"Yes: Mr.. Poulton's City address!"
This was vouchsafed, and the two detectives returned to the waiting car. As it moved eastward, Grant said slowly: "It does not seem right to me that she should have gone away from her home just now, and not a word of it said to you yesterday!"
"No reason why she should have said anything to me: she isn't under suspicion. But you're quite right, Sandy: it smells remarkably fishy! She must know that husband of hers isn't by any means in the clear. Nice moment for her to be jaunting off to the country! Well, we'll see what our poker-faced friend has got to say about it."
Godfrey Poulton, at first declared by a competent secretary to be in conference, did not keep his visitors waiting long in the outer office. They were ushered in a few minutes into a large, turkey-carpeted room. Here, at a large knee-hole desk, sat Godfrey Poulton. He was speaking into one of the telephones on the desk, and merely nodded to his visitors, and made a slight gesture towards a couple of chairs. He did not show any signs of discomposure, but watched the detectives absently, while he listened to what was being said to him at the other end of the wire.
"Very well… I'm sorry: no!… I could give you -"He glanced down at the open diary before him - "twenty minutes, at 11.45 tomorrow morning… Yes? I shall expect you at that hour, then. Good-bye!" He laid down the instrument, and said: "I don't want to be disturbed until these gentlemen leave, Miss Methwold. Goodmorning, Chief Inspector! What can I do for you?"
"You can, if you will be so good, sir, tell me where I can find Lady Nest Poulton," replied Hemingway. "I understand she has gone out of town."
"Where you can find my wife?" said Poulton, an inflexion of surprise in his tone. "May I know what your business is with her? So far as I am aware, she has no possible connection with your case."
"Nevertheless, I should like her address, sir."
"I trust you will be able to manage to get on without it."
"Am I to understand that you refuse to disclose it, sir, or that you don't know what it is?" demanded Hemingway.