"
"Richard Fleming?" gasped the Doctor in tones of incredulous
horror.
"Shot and killed from that staircase," said Miss Cornelia tonelessly.
The detective demurred.
"Shot and killed, anyhow," he said in accents of significant
omission.
The Doctor knelt beside the huddle on the floor. He removed the
fold of the raincoat that covered the face of the corpse and stared
at the dead, blank mask. Till a moment ago, even at the height of
his irritation with Bailey, he had been blithe and offhand--a man
who seemed comparatively young for his years. Now Age seemed to
fall upon him, suddenly, like a gray, clinging dust--he looked
stricken and feeble under the impact of this unexpected shock.
"Shot and killed from that stairway," he repeated dully. He rose
from his knees and glanced at the fatal stairs.
"What was Richard Fleming doing in this house at this hour?" he
said.
He spoke to Miss Cornelia but Anderson answered the question.
"That's what I'm trying to find out," he said with a saturnine smile.
The Doctor gave him a look of astonished inquiry. Miss Cornelia
remembered her manners.
"Doctor, this is Mr. Anderson."
"Headquarters," said Anderson tersely, shaking hands.
It was Lizzie's turn to play her part in the tangled game of mutual
suspicion that by now made each member of the party at Cedarcrest
watch every other member with nervous distrust. She crossed to her
mistress on tiptoe.
"Don't you let him fool you with any of that moth business!" she
said in a thrilling whisper, jerking her thumb in the direction of
the Doctor.
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