“I shall never want it again,” said Bruce, and his voice was harsh and cold, for he had seldom experienced such a strain as the last hours had given him. “It is an accursed thing. It has caused one death already, and may cause others.”
“I sincerely hope it will cause a man to be hanged,” cried the detective, “for this affair is the warmest I have ever tackled. However, I’ll get him, as sure as his name’s Corbett, if he has forty aliases and as many addresses.”
Smith let Mr. White out. The latter, halting for a moment at the door, said quietly, “Is your name Corbett?”
“No, it ain’t, any more than yours is Black. See?”
Each man thought he had had his joke, so they were better friends thenceforth, but Mr. White was thoughtful as he passed into the street.
“This is a funny business,” he communed. “There isn’t enough evidence against Corbett to hang a cat, yet I think he’s the man. And Bruce is a queer chap. Was he cut up about me finding the letter, or has he got some notion in his head. He’s as close as an oyster. I wonder if he did dine at Hampstead on the evening of the murder, as he said at the inquest? I must inquire into it.”