say that letter has completely disappeared? It looks bad—it looks very bad

indeed. It gives us what we’ve been looking for—a motive for the murder.”

 

I nodded.

 

“I realize that.”

 

“You say that Mr. Ackroyd hinted at a suspicion he had that some member of his

household was involved? Household’s rather an elastic term.”

 

“You don’t think that Parker himself might be the man we’re after?” I suggested.

 

“It looks very like it. He was obviously listening at the door when you came

out. Then Miss Ackroyd came across him later bent on entering the study. Say he

tried again when she was safely out of the way. He stabbed Ackroyd, locked the

door on the inside, opened the window, and got out that way, and went round to a

side door which he had previously left open. How’s that?”

 

“There’s only one thing against it,” I said slowly. “If Ackroyd went on reading

that letter as soon as I left, as he intended to do, I don’t see him continuing

to sit on here and turn things over in his mind for another hour. He’d have had

Parker in at once, accused him then and there, and there would have been a fine

old uproar. Remember, Ackroyd was a man of choleric temper.”

 

“Mightn’t have had time to go on with the letter just then,” suggested the