“Not I, my dear Fandor! I know only too well that you would not take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“And you are right. I beg of you to give me some details, not as regards Thomery’s death, for I have already made my little investigation touching that; but as to how the police managed to find the poor man’s body ?”

“In the easiest way in the world. Monsieur Thomery’s servants were very much astonished yesterday morning, when they could not find their master in the house.

After eleven, Thomery’s absence from the stock exchange gave rise to disquieting rumours. He had some big deals to put through, therefore his absence could only be accounted for in one way – he had had an accident of some sort.

“Naturally enough, they warned Headquarters, and at once I suspected there might be a little felony of some sort... I immediately went to Thomery’s house... I examined his papers; and I found by chance three receipts for the rent of a flat, in the name of Monsieur Durand, rue Lecourbe.

One of them was of recent date. I, of course, sent one of my men to ascertain who lived there! This man learned from the portress that there was a new tenant there, who had not yet moved in with his furniture; but who, the evening before, had brought in a heavy trunk... My man went up to this flat, and had the door opened. You know under what conditions he found Thomery’s dead body.”

“And you did not find indications which went to show why Monsieur Thomery committed suicide?”

“Committed suicide? When a financier disappears, my dear Fandor, one is always tempted to cry ‘suicide’; but, this time, I confess to you that I do not think it was anything of the kind!”

“Because?”

“Because–” and Monsieur Havard bent his head – “Well, when I reached the scene of the crime I immediately thought that we were not face to face with a suicide. A man who wishes to kill himself, and to kill himself because of money affairs, a man like Thomery, does not feel the necessity of committing suicide in a little flat rented under a false name, and in front of a trunk which you know, do you not, belonged to Mademoiselle Dollon! One might swear that everything was arranged expressly to make anyone believe that Thomery had strangled himself, after having stolen the trunk, for some unknown reason!”

“You did not find any kind of clue?”

“Yes, indeed! And you know it as well as I do, for I have no doubt the extraordinary event has been the gossip of the neighbourhood. On the cover of the trunk we have once again found an imprint, a very clear impression – the famous fingerprint of Jacques Dollon!”

“And you found nothing else?”

“Yes, in the dust on the floor, we found the marks of steps, numerous footprints: we have made tracings of them.”