“Could you repeat his exact words?”
“ ‘Excuse me, Mr. Manager, but do you know that someone's left a dead man in the wardrobe of that room you let me have?’ ”
“How did he look? Excited? Frightened?”
The manager thought a moment. “Excited, I should say, and trying not to show it.”
“And now you, sir, where were you this afternoon?”
The manager sat up.
“But look here, Inspector,—why, good God,—I thought it was as clear a case of suicide——” The manager's eyes were almost out of his head.
“Bless you, sir, ten to one this is all only a matter of form. We always do it. Police routine, you know.”
“I see. Yes, I see.” But obviously it took the manager some effort to focus his mental gaze. “Well, I was all over the place.” He named his various movements.
The Chief Inspector's pen flew over the paper.