“Yes. But I put them on the table again before I went,” said Pip. “I got the address all right. It was 6, The Causeway, Limmering. And the telephone number was Limmering 021.”
“Jolly good, Pip,” said Fatty admiringly. “You made an awful blunder about the three thousand pounds, but you were certainly very smart afterwards. I couldn’t have done better myself.”
“You couldn’t have done so well!” said Bets, very proud of Pip. “I say - it’s all very queer, isn’t it? If Mr. Smith so badly wanted the house because his mother lived there, and because he was brought up there, why did he only furnish one room?”
“That room has a barred window,” said Fatty, thinking hard. “Maybe that was the nursery window in the days when he was there as a child - and perhaps that’s why he has taken that one room and furnished it - he may be a frightfully sentimental person. Though I admit it doesn’t sound a very good explanation. Still detectives have to think out every possible explanation.”
Nobody thought it was a good explanation.
“We’ll find out if a Mrs. Smith lived there in years gone by,” said Larry thoughtfully. “And if one of her children was called John. And if that room was the nursery.”
“Yes. We can do that,” said Fatty. “And we might find out if John Henry is still at Limmering.”
“Limmering is miles away!” said Larry. “We would never be allowed to go there.”
“Well, we’ve got the telephone number. We can telephone, silly,” said Fatty.
They got on their bikes and cycled away fast, for it was now getting dark.