“For no one—no, that is the truth,” he whispered out at length.
The doctor tapped the blade in his hand peremptorily.
“A lie! Have you ever seen me before?”
“No.”
“Have you ever been to this house before?”
He dismissed the coming denial with a flick of his hand. His sharp merciless penetrativeness had its instant effect. The Italian responded to it automatic, like a close echo to the tap of a drum.
“Have you?”
“Yes.”
“When? How long ago?”
“Twenty year.”