‘Any evidence of your movements?’

‘No.’

I wanted to frighten him, so there was no point in telling him that he had been followed all the time. I knew that he hadn’t cut Koch’s throat, but I wasn’t sure that he was quite so innocent as he made out. The man who owns the knife is not always the real murderer.

‘Can I have another cigarette?’

‘Yes.’

He said, ‘How did you know that I went to Koch’s? That was why you pulled me in here, wasn’t it?’

‘The Austrian police –’

‘They hadn’t identified me.’

‘Immediately you left Colonel Cooler’s, he telephoned to me.’

‘Then that lets him out. If he had been concerned, he wouldn’t have wanted me to tell you my story – to tell Koch’s story, I mean.’

‘He might assume that you were a sensible man and would come to me with your story as soon as you learned of Koch’s death. By the way, how did you learn of it?’

He told me promptly and I believed him. It was then I began to believe him altogether. He said, ‘I still can’t believe Cooler’s concerned. I’d stake anything on his honesty. He’s one of those Americans with a real sense of duty.’

‘Yes,’ I said, ‘he told me about that when he phoned. He apologized for it. He said it was the worst of having been brought up to believe in citizenship. He said it made him feel a prig. To tell you the truth, Cooler irritates me. Of course, he doesn’t know that I know about his tyre deals.’

‘Is he in a racket, too, then?’

‘Not a very serious one. I daresay he’s salted away twenty-five thousand dollars. But I’m not a good citizen. Let the Americans look after their own people.’

‘I’m damned.’ He said thoughtfully, ‘Is that the kind of thing Harry was up to?’

‘No. It was not so harmless.’

He said, ‘You know, this business – Koch’s death – has shaken me. Perhaps Harry did get mixed up in something bad. Perhaps he was trying to clear out again, and that’s why they murdered him.’

‘Or perhaps,’ I said, ‘they wanted a bigger cut of the spoils. Thieves fall out.’

He took it this time without any anger at all. He said, ‘We won’t agree about motives, but I think you check your facts pretty well. I’m sorry about the other day.’

‘That’s all right.’ There are times when one has to make a flash decision – this was one of them. I owed him something in return for the information he had given me. I said, ‘I’ll show you enough of the facts in Lime’s case for you to understand. But don’t fly off the handle. It’s going to be a shock.’