“Oh, yes, it was a bomb, sir,” said Elk.
A group of senior officers stood in the corridor, looking at the havoc.
“And something particularly heavy in the shape of bombs. The wonder is that Captain Gordon and I were not there. I told Fayre to open the bag, but I thought he’d wait until we returned with the knife—we intended examining the lining. Fayre must have opened the bag and the bomb exploded.”
“But weren’t the bags examined before?” asked the Commissioner wrathfully.
Elk nodded.
“They were examined by me yesterday—every one. The Paddington bag was turned inside out, every article it contained was placed on my table, and catalogued. I myself returned them. There was no bomb.”
“But how could they be got at?” asked the other.
Elk shook his head.
“I don’t know, sir. The only other person who has a key to this safe is the Assistant Commissioner of my department, Colonel McClintock, who is on his holidays. We might all have been killed.”
“What was the explosive?”