“If he succeeds in ridding us of you there'll be a great deal of point in it,” said Kenneth savagely. “Sit down, my friend-the-Superintendent, sit down! What can I offer you? Whisky? Lager?”
The Superintendent declined any refreshment. “I'm sorry to interrupt a - a family party,” he said, “but -”
“Not at all,” said Kenneth. “We're charmed to see you. At least, my half-brother isn't, but that's probably because his conscience isn't clear. But the rest of us are delighted. Aren't we, Violet? By the way I don't think you've met our friend-the-Superintendent, darling. This is he. Superintendent, my fiancée - Miss Williams.”
Violet bowed slightly, and bestowed on Hannasyde the small mechanical smile she reserved for her social inferiors. Turning from him, she suggested to Kenneth in a low voice that she should go. He instantly quashed this, so she compromised by withdrawing tactfully to the other end of the room under the pretence of opening a window.
Meanwhile Giles had introduced the Superintendent to Roger, and Hannasyde, in his good-humoured way, was explaining the ostensible reason for his visit. “As I expect you have been told, Mr Vereker, your brother, Mr Arnold Vereker, was stabbed at Ashleigh Green last Saturday,” he began, “so I'm sure you will -”
“Yes, I've been told that,” replied Roger, “but it has nothing to do with me. Naturally I was shocked to hear it. In fact, I didn't at first believe it.”
“It must have been a terrible shock,” agreed Hannasyde sympathetically.
“Well, it was. If they'd said he'd been shot, or been found with his head stuck in a gas-oven, it would have been another matter, because there's nothing surprising about that in these days. But a knife in the back is a very unusual thing in England. Took me back to Colombia in a flash.”
“Really,” said-Hannasyde. “Have you just come back from Colombia?”
“Oh no,” said Roger vaguely. “But I was there for a spell once. Didn't care for it, but you'd be surprised at the amount of quiet knifing that goes on. At least, it did in my day, but of course it may have changed by now.”