkward one. Alleyn thought: Damn that boy, he’s said precisely the wrong thing. He’s made them self-conscious again.

‘Well, there’s my case against Markins,’ said Douglas grandly. ‘I don’t pretend it’s complete or anything like that, but I’ll swear there’s something in it, and you can’t deny that after she disappeared his behaviour was suspicious.’

‘I can deny it,’ said Fabian, ‘and what’s more I jolly well do. Categorically, whatever that may mean. He was worried and so were all of us.’

‘He was jumpy.’