that were so—which I don’t admit for a moment—what motive was there for killing her?”
Inspector Marriot coughed.
“It’s not a very pleasant thing to say, sir. But Captain Hale has been paying a lot of attention to a certain young American lady of late—a young lady with a considerable amount of money. If Lady Merivale liked to turn nasty, she could probably stop his marriage.”
“This is outrageous, Inspector.”
Sir Arthur sprang angrily to his feet. The other calmed him with a soothing gesture.
“I beg your pardon, I’m sure, Sir Arthur. You say that you and Captain Hale both decided to attend this show. Your wife was away on a visit at the time, and you had no idea that she was to be there?”
“Not the least idea.”
“Just show him that advertisement you told me about, Mrs. Beresford.”
Tuppence complied.
“That seems to me clear enough. It was inserted by Captain Hale to catch your wife’s eye. They had already arranged to meet there. But you only made up your mind to go the day before, hence it was necessary to warn her. That is the explanation of the phrase ‘Necessary to finesse the King.’ You ordered your costume from a theatrical firm at the last minute, but Captain Hale’s was a home made affair. He went as the Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper.