Stephen's eyes went swiftly to the door leading into the bathroom. It stood ajar, and a light showed beyond it. He walked into the room. A bath had been prepared for Nathaniel; his towels were laid over the hot rail; the bathmat had been spread on the floor. The door was locked, and only the ventilator above the casement window was open.
"That door's locked too," Stephen said, returning to the bedroom. "Work that out, if you can!"
"The door locked?"Joseph said blankly. "Are you sure, Stephen?"
"Of course I'm sure!"
Ford came back into the room. "The doctor will be round immediately, sir. And Miss Paula's coming up, sir. I couldn't stop her. Well, I didn't rightly know what to say, Mr. Joseph."
"Stephen, this is no sight for a woman!" Joseph exclaimed. "She mustn't come in!"
Stephen threw him a contemptuous glance, and made no movement to intercept his sister's entrance.
Paula came in in her usual tempestuous way, saying: "What is it? Why don't you come down? What is all the mystery?"
"That will be a puzzle for the police," replied Stephen.
She saw Nathaniel's body, and her eyes narrowed. She stood staring down at it for a moment, growing a little pale, and then asked in a tight voice: "Is he dead?"