"Rather," rejoined Tracey with alacrity. "I'm dead gone on adventures, and this is a ripper. Wonder if I can get an advertisement out of it? What do you think, sir?"
"Well, if your car is missing------"
"'Course. The man's raced off with it."
"No," denied Mulligan again; "he was with me at the time your car was lost."
"Do you think the man you talked to, killed this woman?" asked the inspector, turning sharply on Mulligan.
"I do and I don't, sir."
"What do you mean by that?"
Mulligan scratched his head. "He had the key, and he came out of the house sure enough. But she was singing when he talked to me at the gate. She wasn't dead then."
"Then he must be innocent," said Derrick sharply. "Do you know to whom the villa belongs?"
"No, sir. Here it is, and you can see that the light's still burning as I left it. I haven't touched the body, sir."