“No, did he? Well, evidently Tulmin didn’t think it enough.”
“What day was it Tulmin came to see you?”
“It was that same morning, February 23rd.”
“Clevedon gave Tulmin £500, which was less than Tulmin wanted, so Tulmin double-crossed Clevedon and came to you.”
“That seems like it.”
“It opens all sorts of fresh avenues,” I remarked.
“Don’t say that,” Thoyne murmured, with a groan. “I was hoping it would end the case. I never want to be mixed up in another murder mystery. It is the very deuce.”
“Suppose Clevedon, having quarrelled with Tulmin, and knowing you also had penetrated his secret—”
“Do you mean it was suicide?” Thoyne cried, his whole face lighting up. “If you could prove that I would—I would give you a cheque for ten thousand pounds. It would settle such a lot, wouldn’t it? Suicide, yes, I think after all it must be suicide.”
He gazed eagerly at my unresponsive face, then shrugged his shoulders a little angrily.