“Even when Sir James was maneuvered into position by the Commander’s use of the letter under the door, the odds against Sir James being in precisely the right position were formidable.

“Just think of the positions it is possible to take to pull a piece of paper from under a door.

“The attitude which Sir James actually assumed is the most likely one, but would any reasonably intelligent murderer depend upon it? I think not.

“This, then, was another of the many clues which led me to identify Commander Lord Ashley as the murderer. Because of the emotional tension he was undergoing, his prophetic ability allowed him to know — know beyond any shadow of a doubt — precisely where Sir James would be and when he would be there. And he knew exactly what he would have to do to get Sir James into that position.

“Sir James would not allow Commander Ashley in the room; he would not unlock the door for him. Therefore, Ashley had to kill him by the only means available. And because of his touch of the Talent, he was able to do so.

“The sword went through the keyhole in a straight line. A single drop of blood fell — half of it on the carpet, the other half on the envelope.

“I think that is perfectly clear. Lord Ashley then returned the envelope to his pocket and his sword to his sheath. That is why I asked him to leave both jacket and scabbard.”

He gestured toward the chair where the Commander had left his sword belt and jacket. Master Sean had already looked the jacket over.

“You were right, my lord,” he said, “there’s a smear on the inside of his jacket pocket, and I have no doubt that there’ll be another inside the scabbard.”

“Nor do I,” agreed Lord Darcy. “Let me continue. At that point, Lord Ashley realized something else. He realized that one man — and one man only — knew that he had picked up that packet.

“I don’t know exactly how Paul Nichols died, but I respectfully suggest to the Court that it was something like this:

“Commander Lord Ashley arrived back in the lobby just at 9:00 and saw Nichols leaving. The hallway toward the back door is easily visible from the lobby; he must have seen Nichols leaving his own office.

“He went back and told Nichols some kind of story, and lured him into the furniture room. A quick blow to the head and a rope around the neck” — Lord Darcy snapped his fingers — “and Goodman Paul Nichols was eliminated as a witness.

“Then, I think, panic must have struck Lord Ashley again. Standing there in that closet, over the body of a man he had just strangled, he wanted to see what was in that packet. He tore it open, scattering pieces of blue sealing wax over the body of the man he had just killed.

“And, of course, he saw nothing, for the papers came out a total blank. I presume he burnt those papers later. It would have been the intelligent thing to do.

“But he still had one more thing to do. He had to relay my message to Master Sean.

“He found Lord Bontriomphe in the lobby and — well, you all know what happened after that.

“However, I’d like to point out in passing that Lord Ashley actually returned to the lobby around 9:10, although he did not speak to Bontriomphe until 9:25. The obvious assumption is that he was afraid to speak to any sorcerer for fear that his emotional state would give him away, and that not until he saw Lord Bontriomphe could he find the courage to speak to anyone.”

Captain Smollett raised his right hand and the golden stripes of rank at his cuff gleamed in the gaslight. “A question, m’lud, if I may.” His normal hearty complexion now seemed somewhat grayed. It is not easy for the head of an Intelligence operation to discover that one of his most trusted men has betrayed him.

“Of course, Captain. What is it?”

“I think I understand what the Commander did and how he did it. What I don’t understand is why. D’you have any idea, my lord?”

“Until just a few hours ago, Captain, that was the main thing that bothered me. His motive was a desire for money. As a matter of fact, a conversation I had with him yesterday at the Admiralty showed that he could only think of betrayal in terms of money. Every motive that he attributed to other possible suspects had a monetary basis.

“But, until the raid at the Manzana de Oro I did not understand the motive behind the motive. I did not know why he needed money so badly.

“Master Ewen MacAlister has made a full confession, and since this is merely a Court of Inquiry I can tell you what it contained without bringing him here as a witness.” He paused and smiled. “At the moment, I am afraid that Master Ewen is in no condition to appear as a witness.”

He placed the tips of his fingers together and looked down at the toes of his boots. “Master Sorcerer Ewen MacAlister, in the pay of the Polish Government, was working with the Sidi al-Nasir of the Manzana de Oro to obtain Commander Lord Ashley’s services as a Polish agent by blackmailing him.

“When the wheel spins — when the card turns — when the dice tumble — a gambler feels a momentary surge of psychic tension. That is why the gambler gambles — because of the thrill. Lord Ashley’s advantage was that when these surges of tension came, he was occasionally able to see what the winning play would be.

“Not often, mind you; the tension was not that great. But it gave the Commander what gamblers call an ‘edge.’ The odds in his favor were increased. The Commander won when he played — not always, and not spectacularly, but regularly.

“The Commander’s rare ability, of course, is not detectable by the sorcerers who work in any gambling club. It cannot even be detected by a Master Sorcerer.” He looked at Sir Thomas Leseaux. “Am I correct, Sir Thomas?”

The theoretical thaumaturgist nodded. “You are correct, my lord. That particular form of the Talent, since it deals with time, and since it is passive rather than active — that is, observational in nature — is undetectable. Unlike the clairvoyant, whose Talent allows him to see through space, and, occasionally, into the past, the precognitive sense, which operates into the future, is almost impossible to predict, train, or control.”

Sir Thomas Leseaux shrugged slightly. “Perhaps one day a greater mathematician than I will solve the problem of the asymmetry of time. Until then…” He shrugged again, and left his sentence hanging.

“Thank you, Sir Thomas,” said Lord Darcy. “However, it is possible for a sorcerer to thwart, under certain circumstances, the precognitive sense. Master Ewen MacAlister proceeded to act upon the gambling devices at the Manzana de Oro when, and only when, Commander Lord Ashley was playing.

“The Commander began to lose. Before he knew it, he was deeply in debt — and because of that he did what he did.”

Lord Darcy smiled. “By the way — and this is something that Master Ewen made a great point of in his confession — I should like all of you to think for a moment of Master Ewen’s position on Somerset Bridge last night, when he suddenly realized he was faced by a man who was predicting his every action. However, that is by the by.

“Actually, My Lord Commander was able to perpetrate his crimes because of fantastic good luck. He did not plot his actions; he merely acted on impulse and managed to commit one of the most baffling crimes it has ever been my good fortune to investigate.

“And then by an equally fantastic stroke of bad luck, he was betrayed. He is an adroit and cool man when faced with danger; he can act or he can lie with equal facility. Excellent attributes in an Intelligence agent, I must admit. But the lie he told in Sidi al-Nasir’s office simply did not hold water. Yesterday afternoon, when we were looking for Paul Nichols, I asked you, Captain, if you had any notion of where he might be hiding, of where the headquarters of this Polish espionage ring might be. And you said you had no notion, none whatever.