«Tell me about the inquest,» said Wimsey.
Parker obliged with a summary of the evidence.
«Do you believe the body could have been concealed in the flat after all?» he asked. «I know we looked, but I suppose we might have missed something.»
«We might. But Sugg looked as well.»
«Sugg!»
«You do Sugg an injustice,» said Lord Peter; «if there had been any signs of Thipps's complicity in the crime, Sugg would have found them.»
«Why?»
«Why? Because he was looking for them. He's like your commentators on Galatians. He thinks that either Thipps, or Gladys Horrocks, or Gladys Horrocks's young man did it. Therefore he found marks on the window sill where Gladys Horrocks's young man might have come in or handed something in to Gladys Horrocks. He didn't find any signs on the roof, because he wasn't looking for them.»
«But he went over the roof before me.»
«Yes, but only in order to prove that there were no marks there. He reasons like this: Gladys Horrocks's young man is a glazier. Glaziers come on ladders. Glaziers have ready access to ladders. Therefore Gladys Horrocks's young man had ready access to a ladder. Therefore Gladys Horrocks's young man came on a ladder. Therefore there will be marks on the window sill and none on the roof. Therefore he finds marks on the window sill but none on the roof. He finds no marks on the ground, but he thinks he would have found them if the yard didn't happen to be paved with asphalt. Similarly, he thinks Mr. Thipps may have concealed the body in the box-room or elsewhere. Therefore you may be sure he searched the box-room and all the other places for signs of occupation. If they had been there he would have found them, because he was looking for them. Therefore, if he didn't find them it's because they weren't there.»