"If that is true it is the Richards family who have thrown the suspicion around me."
"Then they must have had a purpose?"
"Certainly."
"And you know their purpose?"
"It is in line with what I have told you."
"Since you are the baron, so-called, I will make an admission to you. You must not think that I knew you were the baron when we accidentally became acquainted, but now that I know you are I can tell you a great deal. Amalie Speir's mother suspects that you had something to do with the girl's disappearance."
Wagner was thoughtful for a long time before he answered, and then he said:
"It's not strange that the girl's mother should suspect me."
"It is not strange?"
"No."