"The professor had his say. All the others together or apart — said the same. At first, that was. But later on, I got one man by himself."
"Who was that?"
"Benjamin Castelle, a big-money man. His name's on the list. You've got to figure this, commissioner. All those folks believe in spooks except Castelle."
"Ah! He is a skeptic?"
"Well, he thinks the professor is pretty much of a square shooter. Castelle says he's heard him tell some mighty remarkable things.
"But when it comes to ghosts slinging daggers, Castelle draws the line. He saw something there to-night that none of the rest of them noticed."
"At the time of the murder?" asked Weston.
"No. Before. I told you that there were twelve in the room, including the dead man. Well, Castelle tells me that there were thirteen!"
"He is sure of it?" The commissioner showed his interest.
"He counted them. The time the lights came on," Cardona went on. "He said the place seemed really spooky, after they heard the first laugh. He's a bit superstitious, Castelle is. He was looking around, and just naturally he counted noses. Thirteen there — something he swears he is right about."