"That is what I intended to do, sir, if he didn't find them himself. But when I had found they had gone I didn't like to say anything to him, because, as you may say, I had no right to know anything about them."
"When did they go: when did you find they were missing?"
"When Inspector Chippenfield went out for his lunch. I looked in the desk and found they had gone."
"Who could have taken them? Who had access to the room?"
"Well, sir, Mr. Chippenfield had some visitors that morning."
"Yes. There were about a dozen newspaper reporters during the day at various times. There were Dr. Slingsby and his assistant, who came out to make the post-mortem: Inspector Seldon, who came to arrange about the inquest, and there was that man from the undertakers who came to inquire about the funeral arrangements. But none of these men were likely to take the papers, and still less to know where they were hidden. In any case, no visitor could get at the desk while Mr. Chippenfield was in the room. And he is too careful to have left any visitor alone in this room—it was here that the murder was committed."
"He left one of his visitors alone here for a few minutes," said Hill in a voice which was little more than a whisper.
"Which one?" asked Rolfe eagerly.
"A lady."
"Who was she?"