Mr. White recovered his placidity. “There’s no use quarrelling about it,” he laughed. “I did get that wrinkle from you. But how on earth were we to know what to do, when there were seventy-one flats occupied by respectable people, and one closed for months, the caretaker told us.”
“I hope you have ceased your surveillance so far as I am concerned.”
“Honor bright, sir. I won’t do it again. Besides, we must lay hands on Corbett sooner or later.”
“What steps are you taking?”
“The Monte Carlo police are making inquiries. They have his description. It has also gone to America.”
“Why America?”
“Because he spent some time there. He only returned from the States early last year. His sister has not seen him for years, and a rare old row they had when he turned up. He had not much money, so she helped him, and he settled down for a time in the same mansions as herself.”
“Who told you all this?”
“Mrs. Hillmer, and a precious lot of trouble she gave me. She is a clever woman that.”
“It was rather too bad to pester her about it, poor lady.”