“Sorry! I misunderstood you. No—not exactly. My invitation is only a day or two old.”
“Did you know the murdered man?”
“No, I did not. That is to say at all well. I’ve run against him at Oxford.”
“Did you see anything while you were here, or did you hear anything during the night that you think worthy of mentioning to me?”
“Nothing at all, Inspector.”
“You were not playing cards, last evening?”
“No, after dinner when the cards started I strolled into the garden with Mr. Jack Considine. We were there about twenty minutes. Then we went to bed—and like everybody else were awakened by the maid’s discovery in the billiard room. Which she celebrated in the usual manner.”
“H’m—any theory in regard to the crime, Mr. Bathurst?”
“Yes, Inspector.”
“Based on?”