“He might have left a bomb behind him,” said Algy.
“My dear boy,” exclaimed Hugh, “you’d have wanted a bomb the size of a wheelbarrow. That’s the point I’ve been trying to force into your skull. You can’t carry a thing that size about in your waistcoat pocket. No—it won’t work. Either the maid is talking through the back of her neck, or she isn’t. And if she isn’t, the old chap was dancing about in the room after the German left. Not only that, but he locked himself in. Well, even you wouldn’t lock yourself in with a land-mine, would you? Especially one you’d just seen carefully arranged to explode in five minutes. Besides, he knew this German; he told me so at lunch today.”
“I suppose you’re right,” grunted Algy. “And yet it seems so deuced suspicious.”
“Precisely: it is deuced suspicious. But don’t forget one thing, old boy. It is only suspicious to us because we’ve got inside information. It is not a bit suspicious to the police.”
“It would be if you told ’em about that letter he got.”
Hugh lit a cigarette and stared out of the window.
“Perhaps,” he agreed. “But do we want to rouse their suspicions, old boy? If we’re wrong—if it was a bona fide accident—there’s no use in doing so; if we’re right, we might have a little game all on our own. I mean I was all in favour of the old boy going to the police about it while he was alive, but now that he’s dead it seems a bit late in the day.”
“And how do you propose to make the other side play?” demanded Algy.
“Good Lord! I haven’t got as far as that,” said Hugh vaguely. “One might biff your pal with the eyeglass on the jaw, or something like that. Or one might get in touch with them through these notes on the Professor’s discovery, and see what happens. If they then tried to murder me, we should have a bit of a pointer as to which way the wind was blowing. Might have quite a bit of fun, Algy; you never know. Anyway, I think we’ll attend the inquest tomorrow; we might spot something if we’re in luck. We will sit modestly at the back of the court, and see without being seen.”
But the inquest failed to reveal very much. It was a depressing scene, and more in the nature of a formality than anything else. The two young men arrived early, and wedged themselves in the back row, whence they commanded a good view of the court. And suddenly Algy caught Hugh’s arm.
“See that little bird with the white moustache and the eyeglass in the second row,” he whispered. “That’s the fellow I was telling you about, who put up the offer of a quarter of a million.”
Hugh grunted noncommittally; seen from that distance he seemed a harmless sort of specimen. And then the proceedings started. The police gave their formal evidence, and after that the parlourmaid was put into the box. She described in detail the events of the afternoon, and the only new point which came to light was the fact that another man beside the German Professor had been to the house for a short time and left almost at once. First the German had arrived. No, she did not know his name—but his appearance was peculiar. Pressed for details, it appeared that his clothes were dirty, and his hands stained with chemicals. Oh! yes—she would certainly know him again if she saw him. A box had come with him which was carried into the laboratory by two men. They had brought it in a car, and had waited outside part of the time the German was there. Yes—she had talked to them. Had they said anything about the German? Surely they must have mentioned his name. No—they didn’t even know it. The witness paused, and having been duly encouraged by the Coroner was understood to say that the only thing they had said about him was that he was a bit dippy.
The laughter in court having been instantly quelled, the witness proceeded. Just after the German had arrived another visitor came. No—she didn’t know his name either. But he was English, and she showed him into the laboratory too. Then she went down to finish her dinner.
About ten minutes later the front-door bell rang again. She went upstairs to find the German dancing about in the hall in his excitement. He wanted to know when Professor Goodman was returning. Said he had made an appointment, and that unless the Professor returned shortly he would go as the other visitor had gone.
Pressed on this point by the Coroner—she knew the second visitor had gone, as the only people in the laboratory as she passed it were the two men already alluded to. And just then Professor Goodman came in, apologised for having kept the German waiting, and they disappeared into the laboratory. For the next hour and a half she heard them talking whenever she passed the door; then the laboratory bell rang. She went up to find that the German was leaving. Through the open door she saw Professor Goodman bending over his bench hard at work; then just as she was halfway across the hall she heard the key turn in the door. And the German had waved his arms in the air, and said something about the house going sky-high. The motor had gone by that time, and the box and the two men. It was just before then that she’d spoken to them. And it was about four or five minutes later after the German had disappeared
