"But there were complications I did not foresee.
"Morley's theft and clamour for money from Miss Fulton, Withers' jealousy, and my own extra precaution of appearing with beard and gold tooth in the Brevord Hotel, so as to shift suspicion to a mysterious 'unknown' in case of necessity; all these things left too many clues, presented an embarrassment of riches.
"If I had known of them in advance, either Morley or Withers would have paid the penalty for the crime. The negro would never have received my attention.
"I have no game leg, never have had. The brace made it easy for me to transform myself into an agile, powerful man in my 'private' work.
"I have no tuberculosis, never have had. I have a normally flat chest. Sluggish veins and capillaries in my face, caused by my having suffered pathological blushing for ten years, cause a permanent flush in my cheeks.
"That was enough to fool the physicians. Besides, when the Galenites have once diagnosed your purse favourably, your disease is what you please.
"I have said my first great mistake was losing my temper with Enid Withers.
"My second was my laughter in the cab the night Braceway and I questioned Morley. I knew he was holding back something, but I never dreamed it was his knowledge of my having done the murder.
"That laugh was suicidal, for it was the disarming of myself by myself.
"But for the albino discovery by Braceway, my conviction would have been impossible. The case against Perry was too strong.