“Sincere, why, yes, I grant you; but surely not very frank. However, I will force you to give a plain reply—yes or no, do you believe Tom Bob is the murderer?”
M. Havard coughed again; it was evidently a chronic complaint, this cough of his! Finally, sinking back in discouragement on the cushions and nervously cracking his finger joints, he confessed in a dubious voice:
“Believe! what do I believe?... well, I just make guesses, Monsieur le Ministre.”
“But, my dear man, you told me yourself ...” then breaking off again, the Minister started afresh.
“Come, tell me the exact particulars—I have so much business on my mind there are times when I cannot trust my own memory—tell me the precise results of your investigations. You were saying that yesterday ...”
This time, when it became a question of setting out the results of a police investigation, without deducing the consequences, without drawing any compromising conclusion, M. Havard recovered all his usual coolness, all the peremptory tone of authority that was habitual with him. So it was with perfect lucidity, with the strictest logical precision, he now answered the Minister.
“My investigation has established nothing absolutely definite. All it justifies us in doing is to specify certain facts, relevant facts I admit, but in no way conclusive.”
“And these facts are?...”
“These facts are as follows: Yesterday, the Grand Duchess Alexandra gave a ball, a costume ball. At this costume ball were several ‘Fantômas.’ How many, precisely, it is impossible, sir, for me to inform you; I have not been able to ascertain the number. On more than one occasion, this is certain, two masked figures, two ‘Fantômas’ were seen talking together, which would go to prove there were two ‘Fantômas’; but after all, this is not positively certain, for because two men in black cowls have been seen, it obviously does not follow there were no others elsewhere in the rooms....”
“But why this hypothesis?”