Cards On The Table Part 14

"Will those do? They're the best I can think of on the spur of the moment."

Battle read carefully, nodded his head in satisfaction and put the sheet of paper away in an inner pocket.

"It's just a question of elimination," he said. "The sooner I can get one person eliminated and go on to the next, the better it is for every one concerned. I've got to make perfectly certain that you weren't on bad terms with the late Mr. Shaitana, that you had no private connections or business dealings with him, that there was no question of his having injured you at any time and your bearing resentment. I may believe you when you say you only knew him slightly--but it isn't a question of my belief. I've got to say I've made sure."

"Oh, I understand perfectly. You've got to think everybody's a liar till he's proved he's speaking the truth. Here are my keys, superintendent. That's the drawers of the desk--that's the bureau--that little one's the key of the poison cupboard. Be sure you lock it up again. Perhaps I'd better just have a word with my secretary."

He pressed a b.u.t.ton on his desk.

Almost immediately the door opened and a competent-looking young woman appeared.

"You rang, doctor?"

"This is Miss Burgess--Superintendent Battle from Scotland Yard."

Miss Burgess turned a cool gaze on Battle. It seemed to say:

"Dear me, what sort of an animal is this?"

"I should be glad, Miss Burgess, ffyou will answer any questions Superinten dent Battle may put to you, and give him any help he may need."

"Certainly, if you say so, doctor."

"Well," said Roberts, rising, "I'll be off. Did you put the morphia in my case?

I shall need it for the Lockheart case."

He bustled out, still talking, and Miss Burgess followed him.

She returned a minute or two later to say: "Will you press that b.u.t.ton when you want me, Superintendent Battle?"

Superintendent Battle thanked her and said he would do so. Then he set to

work.

His search was careful and methodical, though he had no great hopes of

finding anything of importance Roberts' ready acquiescence dispelled the chance

of that. Roberts was no fool. He would realise that a search would be bound to

come md he would make provisions accordingly There was, however, a faint

chanfe that Battle might come across a hint of the information he was really after,

sincRoberts would not know the real object of his search.

Superintendent Battle opened and shut drawers, rifled pigeon-holes, glanced

through a cheque-book, estimated the unpaid bills--noted what those same bills

were for, scrutinised Roberts' pa.s.s-book, ran through his case notes and generally left no written doc.u.ment unturned. The result was meagre in the extreme He next

took a look through the poison cupboard, noted the wholesale firms with which the

doctor dealt, and the system of checking, relocked the cupboard and pa.s.sed on to

the bureau. The contents of the latter were'of a more personal nature, but Battle

found nothing germane to his search. He shook his head, sat down in the doctor's

chair and pressed the desk b.u.t.ton.

Miss Burgess appeared with commendable prompt.i.tude.

Superintendent Battle asked her politely to be seated and then sat studying

her for a moment, before he decided which way to tackle her. He had sensed

immediately her hostility and he was uncertain whether to provoke her into

unguarded speech by increasing that hostility or whether to try a softer method of

approach.

"I suppose you know what all this is about, Miss Burgess?" he said at last.

"Dr. Roberts told me," said Miss Burgess shortly.

"The whole thing's rather delicate," said Superintendent Battle

"Is it?" said Miss Burgess.

"Well, it's rather a nasty business. Four people are under suspicion and one of

them must have done it. What I want to know is whether you've ever seen this Mr.

Shaitana?"

"Never."

"Ever heard Dr. Roberts speak of him?"

"Never--no, I am wrong. About a week ago Dr. Roberts told me to enter up a

dinner appointment in his engagement-book. Mr. Shaitana, 8:15, on the 18th."

"And that is the first you ever heard of this Mr. Shaitana?"

"Yes."

"Never seen his name in the papers? He was often in the fas.h.i.+onable news."

"I've got better things to do than reading the fas.h.i.+onable news."

"I expect you have. Oh, I expect you have," said the superintendent mildly.

"Well,' he went on. "There it is. All four of these people will only admit to