"Well, Rolfe," said Inspector Chippenfield, when his subordinate
reappeared, "you've been long enough to have unearthed the criminal or
revived the corpse. Have you discovered anything fresh?"
"Only this," replied Rolfe, displaying the piece of handkerchief.
The find startled Inspector Chippenfield out of his air of bantering
superiority.
"Where did you get that?" he stammered, as he reached out eagerly for it.
"The dead man had it clenched in his right hand. I wondered if he had
anything hidden in his hand when I saw it so tightly clenched. I tried to
force open the fingers and that fell out."
Inspector Chippenfield was by no means pleased at his subordinate's
discovery of what promised to be an important clue, especially after the
clue had been missed by himself. But he congratulated Rolfe in a tone of
fictitious heartiness.
"Well done, Rolfe!" he exclaimed. "You are coming on. Anyone can see that
you've the makings of a good detective."
Rolfe could afford to ignore the sting contained in such faint praise.
"What do you make of it?" he asked.
"Looks as though there is a woman in it," said the inspector, who was
still examining the scrap of lace and muslin.
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