“I must say it’s refreshing to have someone more accident-prone than I for once,” I said. “But think, Darcy. If he hadn’t had that accident with the suit of armor, we might not have discovered Mr. Goldman’s body for hours. It would have been more difficult to gauge when he died and the killer could have made an escape with ease.”

“That’s true. Stupid young oaf. It’s a wonder he didn’t bump into the killer and wind up dead himself.”

“Darcy”—I paused at the doorway, staring at the armor still lying on the floor—“I suppose Algie really is as dense and clumsy as he seems? I mean could it possibly be a clever ruse so that nobody would ever suspect him?”

Darcy frowned, then shook his head. “I’ve known him for years and he’s always been a complete twit. When he was a child and we were at a house party together he fell into the lake when he was trying to walk along a wall. I had to dive in and pull him out. He couldn’t swim, of course.”

“Maybe he lost his clumsiness when he grew up but he found it useful to keep up the illusion.”

He grabbed my arm, his fingers digging into me. “Georgie—are you saying that you think Algie could be the gentleman burglar?”

“It’s a possibility, isn’t it? He’s tall and slim and he’s an aristocrat and he wangles himself invitations to parties and things. He’s always hanging around on the edge of conversations so he must hear interesting snippets. Was he attending any of the functions where the robberies took place?”

“I didn’t actually study the guest lists myself but his presence obviously never raised red flags to the English police. I could send a cable to Scotland Yard and ask if his name appears on any of those lists. If I’m allowed to leave this place tomorrow, that is.” He walked down the hall and picked his way over the suit of armor. “I suppose we’d better not touch this either. It does prove that Algie had the best opportunity to do the deed. We have no idea how long he was alone in this hallway, playing with the suit of armor. One thing we know—nobody could have entered or left while he was there. Which makes the window of opportunity for killing Goldman even slimmer.” He shook his head. “I can’t see Algie hitting someone over the head like that, can you? He’d probably miss and smash some priceless object instead.”