“I’m sure I’m much obliged, sir,” the man said. “To tell you the truth,” he went on, “I’ve had a bit of a scare to-day.”
Laverick looked up quickly.
“What do you mean?” he demanded.
“May I sit down, sir? I’m a bit worn out. I’ve been on the go since half-past ten.”
Laverick nodded and pointed to a chair. Shepherd brought it up to the side of the table and leaned forward.
“There’s been two men in to-day,” he said, “asking questions. They wanted to know how many customers I had there on Monday night, and could I describe them. Was there any one I recognized, and so on.”
“What did you say?”
“I declared I couldn’t remember any one. To the best of my recollection, I told them, there was no one served at all after ten o’clock. I wouldn’t say for certain—it looked as though I might have had a reason.”
“And were they satisfied?”
“I don’t think they were,” Shepherd admitted. “Not altogether, that is to say.”