“Shall I make another guess? When I asked Miss Dacres where the tiki was, she put her hand up to her dress with that quick, almost involuntary gesture a woman uses when she has something hidden in what used to be called her bodice. You saw that gesture, and a moment afterwards you made an exclamation and then refused to explain it. That was because you remembered that during the supper-party you saw Miss Dacres slip the tiki under the bodice of her dress.”

“How do you know? I—I wasn’t sure. I only thought—”

“A moment afterwards, she looked in her bag and then said she did not remember handling the tiki after she had put it down on the table.”

“There’s nothing in that,” said Gordon hotly. “She’d simply forgotten. That’s not surprising after what happened. She wasn’t trying to tell lies, if that’s what you mean. She’d forgotten, I tell you. Why, I only happened to remember because of her hand—”

“I merely wanted to be sure that you’d seen her do it.”

“Well, if I did, what of it?”

“Nothing at all. And now I shall leave you to arise and greet the latter half of the morning. I suggest two aspirins, some black coffee and a brisk walk to the police station where Inspector Wade will be delighted to receive your apologies for your offensive behaviour. I forget what the penalty is for running away from the police in the execution of their duty. Something with a little boiling oil in it, perhaps. I suppose you loathe The Mikado?”

“Look here, sir, what’ll they do to me?”

“If you tell them, nicely, what you’ve just told me, I shall try and stay their wrath. Otherwise—”

Alleyn made a portentous grimace and walked out of the room.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Change of Scene

WHEN ALLEYN RETURNED to the lounge he found Wade there, waiting for him. They retired to Alleyn’s room where he related the gist of his conversation with Gordon.

“I’ve told him to give you the whole story himself.”

“I still don’t see why he cleared out on us,” said Wade.

“I fancy it was partly because he’d worked himself up into a blue funk over the whole business. His nerves are in a lamentable state, silly little creature. And I do think, Wade, that he’s in a devil of a twit over this business of the tiki.”

“Yee-es? And why’s that, sir?”

Alleyn hesitated for a moment. A curious look of reluctance came into his face. When he spoke his voice was unusually harsh.