"He said Farrell had requested him to call. He was going to give him a tip for a little flutter in the mining market."
"Is it known where Farrell went that afternoon?"
"I see you think the doctor's explanation thin, just as I did. Farrell told his partner that he had an appointment with Miss Lester; Miss Lester says there was no appointment. Naturally I at once speculated whether Farrell and Morrison had met later in the afternoon. I followed that trail every inch of the way. The doctor was poor and somewhat in debt, and—"
"And Farrell, who died by poison, which is significant, was his rival?" I said.
"I thought of all that," Southey returned. "Fortunately for him the doctor could account for every hour of his time. Of course, the man in the street was suspicious of him—is still, perhaps, to some extent, but it hasn't prevented his getting on. He married Ruth Lester, and I hear is getting a good practise together."
"What conclusion did you come to?"
"I am inclined to think there was some international reason at the back of the mystery, some difficulty with a foreign government, it may be. If Farrell had become mixed up in such an affair suicide might be the way out. I suggested this to Mr. Delverton, and he did not scout it as altogether a ridiculous idea. These foreign bankers are sometimes very much behind the scenes in European politics."
"Do you know whether the invalid brother was at the office that day?" I asked.
"He was not. He was quite incapacitated at the time."
I hunted up one or two points which occurred to me, and then went to
Austin Friars to call upon Mr. Delverton.