My hair fairly rose as he raised his head and howled again. Then I took a good strong grip on myself and decided to look about the place. Everything seemed orderly, but it was evident that someone had been using the living room. There was a chair drawn up to the fire, and a new package of cigarettes on a table had been opened. One had been smoked, I thought by a man, since Bessie and her women friends were always plastered with lipstick.

Roger had not followed me. I said a few words about Bessie and her parties, and began looking for a pail of some sort to put out the fire.

That was how I found Maud. I went to the swimming pool, and she was there. Not in the pool itself. She was lying on the tiles close to the edge; so close that one arm hung over the edge. A small handkerchief lay beside her. I remember that, and that I stooped over and touched her. I remember too, running to the door and screaming. When I came to I was lying alone on a bed in one of the guest rooms, and Maud was dead. She had been dead for hours.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I MUST HAVE BEEN out for some time, for when I staggered back to the pool Tony was there, on his knees beside her, and Jim and the men from the patrol car were standing by. Outside I could see Reynolds and the footmen, as well as Gus and the other men who slept on the place. One of the officers was holding them back.

“Stay out now,” he said. “You can’t do any good here.”

Gus was crying. His face was impassive, but tears were rolling down his cheeks.

“We can carry her back to the house,” he said.

“All in due time, boys. All in due time,” said the officer. “They’ll not be moving her yet.”

Jim saw me then and asked me if I could get Tony away. “He’s taking it hard,” he said. “Get him to bed. I’ll have Sterling see him later.”

I was shaking violently, but I managed to speak. “What happened to her, Jim? Was it her heart?”

“Maybe, maybe not. We’ll know about that later.”

It took some time to get Tony away from her. He stood up, looking wild and desperate, but he refused to go.

“I can’t leave her,” he said. “Not here. Why leave her here, on those tiles? They’re cold as ice.”

“That doesn’t matter now, Tony,” Jim said soothingly. “We’ll bring her up soon.”

“It was her heart, wasn’t it?”

“Sure. Sure it was her heart.”

He looked about him, dazed. “But why here?” he said. “Why here? What was she doing here?”

I spoke up then. “I think she saw what I did, Tony. Somebody had lit a fire here in the living room, and she came down to put it out. You know how afraid she was of fire. I don’t think she suffered at all.”