"Do not put too great a strain upon yourself. Leave it to those
who will come to the matter with all their wits and without your
personal sorrow. An independent inquirer is certainly best, one
who, as you say, knows nothing about the former case."

"I don't know where to begin thinking," repeated the other. "Such
a thing upsets one's preconceived opinions. I had always regarded
my aversion to this room as a human weakness--a thing to be
conquered. Look round you. Would it be possible to imagine an
apartment with less of evil suggestion?"

The other made a perfunctory examination, went into every corner,
tapped the walls and stared at the ceiling. The clean morning
light showed its intricate pattern of interwoven circles
converging from the walls to the centre, and so creating a sense
of a lofty dome instead of a flat surface. In the centre was a
boss of a conventional lily flower opening its petals.

"The room should not be touched till after the inquest, I think.
Indeed, if I may advise, you will do well to leave it just as it
is for the police to see."

"They will want to see it, I imagine?"

"Unless you communicate direct with Scotland Yard, ask for a special
inquiry, and beg that the local men are not employed. There is
reason in that, for it is quite certain that nobody here would be
of any greater use to you than they were before."

"Act for me then, please. Explain that money is no object, and