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sir,’ he said, ‘as long as you did check up on him – ’
    â€˜Check up?’
    Luke sighed. ‘Neither Mr Campion nor I ever met Mr Elginbrodde. Today we questioned a man called Duds Morrison. There are five years in Morrison’s life which from our point of view are unaccounted for, and it was during those same five years that Elginbrodde met and married your daughter. I’m just making quite sure they’re not the same man.’
    Meg gaped at him. In her amazement she let the murmur of the telephone outside pass unnoticed.
    â€˜But I saw him too.’
    Luke regarded her stolidly. ‘I know you did,’ he said, and added with an irritable gesture which destroyed his official manner, ‘you’re human, aren’t you?’
    â€˜But of course.’ To everyone’s astonishment the Canon got up and, coming down the room, took his daughter’s hand. ‘Of course,’ he repeated. ‘This young man must make sure of that, Meg. Good gracious me. No good purpose is ever served by discounting the possibility of
sin
.’ He made the word sound familiar if not downright homely.
    Luke’s smile grew slowly broad and absent-mindedly he turned his thumbs up. ‘That’s all right then. You must take a squint at him yourself, sir …’
    â€˜Is there a Chief Inspector of Po-lice in there, Meg? Name of Luke?’ The bellow from the landing cut him short and sent him hurrying to the door. ‘Divisional Headquarters, urgent.’
    Everyone listened to the ensuing conversation but it was not revealing.
    â€˜Where?’ Luke demanded after a long silence, and then ‘I see. Right. I’ll come there now. No good sending a car in this fog.’
    He came striding back into the room, unusual touches of colour on his cheek-bones.
    â€˜I’m afraid it’ll have to be tonight, sir,’ he said to Avril, ‘and I’ll have to ask you to come out again too, Mr Campion, if you will. I haven’t been very bright. They’ve just picked up Duds in an alley off Crumb Street. He’s what you might call thoroughly dead by all I can hear.’
    Mr Campion sat up slowly and then rose to his feet.
    â€˜So soon?’ he murmured. ‘That’s a black mark against us, Charles. I wondered if he had it coming to him, but I didn’t envisage anything quite so – prompt.’
    â€˜Are you saying he’s been murdered?’ Meg was very pale.
    Luke smiled at her from the midst of his preoccupation. ‘He didn’t die of neglect.’
    The Canon got up. ‘We must go at once,’ he said.
    *
    As the front door closed behind the three men and its distinctive slam echoed in the apartment upstairs, Meg walked down the room and back again.
    â€˜I love Geoffrey,’ she said.
    â€˜Yes.’ Amanda did not move. Her eyes looked warm and honey-coloured in the firelight. ‘That’s obvious, if you’ll forgive my saying so. Did you quarrel this afternoon?’
    â€˜No, I tried to explain, though, which was silly. I thought I knew Geoff but I don’t, Amanda. I love him unbearably but I don’t know him at all.’ She looked so young of a sudden that the other woman glanced away.
    â€˜I don’t expect he’s very knowable at the moment,’ she observed. ‘Getting married is always rather complicating, don’t you think? I know it’s useless to say don’t worry, but I feel you must wait. Waiting is one of the great arts.’
    â€˜That awful little man on the station wasn’t Martin.’
    â€˜No, of course he wasn’t.’
    â€˜The Chief Inspector didn’t believe me.’
    â€˜Luke was mystified. When he talked to Morrison he must have decided it wasn’t blackmail. Now of course he’s furious with himself.’
    â€˜Because he didn’t guess the man was going to get killed?’
    â€˜Well,’ said Amanda, who was giving the