“Where is the wound?”
“In the back. The dagger did not touch the heart, but it grazed the spine, and there are signs that paralysis will follow, ending, of course, in death.”
“You’ve decided to take charge of the case, Nick?”
“I have.”
“Good. You have informed Inspector McLaughlin?”
“Certainly.”
“There’s nothing that I can do.”
“I think not, thank you.”
“Then I’ll get back to bed. Good luck to you, Nick. Helstone is game worthy of your skill, but you’ll bag him.”
At nine o’clock on that morning Nick was in Inspector McLaughlin’s office.