'I saw no reason not to,' I replied. 'She's pretty sensual, but that's no reason why she shouldn't really have been in love with Stelben.'
He gave a cynical laugh. 'That woman in love! She's never loved any one but herself. She's clever and she can handle men. She's twisted you round her little finger, Neil.'
'Don't be ridiculous,' I said angrily. 'It's a perfectly reasonable story.'
'Reasonable!' He laughed outright. 'It's about as reasonable as a tiger migrating to the Antarctic. What use would that woman have for a secluded villa on top of Col da Varda? She has two interests only in life — and money is the chief one. The trouble with you, Neil, is that you know nothing about women and are as gullible as any man I have ever met.'
I shrugged my shoulders. 'Have it your own way,' I said. 'But do you expect me to have second sight? How should I know whether she's telling the truth or not? Suppose you give me all the information you have about these people. Then I'd have something to go on.'
He smiled. 'All right, Neil — a fair point. That's Carla and Valdini. What about Keramikos?'
I told him what Keramikos had said of Mayne, of the meeting in the slittovia machine-room and how the Greek had denied that he had searched my room.
'Anything on Mayne?' he asked after that.
'Only what Keramikos told me, and then that ski trip yesterday.'
He considered for a moment. 'You haven't done badly at all, Neil,' he said with a sudden friendly smile. Again he paused. Then he said, 'Suppose it was Mayne who searched your room that night? Would that have given him grounds for wanting to get rid of you?'