The servant shook his head.
“Very few persons came in this room, sir,” volunteered Willis. “Mister Marchand had me here on secretarial duties. He occasionally conferred alone with Mister Paget or Doctor Lukens. Offhand, I can think of no one else.”
The inspector looked around the room.
“This place looks prosperous enough for a safe cracker to try it,” he announced. “I can’t see any connection between the attempted burglaries and this unfortunate accident that killed Mister Marchand. Of course, it was the telegram that brought him back.”
He slapped his hand upon the table.
“This case is obvious,” he declared. “Death by misadventure. The circumstances were very unusual. I nearly lost a good man because of it” — he indicated Cardona with his thumb — “but we were fortunate.
“Detective Cardona has full reports. Give him a complete analysis of the poison in the needle. That’s all.”
“One moment, inspector,” said Doctor Lukens. “I am speaking now as a friend of Henry Marchand — as his closest friend.
“The circumstances of his unfortunate death are, as you say, obvious. But I am extremely anxious to learn the meaning of the paper that was in the envelope. It contained a code message, I believe. Is there no way that we can decipher it?”
Detective Cardona produced the envelope. The inspector handed it to Doctor Lukens.