“They do so, for fair.”
“We will look a little farther. You saw that I found this door unlocked?”
“Yes, I noticed that.”
“It was secured only by the latch, which can be lifted from either side. It is safe to assume, since the lock is not damaged, that the assassin found the door unlocked. Either that, or, as I have said, it was opened a little for ventilation.”
“The latter seems quite probable,” said Fallon. “It was unseasonably warm last evening.”
Nick stepped out on the veranda, instead of replying, Fallon following.
It extended from the side door, where two low steps led down to a gravel walk running out to the street. The veranda was about twelve feet in length, with a vine-covered trellis at the rear end of it, and with the outer side protected with a scroll railing.
Near the trellis stood a large willow armchair, in which Father Cleary had been accustomed to sit and read at times on warm, pleasant days.
Nick glanced in that direction and made another strange discovery.