He turned to his diary and verified the date, and gave it to Reginald Davis. It was longer back than he thought.
"And you have not seen him since that day?"
"No," answered the Inspector. "Wait a moment till I ring up my friend Parkinson. I couldn't undertake the job he called on, as it was quite a private matter. I handed it over to Parkinson."
He rang up his old friend and former colleague. Davis could gather enough from the conversation on Bryant's side to be sure that a considerable interval had elapsed since Parkinson had seen his client.
Bryant sat down in his chair. "Mr. Davis, I cannot say how much obliged I am to you for your visit, and the information you have given me. Now, I know a great deal more than you do about the proceedings and movements of Major Murchison, I know on what business he was engaged, in addition to that little matter of your sister's. I will go into the inquiries concerning yourself, and please hold yourself at my disposal, give me an address where I can communicate with you readily."
Davis did so, and said good-bye to the Inspector.
After he had left, Bryant gave instructions he was not to be disturbed for an hour. And during that hour he did the hardest bit of thinking he had ever done in his life.
And now that Davis had mentioned it, the man did bear a superficial resemblance to Hugh Murchison.
|It was a very hard nut he had to crack. Thanks to his peculiar position, he was in possession of reliable and exclusive information from more than one quarter. He held several threads in his capable hands, but would he be able to weave them into a net wide enough for his purpose?
His recent interview with Davis had established the fact that four persons were connected with the mystery of Cathcart Square--Davis himself, Caroline Masters (the elder sister), Iris Deane (the younger sister), and, most important of all, Hugh Murchison.
He dismissed, for the moment, the first three from his mind. But Hugh Murchison, with his resemblance to Reginald Davis, was the connecting link between them and another set of actors.
Murchison had consulted him with the view of identifying Mrs. Spencer and George Dutton with the Norah and George Burton of those far-off days at Blankfield, and he had identified them as the same persons. He had then handed over the Major to the astute Parkinson, who would find out as much as he could with regard to the present relations between the precious pair.