It was quite a long moment before Larose spoke.
“I can give no answer off-hand,” he said slowly. He measured the distance between the settee and the fireplace with his eye, and went on. “But certainly the captain would not have been lying down here before he was attacked, for if he had been feeling chilly, as he had told them, of all places he would not have been upon this settee, so far away from the fire.”
“Quite so,” commented the inspector drily. He looked sceptical. “But, of course, if we don't believe that he was remaining on here before the fire that night because he was feeling chilly—then we surely need not bother our heads about why he was killed on this settee. He may have made an assignation with one of the females of the house, and they just happened to park themselves in th
