“But how fascinating!”
“Oh, Lord, no,” said Mr. Fortune.
The bridge-players were getting up. Sally Winslow was announcing that she had lost all but honour. Mrs. Faulks wore a ruthless smile. Sally went off to bed.
“Oh, Mrs. Faulks,” her sister cried, “do come! Mr. Fortune is lecturing on crime.”
“Really. How very interesting,” said Mrs. Faulks, and transfixed Reggie with an icy stare.
“The perfect criminal in one lesson,” Alice Beach laughed. “I feel a frightful character already. All you want is luck, you know. Or else Mr. Fortune catches you every time.”
“I say, you know, Alice,” her husband protested.
A scream rang out. Alice stopped laughing. The little company looked at each other. “Where was that?” Tom Beach muttered.
“Not in the house, Colonel,” Faulks said. “Certainly not in the house.”
Tom Beach was making for the window when all the lights went out.