Then the French windows burst open, and Inspector Quercy walked in.
8
“ Enfin,” Quercy said stolidly, when the facts that he did not know had been told to him, “Miss North has both the medals, and she should be able to claim the inheritance without too much difficulty. And we have this canaille, but not in the condition that the State would have preferred.” He prodded the body of Orival, alias Olivant, with his foot, and signed to the two uniformed men who had followed him in. “Remove it.”
“The State ought to thank me,” said the Saint, “for saving you the expense of a trial and execution.”
“It is lucky for you,” Quercy said, “that I saw what happened, and know that you fired in self-defense. We have, of course, been following Miss North all day, to see if the murderer might approach her. You see, we are not quite so stupid and useless as you would like to make us.”
Valerie North said, “I hope you won’t hold it against him. He’s done so much for me. I’m afraid he’d never let me pay him, but at least I don’t want him to get in trouble.”
“He has an irresistible advocate in you, Mademoiselle,” Quercy said gallantly.
Simon glanced surreptitiously at the open safe, and then at the windows through which the two agents had just disappeared with their unlamented burden.
“By the way,” he said, “just to complete the record, I think Orival still had the murder knife in his pocket.”
“Yes, we shall need that for the police museum.”