I was just about to leave when I was sure I heard a heavy tread on the stairs. I couldn’t help remembering that someone had committed a murder in this house earlier today. If Binky had indeed had nothing to do with the crime, then a perfect stranger had found a way into our house and lured de Mauxville to his death. Maybe he had returned. I looked around the room, wondering if I should try to hide in a wardrobe. Then I decided that nothing would be worse than waiting to be discovered and helplessly trapped. At least this way I had an element of surprise and might be able to push past him down the stairs. I went out onto the landing, then gave a gasp of horror as a tall figure loomed ahead of me.

The tall figure gave a similar gasp and almost fell back down the stairs. As he did so, I noticed the blue uniform.

“Are you all right, Constable?” I ran to assist him.

“Lawks, miss, you didn’t half give me a turn,” he said, recovering himself enough to put his hand to his heart. “I didn’t think no one was in the place. What on earth are you doing here?”

“I live here, Constable. It’s my home,” I said.

“But there’s been a crime committed. There didn’t ought to be nobody in the house.”

“I realize that. I’m spending the night with friends but I remembered that I had left my headache powders at home, and I can’t sleep when I have one of my headaches.” I was rather pleased with the brilliance of this spur-of-the-moment explanation.

“And so you come back on your own at night?” he asked incredulously. “Didn’t your host have no aspirins in the house?”

“My doctor makes me up very special headache powders,” I said. “They are the only thing that will work, I’m afraid, and I simply couldn’t face a sleepless night after what I’d been through today.”

He nodded. “So have you found them?”

I realized the light in Binky’s room was shining out across the landing. “I thought I must have lent them to my brother when he was here last,” I said, “but they don’t seem to be in his room.”

“They might have been removed as evidence,” he said knowingly.

“Evidence? The man was drowned.”

“Ah, but what’s to say he wasn’t rendered unconscious with a drug first and then put in the bathtub?” He looked rather smug, I thought.

“I can assure you that my mild headache powders wouldn’t kill a mouse. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going back to bed. It will have to be aspirin after all. I presume you will be staying here and keeping an eye on things? I was quite surprised to find the house unattended when I arrived.”