"I probably should have if I'd remembered it," said Roydon. "And if that's all you want to know -"
"A minute ago, sir, you said you would have told me if you'd thought it had any bearing on the case."
"Well, so I should have, only it hadn't, which is probably why I forgot it," replied Roydon. "Is there anything else?"
"That'll be all for the present," said the Inspector.
Roydon walked out of the room. The young detective remarked that it looked fishy to him. "Telling lies like that, for no reason!"
"People do," said the Inspector. "Afraid of getting mixed up in things. I don't see my way yet, and that's a fact." His eye alighted on the gold cigarette-case. He picked it up. "Where's Esher taking the finger-prints?"
"In the library. The old gentleman showed him in there. Miss Dean kicked up a fuss about it. The old man had his work cut out, jollying her along. Esher ought to be about through by this time."
"We'll go and have a look," said the Inspector, moving towards the door.
He arrived in the library in time to see Mathilda submitting her well-manicured hand to the expert.
"Of course, I quite see that this will seriously cramp my style if ever I decide to take to a life of crime," she said.