“He certainly looks ill.”

“He has something on his mind. I have felt increasingly certain on this point. In fact-” She laid down her knitting and rested her hands upon it. “Frank, I am extremely uneasy.”

He was struck by the gravity of her expression.

“On what account?”

“On Mr. Bellingdon’s account. I feel I should tell you that he has determined upon a course of action which may have serious consequences.”

“Such as?”

“Another and immediate attempt upon his life.”

“You really think his life has been attempted?”

“I feel more and more sure of it as the case goes on. The return of the necklace-”

He broke in before she could complete her sentence.

“Well now, why was it returned? And if it was going to be returned, why was it taken?”

“I believe that it was taken as a blind, the real object of the crime being the death of Mr. Bellingdon who it was believed would fetch the necklace himself if Mr. Garratt could be got out of the way. He was got out of the way, but Mr. Hughes was sent instead, and as he recognized his assailant he had to be shot.”

Frank Abbott said,

“Well, you know that doesn’t agree with one of the very few bits of evidence we’ve got -Miss Paine’s account of what the murderer said to the man whom he was meeting at the Masters gallery and who in all probability was the fence who was going to get the necklace out of the country. I can’t give you his words verbatim, but they certainly did not give any hint that there was anything in the job beyond the theft of a famous and valuable bit of jewellery.”

“And would you expect there to be such a hint? As I see it, this crime was planned from within the family circle. It was to be camouflaged as an ordinary jewel robbery. The man who played the principal part was someone equally at home in the family and in criminal circles. He was-he is-a man of bold and reckless character, willing to take a high risk for a high prize. He must be in a position to ensure that he will have his share in the prize. To speak plainly, I consider that he has a hold upon some member of Mr. Bellingdon’s family and can be sure of his or her co-operation.”

Frank leaned back in his chair.

“Well, it’s a theory. Putting it on one side for the moment, what has Bellingdon done, or what is he going to do, that you think will send the balloon up?”

Miss Silver said,

“He is going to inform his household that he proposes to marry Mrs. Scott and alter his will.”

Frank whistled.

“A very sporting effort! I suppose it hadn’t your encouragement?”

Miss Silver coughed.

“I told him that in my opinion it would provoke another attempt, to which he replied that he would rather take the risk and get it over. He said that he was an impatient man and did not like to sit and wait for things to happen.”

“Oh, well, I am with him there.”

“So you see that the next few days may be critical. He has had an interview with Mrs. Herne, and I think it probable that he has informed her of his intentions both with regard to Mrs. Scott and to his will. She is not likely to keep them to herself. If Mr. Bellingdon dies before his marriage, the beneficiaries under his existing will must profit. If he makes a new will in contemplation of marriage, or if he marries Mrs. Scott, the old will ceases to be operative. The person whose interests are most likely to be affected is Mrs. Herne. The return of the necklace also points in her direction. If you take the words overheard by Sally Foster as referring to the Queen’s Necklace, it would mean a determination on her part to secure it, and a refusal to go any farther unless she did so. I have no doubt that it is left to her under Mr. Bellingdon’s present will. Now I ask you to consider the part played by the unknown man whom we have been speaking of as the murderer. He has a bold and reckless character and contacts in two widely different circles. His interests are so much identified with those of Mrs. Herne as to enable him to feel sure that he will participate in whatever she may inherit from Mr. Bellingdon. It seems to me that there can be only one person to whom these considerations would apply, and that person is Mrs. Herne’s husband.”

“My dear ma’am!”

She said,

“Oliver Herne was killed in a motor accident on the continent. He was a racing motorist and of a bold and reckless character. He may have taken one risk too many, or it may have suited him to disappear. According to Miss Bray he was heavily in debt. The car was burnt out. Mrs. Herne identified her husband’s cigarette-case and signet-ring. I merely advance all this as a speculation. There is, as you know, another possibility. Meanwhile I think that every precaution should be taken.”

Chapter 33

IT was not a day upon which anyone cared to look back. Visits from the police are not apt to leave a happy atmosphere behind them. Hilton went about with the air of one who has been tried almost past bearing and reported to Annabel Scott, for whom he cherished a considerable regard, that Mrs, Hilton was very much disturbed in her mind-the impression conveyed being that a severe social stigma had been placed upon them, and that they were in doubt as to how long it could be endured. The various women who came in to help opined gloomily over more than the usual number of cups of tea that once that sort of thing started in a house you never knew where it was going to end, supporting this theory with shattering tales of disaster.

Lucius Bellingdon disappeared at midday accompanied by Annabel Scott. They took her car, but not before Parker had practically gone over it with a magnifying glass.

David Moray made a first sketch for Medusa. If Moira had imagined that the sittings would provide a pleasant distraction culminating as and when she pleased in a more or less serious affair with David Moray, she was to be disappointed. He couldn’t have been more impersonal if he had been painting a house. The way in which what he was pleased to call the planes of her face were constructed, the exact angle at which she was to turn her head, were a great deal more important than the fact that she had allowed her blank stare to melt into a beckoning one-a change which usually produced most gratifying results. When she followed it up by saying in an interested drawl, “You know, I’m not at all sure that I shouldn’t like you to do me with snakes in my hair,” he told her briefly that they weren’t necessary, and that talking put him off. Even Sally Foster wouldn’t really have considered a chaperone to be necessary. The mousetrap and the cheese might be there, but David’s mind was entirely occupied by Medusa who had been a myth for three thousand years or so.

It was impossible to say what was the state of mind of Hubert Garratt or of Arnold Bray. Unquiet certainly, and apprehensive of what was still to come.

Miss Bray darned house linen and hardly ever stopped talking-her theme the shortcomings of the domestic staff, Mrs. Hilton having undercooked the joint at lunch and sent up pancakes which resembled scorched leather.

“Really, the least thing upsets them, and I shouldn’t be at all surprised if they gave notice. Mrs. Hilton had just that kind of look in her eye when I ordered the pancakes this morning. She said we only had shop eggs and she couldn’t guarantee them, which is quite ridiculous, because there must be plenty of eggs in the village, and anyhow their being grocer’s eggs wouldn’t make them burn!”

Miss Silver supposed not. Miss Bray sighed heavily.

“It was really a good thing that Lucius and Annabel weren’t here-he does so dislike anything scorched. I suppose he has gone over to Emberley to see about his car. I hope he will be careful on the hill.”

Miss Silver hoped so too.