The magistrate had just heard these particulars, when Maitre Magloire appeared, pale and panting for breath.
“You know, monsieur?” he exclaimed on the threshold. “All!”
“Tarot is innocent.”
“I think so; and yet, that visit—how do you explain that visit?”
Magloire shook his head mournfully.
“I’m a fool,” said he, “and Lecoq has just proved it. Monsieur Jandidier talked about life insurance policies at the Café Ture. That was the key to the whole matter. Jandidier was insured for 200,000 francs, and the companies, in France, never pay in case of suicide; do you understand?”
V.
Thanks to M. Gustave Schmidt, who will marry Mlle. Thérèse Jandidier next month, the Maison Jandidier did not fail.