Although the detective had been in London before he visited Paris, he had not sought Nan, who was in that city on the quest he had given her; just now, in talking with the chief, he half wished that he had done so.
But he was satisfied that he had not made a mistake in his conjectures concerning Juno.
She had been a dangerous woman always. According to the conversation the detective had had with Nan—always provided that this woman was the same who had once been Siren—she had begun to scatter danger around her, even when she was still a child. The peril of her propinquity had grown greater with the physical development until now even the chief of the secret police of Paris acknowledged that he had nearly been one of her victims.
While the detective was studying the chief, the chief was contemplating him. It was the latter who spoke first.
“I wish, Carter, that you would take me more into your confidence,” he said. “If I was made aware of precisely what you want, it might be that I could help you. Or, will you have a look at the dossier first?”
“The dossier, please; after that I will try to be quite frank. But, first—you assure me that this woman has no criminal record?”
“None that could be designated as such. You will discover all that when you read the dossier.”
“Will you tell me just why she has made herself so prominently a figure for the police to study?”
“Ah! That is different. ‘The Leopard’ has been what you might call ‘a near-criminal’ ever since she first came to our notice; but she has never been quite one, that we can ascertain, or prove.”