"Does Mrs. Fane know the woman?" asked Derrick, passing over this ironical speech.
"No. She never set eyes on her. No one knows who the woman is."
"Strange! Strange! I wonder why she should be killed in your house?"
"Don't you know her name?" asked Fane.
"No. There is no mark on her linen; no cards or letters in her pocket. She came out of the darkness into your house, and has been swallowed up by the darkness of the grave. We know no more. At the inquest something may transpire."
"I sincerely hope so," said Fane bluntly. "The whole thing is most disagreeable. I shall have to give up Ajax Villa. My wife is quite upset. The affair will put me to great expense. Good-day."
"One moment. Do you know a young man with a pointed beard?"
"Not that I can recall," replied Fane after a pause. "But of course I may have met such a person."
"Well"--Derrick gave up his questions in despair--"we must wait for the inquest."
But here a fresh disappointment awaited him. Nothing came to light at the inquest likely to throw light on the mystery. Geason proved that the unknown woman had been stabbed from behind and had died almost immediately. He was positive that she had been dead five hours when he was called in. If this were so, the woman who sang the song could not be the dead one. Nor could the young man who entered into conversation with Mulligan have been sent to lure him away so that the murder might take place. When the young man came out of the house the woman must have been dead three hours. The doctor firmly held to this opinion, and thereby perplexed the jury and upset the theories of Derrick.