“Oh yes,” replied Mangane. “That was about a finance company he thought of going into—he was looking into its dealings to see if it was sound. I don’t quite know why he wanted to go into it—beneath his notice I should have thought. There may have been some personal reason, of course. I shouldn’t have said he was particularly worried about it—he was interested, certainly—he always was in anything he took up.”
Poole nodded.
“What was the company?”
“The Victory Finance Company—quite a small affair, as those things go nowadays.”
“Did you come across the papers when you went through with Mr. Hessel and Mr. Menticle?”
“Oh yes, they were all there—with his notes.”
“Could I see them?”
“I should think so—but you’d have to ask Hessel—he’s got the keys.”
The detective nodded and rose to his feet.
“Now if I could just see the butler for a minute,” he said, “and then perhaps Miss Fratten . . .” He slurred the sentence off; it was better not to let Mangane know about his allowing the girl to talk to her brother first.