“I was coming to that,” McCarty remarked. “You spoke awhile back of trouble he’d got into more than once; what sort of trouble?”
“Gambling debts and indiscreet affairs with women; upper servants like himself or the wives of upper servants. When monetary settlements were in order he came to me for an advance on his salary and that is how I learned of his difficulties.” Orbit paused and then added reflectively: “He has been in none of late, however; at least, none which required assistance from me.”
“About what hour to-night was the last time you saw him alive?”
“At a little before seven, when he laid out these clothes for me.” Orbit motioned to his attire. “Some guests were dining with me—three gentlemen, all near neighbors—and I was preoccupied but Hughes’ appearance and manner must have been quite as usual or I would have noted a change. My guests are still here.”
He paused significantly and McCarty replied directly to the hint.
“We’re sorry to keep you from them but we’ve got to know what your man was doing down in that neighborhood. You don’t know his own friends maybe, but you might know which of the servants employed by your neighbors he’s been most friendly with, and if you don’t maybe your neighbors themselves would know.”
“Really, is it as important as that?” There was still no trace of annoyance in Orbit’s voice or manner but merely a dignified protest. “You can understand that any notoriety in connection with the death of my unfortunate valet would be highly distasteful to me, and to have my friends subjected to it would be doubly so. My guests this evening are Mr. Gardner Sloane and his son, Mr. Brinsley Sloane, Second, who live across the street at Number Five, and Mr. Eustace Goddard, from Number Two, the corner house next door to me here. I have no idea whether or not Hughes was even acquainted with any of the servants in either the Sloane or Goddard households, but I will inquire.”
He rose and left the room, and the inspector turned to McCarty.
“Is all this necessary, Mac? I know I said this looked big but that was when I thought the man dead down there near the river was the millionaire Parsons. If it’s just a dissipated valet we can let it slide, at least unless the autopsy discloses foul play of some sort.”
“When you asked me if I’d seen more in this than you, inspector, I told you I’d seen the corpse,” McCarty reminded him quietly. “Now you’re asking me if it’s necessary to find out even before the autopsy who this fellow Hughes was friendly with and I’ll say it won’t do any harm, because I saw him before he was a corpse! Heart disease he may have died of, or apoplexy, but it may be a good thing for us to know what brought it on him so sudden to-night, even if he was just a valet!”