“The caves?” said Michael quickly.
She nodded.
“I was surprised. I’d never heard of the caves. He told me there was a reference to them in some old history of Chichester. He had looked in the guidebooks without finding anything about them, but apparently there were caves at some time or other near Chellerton, but there was a heavy subsidence of earth that closed the entrance. He was so rambling and so disjointed that I thought he must have been drinking, and I was glad to get away from him. I went on and did my shopping and met one of the extra girls I knew. She asked me to go home with her. I didn’t want to go a bit, but I thought if I refused she would think I was giving myself airs, and so I went. As soon as I could, I came away and went straight home.
“It was then nine o’clock and the streets were empty. They are not very well lit in Chichester, but I was able to recognize Mr. Foss. He was standing at the corner of the Arundel Road, and was evidently waiting for somebody. I stopped because I particularly did not wish to meet Mr. Foss, but I was on the point of turning round when a car drove into the road and stopped almost opposite him.”
“What sort of a car?” asked Michael.
“It was a closed landaulette—I think they call them sedans. As it came round the corner its lights went out, which struck me as being curious. Mr. Foss was evidently waiting for this, for he went up and leant on the edge of the window and spoke to somebody inside. I don’t know what made me do it, but I had an extraordinary impulse to see who was in the car, and I started walking toward them. I must have been five or six yards away when Mr. Foss stepped back and the sedan moved on. The driver put his hand out of the window as if he was waving goodbye. It was still out of the window and the only thing visible—the interior was quite dark—when it came abreast of me.”
“Was there anything peculiar about the hand?”
“Nothing, except that it was small and white, and on the little finger was a large diamond ring. The fire in it was extraordinary, and I wondered why a man should wear a ring of that kind. You will think I am silly, but the sight of that hand gave me a terrible feeling of fear—I don’t know why, even now. There was something unnatural and abnormal about it. When I looked round again, Mr. Foss was walking rapidly in the other direction, and I made no attempt to overtake him.”
“You saw no number on the car?”
“None whatever.” She shook her head. “I wasn’t so curious.”
“You didn’t even see the silhouette of the man inside?”
“No, I saw nothing. His arm was raised.”
“What size was the diamond, do you think?”
She pursed her lips dubiously.
“He passed me in a flash, and I can’t give you any very accurate information, Mr. Brixan. It may be a mistake on my part, but I thought it was as big as the tip of my finger. Naturally I couldn’t see any details, even though I saw the car again last night.”
She went on to tell him of what happened on the previous night, and he listened intently.
“The man spoke to you—did you recognize his voice?”
She shook her head.
“No—he spoke in a whisper. I did not see his face, though I have an idea that he was wearing a cap. The policeman said he should have taken the number of the car.”
“Oh, the policeman said that, did he?” remarked Michael sardonically. “Well, there’s hope for him.”
For a minute he was immersed in thought, and then:
“I’ll take you to the studio if you don’t mind,” said Michael.
He left her to go to her dressing-room, there to learn that work had been suspended for the day, and went in search of Jack.
“You’ve seen everybody of consequence in this neighbourhood,” he said. “Do you know anybody who drives a sedan and wears a diamond ring on the little finger of the right hand?”
“The only person I know who has that weakness is Mendoza,” he said.
Michael whistled.
“I never thought of Mendoza,” he said, “and Adele described the hand as ‘small and womanly.’ ”
“Mendoza’s hand isn’t particularly small, but it would look small on a man,” said Jack thoughtfully. “And her car isn’t a closed sedan, but that doesn’t mean anything. By the way, I’ve just sent instructions to tell the company I’m working today. If we let these people stand around thinking, they’ll get thoroughly upset.”
“I thought that too,” said Michael with a smile, “but I didn’t dare make the suggestion.”
An urgent message took him to London that afternoon, where he attended a conference of the Big Five at Scotland Yard. And at the end of the two-hour discussion, the conclusion was reached that Sir Gregory Penne was to remain at large but under observation.
“We verified the story about the lifting of this girl in Borneo,” said the quiet-spoken Chief. “And all the facts dovetail. I haven’t the slightest doubt in my mind that Penne is the culprit, but we’ve got to walk very warily. I dare say in your department, Captain Brixan, you can afford to take a few risks, but the police in this country never make an arrest for murder unless they are absolutely certain that a conviction will follow. There may be something in your other theory, and I’d be the last man in the world to turn it down, but you’ll have to conduct parallel investigations.”
Michael ran down to Sussex in broad daylight. There was a long stretch of road about four miles north of Chichester, and he was pelting along this when he became aware of a figure standing in the middle of the roadway
