The four of us stood in silence, then he added very quietly, “That, you will agree, narrows down the field of inquiry somewhat?”
The Tundish neither paled nor turned a hair as he replied, “Yes, oh yes, it certainly narrows it down. As far as I can see it reduces it to either me, or Jeffcock here or to Miss Hanson. To my knowledge we are the only three people in the house having information about the poison.”
“To your knowledge? Why do you say that—to your knowledge?”
“Because it is always possible that the maids or some one else may have overheard Hanson and myself talking together about it.”
“Miss Summerson, for instance?”
“Oh, Miss Summerson knows all about it, in fact she has helped us with some of our experiments. She left the house, however, before the draft was made up and she has not yet returned.”
“To your knowledge,” Allport added.
“Why, whatever do you mean?” The Tundish said, showing some little excitement at last.
“Miss Palfreeman’s room looks on to the flat-topped roof of the surgery wing and an entry could have been made from it with the greatest ease. The window, I take it, would be open on a night like last night?”
“Yes, it was open wide at the bottom, when I went into the room after breakfast, but Miss Hanson had been into the room before me. But it is possible. So far as I know, Miss Summerson and Miss Palfreeman were complete strangers to each other.”