“No,” replied Crewe. “The gale was blowing in from the sea, and if Grange’s hat had blown off while he was on the cliffs it would have blown inward—that is, across the downs.”
Detective Gillett nodded.
“I overlooked that point,” he said. “Have you possession of the hat now?”
“Yes. You can have it if you call for it at Sir George Granville’s, on your way to interview Grange this afternoon or to-morrow. But the Granges know that I have the hat. I went there with it just to convince myself that Grange did own it.”
“Did he admit that it was his?”
“He denied it. But he is not a good hand at dissimulation. I offered to hand over the hat to him in exchange for a truthful account of all he and his wife knew about the tragedy, but the offer was not entertained. They denied that they were there at all.”
“I’ll soon get them to alter that tune!” exclaimed the resourceful Gillett. “I will put the screw on this man in the scarlet cloak until I squeeze something out of him.”
“I am afraid you will have a slight difficulty in making Pedro reveal anything,” said Crewe. “He is deaf and dumb.”
Gillett looked somewhat confused at finding that his impetuous confidence had carried him beyond his resources.
“That is unfortunate,” he said.