It was Furneaux who put the question, and Theydon was genuinely astonished.
"Do you mean—" he began, but Furneaux laughed, almost savagely.
"I mean Mrs. Lester's flat," he said. "The poor woman's body is at the mortuary. If you come with us we can reconstruct the crime. It occurred about this very hour if the doctor's calculations are well founded."
Theydon rose.
"I shall be most—interested," he said. "By the way, Mr. Furneaux, yours is a French name. Are you a Frenchman, may I ask?"
"A Jersey man. You think I am adopting some of the methods of the French juge d'instruction, eh?"
"No. I cannot bring myself to believe that you regard me as a murderer."
The three passed out into the hall. Mr. and Mrs. Bates immediately showed scared faces at the kitchen door.
"It's all right, Bates," said Theydon airily. "I'm not a prisoner. I'll be with you again in a few minutes."
But Bates was profoundly disturbed.