"I mean have they been sent to Scotland Yard, or are they still in that locked-up room at the Universal Hotel?"
There was a moment's pause. Then Hardaway answered. "To the best of my belief," he said, "they are still in the room at the hotel. They may be removed to Scotland Yard at any time, though."
"No one has yet claimed Sinclair's effects, then?" asked Deane.
"No one," was the answer.
Deane was on the point of ringing off, but Hardaway suddenly put a question to him. "Shall you be in your office for ten minutes, Mr. Deane?"
"For longer than that," Deane answered.
"I am coming around," the lawyer said. "I hope you can spare me a moment."
Deane set down the telephone with a frown. Perhaps his question had been a clumsy one, or was Hardaway already suspicious? He welcomed the lawyer, when he arrived, a little coldly.
"Five minutes, please," he said. "I have a large mail to go through, and an early dinner-party to-night."
The lawyer nodded. "I don't want to detain you, Deane," he said. "Send your secretary away for a moment, there's a good fellow. What I have to say can be said in half-a-dozen words if we are alone."