“I opened the door,” she gasped, “and saw ... this. I screamed, and Jane came running from the kitchen. I don’t remember anything else until I saw you downstairs.”
De Medici caressed her shoulder and turned to the housekeeper.
“What happened?” he asked.
The woman regarded him with terrified eyes.
“I don’t know,” she wailed. “I was in the kitchen making sandwiches and I didn’t hear anything until Miss Ballau screamed and I came in here and saw him ... there....”
She pointed to the body and began to weep.
“Oh, he was such a good man.”
Three policemen in uniform entered. De Medici turned to them.
“Mr. Ballau has just been murdered,” he said quietly. “He’s in the library.”
The three men nodded and walked to the open door of the disordered room.