“Jack,” she said suddenly, “that’s not the action of a guilty man. How long had the peddler been there?”
“Only a few hours, as you know.”
“And why did he ask if this room was the same as it was the night of the murder?”
“I’ve been puzzling over that. It could not have been a shot in the dark, and it laid him open to the suspicion that he had seen the place before.”
“Then, listen, Jack,” she said excitedly. “I’m sure he did see the place before. Everything points to that, and you’ve got the wrong man, and it was Blunt who killed Mr. Millicent on account of that thing.” She pointed to the jade god. “Can’t you see how clear it is? He had some sort of hold over Martin and Perkins, probably through that same horrid influence, and they were afraid to incriminate him. Two years afterward he turns up again, and Martin was amazed and terrified to see him, thinking the matter was done with. While he is with Martin, and that was very cleverly arranged, they have arguments which you overheard, and somehow he manages to conceal in Martin’s clothes the knife, or one just like it, before making another attempt at the image. You’ll have to be frightfully careful now what is done, or an innocent man may be punished.”
Derrick looked at her, genuinely puzzled.
“There may be something in that. Anything else to suggest?”
“No, I’m not a detective, but it’s the way any sensible person would look at it, if I may say so. And, yes, there is one thing.”
“What is that?”
“I’d go straight to Jean to-morrow morning and tell her the whole story. She might be able to help, as it will probably suggest other things to her you haven’t discussed yet.”