“John!”

“Sir?”

“Is anybody near the telephone? Can anybody hear you speaking?”

“One moment, sir.”

Stapleton heard a door being quietly closed.

“Nobody can hear me now, sir.”

“Then tell me—​don’t speak loud—​did Mrs. Robertson take anything, I mean drink or eat anything, after I had gone out just now?”

There was a brief pause, then:

“Yes, sir, she drank a glass of champagne at the sideboard.”

“Was anybody with her? Or near her? Did anybody ask her if she would have a glass of wine?”