Page:The Viaduct Murder (1926).pdf/195

was close to his hand. Well, how could Davenant know all that? He had not seen Brotherhood, he had not travelled with him—how was he to know that his thoughts would instinctively turn towards that particular book? For Davenant, it's impossible. What we want to find is somebody who knew that Brotherhood would have access to that particular book at that particular moment."

"Let's have another look at the book, anyway. Carmichael said that it was obviously Brotherhood's copy, because of the queries and things in the margin, but we haven't even verified that yet."

They were met by an almost uncanny repetition of Reeves' experience two days before. He had put the paper-bound volume—he was positive that he had put it—in a particular place on his shelves. It was not there, and no amount of search in his rooms could discover it. In despair they sent for Carmichael, to know if for any reason of his own he had resumed possession of what, after all, was his book. He knew nothing of the disappearance; and was inclined to suspect deliberate theft. "You see," he said, "we never proved that it was Davenant who took away that cipher. We suspected him, of course, when we found that he had been hiding in the secret passage; the exchange of photographs can only be put down to him. But it's perfectly possible that the cipher was taken away by somebody who simply walked in at the door—somebody who is still in a position to walk in at the door and steal your books, Reeves."