He got up and walked away from them without waiting for a reply.
Westenhanger looked across at Eileen and was puzzled by the distress which he still found in her face.
“That little beast will make trouble unless he gets his way. Miss Cressage, I think I’ll have to attend his proposed inquest myself. It seems to be the occasion where an impartial and disinterested person might be useful.”
Eileen glanced at his face for a moment. He was relieved to find that she met his eye squarely and showed no signs of flinching.
“I think that would be a good plan, Mr. Westenhanger.”
“Well, I suppose we shall have to go through with it if he gets his way. And he’s pretty sure to arrange it, you know. That suggestion that it will look black if anyone refuses is pretty sure to rake in most of them, and the rest can’t stand out after that, even if they wished to.”
Chapter VI
“Now,” said Freddie Stickney, “I think we can begin.”
He had been as good as his word. Each guest had been approached by him apart from the rest; and the appropriate hint, insinuation, or appeal, had been skilfully employed. They had all come, willingly or not, and Freddie had them at his mercy. His beady little eyes, bright as those of a mouse, glanced from face to face in an attempt to read the expressions. Already, he judged, most of them were uncomfortable; and the production of discomfort was Freddie’s strong card. He cleared his throat gently in preparation for his opening statement of the case as he saw it; but just at that moment the door clicked and Westenhanger stepped into the room.
“Look here, Westenhanger, you can’t come in just now,” protested Freddie, who augured little good from the engineer’s presence. “This is a private affair.”