«That's a wonderful instrument,» said Parker.
«It ain't so bad,» said Lord Peter, «but Scarlatti wants a harpsichord. Piano's too modern — all thrills and overtones. No good for our job, Parker. Have you come to any conclusion?»
«The man in the bath,» said Parker, methodically, «was not a well-off man careful of his personal appearance. He was a labouring man, unemployed, but who had only recently lost his employment. He had been tramping about looking for a job when he met with his end. Somebody killed him and washed him and scented him and shaved him in order to disguise him, and put him into Thipps's bath without leaving a trace. Conclusion: the murderer was a powerful man, since he killed him with a single blow on the neck, a man of cool head and masterly intellect, since he did all that ghastly business without leaving a mark, a man of wealth and refinement, since he had all the apparatus of an elegant toilet handy, and a man of bizarre, and almost perverted imagination, as is shown in the two horrible touches of putting the body in the bath and of adorning it with a pair of pince-nez.»
«He is a poet of crime,» said Wimsey. «By the way, your difficulty about the pince-nez is cleared up. Obviously, the pince-nez never belonged to the body.»
«That only makes a fresh puzzle. One can't suppose the murderer left them in that obliging manner as a clue to his own identity.»
«We can hardly suppose that; I'm afraid this man possessed what most criminals lack — a sense of humour.»
«Rather macabre humour.»
«True. But a man who can afford to be humourous at all in such circumstances is a terrible fellow. I wonder what he did with the body between the murder and depositing it chez Thipps. Then there are more questions. How did he get it there? And why? Was it brought in at the door, as Sugg of our heart suggests? or through the window, as we think, on the not very adequate testimony of a smudge on the window-sill? Had the murderer accomplices? Is little Thipps really in it, or the girl? It don't do to put the notion out of court merely because Sugg inclines to it. Even idiots occasionally speak the truth accidentally. If not, why was Thipps selected for such an abominable practical joke? Has anybody got a grudge against Thipps? Who are the people in the other flats? We must find out that. Does Thipps play the piano at midnight over their heads or damage the reputation of the staircase by bringing home dubiously respectable ladies? Are there unsuccessful architects thirsting for his blood? Damn it all, Parker, there must be a motive somewhere. Can't have a crime without a motive, you know.»
«A madman — » suggested Parker, doubtfully.
«With a deuced lot of method in his madness. He hasn't made a mistake — not one, unless leaving hairs in the corpse's mouth can be called a mistake. Well, anyhow, it's not Levy — you're right there. I say, old thing, neither your man nor mine has left much clue to go upon, has he? And there don't seem to be any motives knockin' about, either. And we seem to be two suits of clothes short in last night's work. Sir Reuben makes tracks without so much as a fig-leaf, and a mysterious individual turns up with a pince-nez, which is quite useless for purposes of decency. Dash it all! If only I had some good excuse for takin' up this body case officially — »