“Do not derange those things,” Lafite said sharply. “My men will take care of it. There may be telltale fingerprints. This manservant shall come with me on a tour of the villa and he may be able to see if anything has been taken.” He spun to face Johnson. “You weeell observe if any objects are missing,” he said.

“If it was a thief, he left without taking anything, as far as I can see,” Johnson said.

“He lost his nerve after he had killed Sir Toby,” Lafite commented in French. “Or perhaps he had only come for an especially valuable item. A jewel, perhaps?” And he looked at me, long and hard.

“Perhaps,” Coco said. “We already know there is a clever jewel thief in the area. Now let us hope your men will double their efforts to catch him and retrieve our missing necklace.”

“Of course there are many reasons for murder,” Lafite went on. “A rich powerful man makes enemies, does he not?” He turned back to Johnson. “Who wish harm to your master?”

It came out more like “’Oo weesh’arm.”

Johnson looked puzzled. “Wee charm?” he said. “What wee charm?”

Lafite scowled. “What is zee matter? Do you not spick your muzzer tong?”

“He wants to know who might have wished your master harm,” Vera said.

“I hadn’t been with him long,” Johnson said. “And I wasn’t privy to his business dealings.”

I was about to suggest that Sir Toby had mentioned a threat from a foreigner when I first arrived at his house, but I realized that would place me at the scene of the crime that morning. My feeling was that Sir Toby probably had upset quite a few people recently, including Olga and his wife. It wasn’t up to me to help sort out which of them did the dirty deed.

Snuffbox or no snuffbox, all I wanted to do was to be away from there.

“If you will excuse me, Inspector,” I said. “I’m not feeling well. The sight of that body—you don’t need us any longer, do you?”

“For the moment, no,” he said. “First I make my investigation of the house. But later I may ask you more questions. You English, you stick together. You may well know things that you have not told me. But do not worry. I shall find out the truth. So if you know something, it would be wise to tell me now.”

“Sorry, but we can’t help,” Vera said. “I’ve told you, we had no social contact with the man. Now we’d better take Lady Georgiana home. She looks quite white.”

And she bustled me out of the room.

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Still January 26, 1933
Life becoming more complicated by the second.

I tried to push the whole nasty business to one side as I prepared for my date with Jean-Paul that evening. Mummy was reluctant to let me go.