‘It’s possible.’
‘More than possible, perhaps?’
‘I’m afraid so.’
He nodded. The pleased, satisfied expression in his eyes jarred me to the heels.
He went out of the room, very spry and dapper, and humming a tune under his breath.
IV
It wasn’t until the hands of my watch had crawled round to eleven that the telephone bell rang. The five-hour wait had been interminable, and I was so het-up I very nearly answered the telephone myself, but someone in some other part of the house beat me to it.
I had been pacing up and down, sitting on the settee, staring tout of the window and chainsmoking during those five long hours. I had seen Wadlock for a few minutes when he had brought me dinner on a wheel wagon, but he hadn’t had anything to say and left me to serve myself.
I had been out just after eight o’clock to have a word with Kerman and to drop him a cold breast of chicken through the car window. I didn’t stay more than a minute or so. I was scared anyone who might be watching the house would hear his flow of bad language.
Now at last something was going to happen. Although Dedrick meant nothing to me, I was nervy after the long wait. I could imagine what Serena must be feeling like. She was probably fit to walk up a wall.