“We won’t bother about him,” said Mallett. “Then you let it furnished on Miss Penrose’s behalf?”

“Yes,” said Harper.

“For how long?”

“A month, expiring today.”

“What was the tenant’s name?”

“Colin James.”

“Where is he now?”

“Abroad, so far as I know,” said Harper. “That is, on Saturday morning he returned the keys of the house with a letter to say that he was giving up possession and going to France.”

“What do you know about him?” asked Mallett. “He gave you some references, I suppose?”

“The only reference he gave was his bank,” said Harper. “He paid the rent in advance.”

“Which bank was it?”

“The Southern—the Lower Daylesford Street branch. I remember that because it was the same as the firm’s.”

The detective paused for a moment, sucking his cheeks reflectively, his broad back to the window, through which came the murmur of a crowd, already collected at the signs of police activity.

“What did this Colin James look like?” was his next question.

“He was a fat man,” answered Harper, “or rather, paunchy. I mean, he had a big stomach and a thin face, as if he had a bad digestion. He had a rather large dark brown beard. He was about medium size, and as far as I can remember, he spoke in rather a husky voice.”

Mallett turned to Lewis. “Do you agree with that?” he asked.

“I never saw him,” said Lewis. “I only came in on this job because Mr. Browne, my boss, wanted me to help check the inventory.” He could not resist a spiteful glance at Harper as he spoke.

“In that case you needn’t wait here,” said Mallett. “Get back to your office, tell them what has happened, if they don’t know already, and ask them to have all their records about Mr. James and his tenancy ready for inspection. I’ll let you know when you’re wanted again. Not until the inquest, probably.”

Lewis left, and the inspector turned to Harper.

“How often did you see James?” he asked.

“Only once. He came into the office in the morning when I was alone, and said he wanted a quiet furnished house in a hurry. I took him out and showed him this place——”

“Leaving the office empty?”

“Mr. Browne was in the inner office, but wouldn’t see him from where he was.”

“I see. Go on.”

“He liked the look of it and wanted to move in that afternoon. I took him back to the office and he gave me his cheque, which I paid into the bank during the morning. In the afternoon, Mr. Browne made out the tenancy agreement, and later on in the day Mr. James came back and signed it.”

“Were you alone in the office then?”

“Yes. As a matter of fact everyone else had gone home, and I had to wait specially late for him.”