“Who did it, you mean? None. I imagine it was political. How it was done, I’ve no idea. I can’t possibly suspect any of the people who worked with me. It’s unthinkable. Besides—why? You said something about patent medicines. Is there anything there?”

“We’re on that tack now. I don’t know if there’s anything in it. By the way, why does Dr. Roberts object to giving injections?”

“A private reason. Nothing that can have any bearing on the case.”

“Is it because he once gave an overdose?”

“If you knew that, why did you ask me? Testing my veracity?”

“Put it like that. He was never alone with the patient?”

“No. No, never.”

“Was any one of the nurses alone in the theatre before the operation?”

“The nurses? I don’t know. I wouldn’t notice what they did. They’d been preparing for some time before we came on the scene.”

“We?”

“Thoms, Roberts and myself.”

“What about Mr. Thoms?”

“I can’t remember. He may have dodged in to have a look round.”

“Yes. I think I must have a reconstruction. Can you spare the time to-day or to-morrow?”

“You mean you want to go through the whole business in pantomime?”

“If I may. We can hardly do it actually, unless I discover a

P.C. suffering from an acute abscess of the appendix.” Phillips smiled sardonically. “I might give him too much hyoscine if you did,” he said.

“Do you want the whole pack of them?”

“If it’s possible.”

“Unless there’s an urgent case, nothing happens in the afternoon. I hardly think there will be an urgent case. Business,” added Phillips grimly, “will probably fall off. My last major operation is enjoying somewhat unfavourable publicity.”

“Well—will you get the others for me for to-morrow afternoon?”

“I’ll try. It’ll be very unpleasant. Nurse Banks has left us, but she can be found.”

“She’s at the Nurses’ Club in Chelsea.”

Phillips glanced quickly at him.

“Is she?” he said shortly. “Very well. Will five o’clock suit you?”

“Admirably. Can we have it all as closely reproduced as possible—same impedimenta and so on?”

“I think it can be arranged. I’ll let you know.”

Phillips went to the door.

“Good-bye for the moment,” he said. “I’ve no idea whether or not you think I killed O’Callaghan, but you’ve been very polite.”

“We are taught manners at the same time as point-duty,” said Alleyn. Phillips went away and Alleyn sought out Detective-Inspector Fox, to whom he related the events of the morning. When he came to Phillips’s visit Fox thrust out his under lip and looked at his boots.

“That’s your disillusioned expression, Fox,” said Alleyn. “What’s it in aid of?”