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asked who it was, and—why the devil didn’t I break his neck last night?” he finished savagely.

“You have reference to the neck of Tarneverro the Great?” Charlie inquired with interest.

“I have. He was here in this room, and said he wanted to see me. I was rather taken aback, but I told him to wait. I stood up in the tub and began a brisk rub-down—will you come with me to the bathroom, Mr. Chan?”

Surprised, Chan rose and followed.

“You will observe, Inspector, that there is a full- length mirror affixed to the bathroom door. With the door slightly ajar—like this—a person standing in the bath has a view of a portion of the bedroom—the portion which includes the desk. I was busy with my rub-down when I suddenly saw something that interested me keenly. A box of those small cigars was lying on the desk, with a few gone. I saw, in the mirror, Mr. Tarneverro walk over and help himself to a couple of them. He put them in his pocket.”

“Good,” remarked Chan calmly. “I am much obliged to the mirror.”

“At first I thought it was merely a case of petty pilfering. Nevertheless, I was deeply annoyed, and I planned to go out and order him from my room. But as I finished drying myself and got into my dressing- gown, it occurred to me that something must be in the air. I decided to say nothing, lie low, and try to find out, if possible, what the beggar was up to. I didn’t guess—I’m a bit dense, I’m afraid—it never popped into my mind that he wanted to involve me in Shelah’s murder. I knew he had no love for me, but somehow—that’s not the sort of thing——