“Who has not?” and Sheldon smiled significantly. “But I do not recall having seen you before. I am glad to meet you.”
He certainly spoke as if pleased, but his smile appeared forced and his cheeks were pale. When he extended his hand without rising, moreover, Nick detected that it was trembling slightly and then noted that it felt abnormally cold and clammy.
“I am glad to find you here,” he replied, taking a chair near the table. “You were, I am told, a friend of the late Cyrus Darling.”
“Yes, in a way,” said Sheldon, settling back in his chair and fixedly eyeing the detective.
“In a way?” echoed Nick. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that I met him only a few times,” Sheldon explained. “I called once at his residence in company with Mr. Floyd, but we did not find him at home.”
Nick could not deny that this coincided exactly with what Nancy Nordeck had told him.
“I did not know him well,” Sheldon added. “Floyd was much better acquainted with him. What about him, Mr. Carter, that you are seeking information?”
“I have been employed to do so.”
“By whom?”