“That we shall never know exactly, I am afraid,” he answered. “There was only a hundred pounds or so in cash in his private account when it was closed, but there had been some very big sums passing through it during the last few months. Where it all went to, it is difficult to say. If, as I guess, he was afraid to face the shareholders at the meeting, and meant to run away, no doubt he had put away a little nest-egg somewhere—abroad, probably. Of the actual payments we can trace, many were to women.”

“Including his wife?” asked Mallett, remembering Mrs. Ballantine’s evidence at the inquest.

“No. She had been clever or lucky enough to get a handsome settlement out of him some time ago. So far as she was concerned, it was the other way about. From what we can gather, it seems that just before he went he was trying to get her to consent to raise money on the settlement, but she refused.”

“Of course—she would. Then these other women are——”

“All sorts. He seems to have been generous in an odd sort of way, and kept up quite big allowances to discarded mistresses. Then he’s been supporting the Italian dancer, Fonticelli—but that affair came to an end some time ago. The largest payments recently were all to Mrs. Eales.”

“I think I have heard of her,” said Mallett. “Was she the reigning favourite?”

“Yes. Ballantine has been living with her, except when it suited him to turn up at Belgrave Square, quite regularly for over a year now. He set her up in rather a nice flat in Mount Street. It was quite an open affair. Everybody knew about it in the office.”

Mallett was silent for a moment.

“Mount Street is a long way from Daylesford Gardens,” he said at last. “All the same, I think I must put Mrs. Eales next on my list to be visited. As I see my problem, Renshaw, apart from yours, there are two lines to work on. One is to take James from where he first appears as a tenant of Miss Penrose’s house, and trace him backwards until he meets Ballantine. The other is to work on Ballantine and trace him forwards, so to speak, until he meets James. Both are worth following up, and it seems to me that if anyone can help me to some knowledge of Ballantine’s private life it will be Mrs. Eales.”

“One other person could give you a good deal of information if he wanted to,” said Renshaw.

“You mean Du Pine?” Mallett said at once.

Renshaw nodded. “He and the two missing directors were the only people who were privy to Ballantine’s frauds,” he added. “Du Pine was in it up to the neck. We’ve got quite enough to arrest him on now.”