"Frankly," he said, "I do not understand. Your interest in me
arises from the fact that my offices are near the scene of that
murder. Well, to begin with, what concern have you in that?"

"The murdered man," she declared thoughtfully, "was an acquaintance
of mine."

"An acquaintance of yours!" Laverick exclaimed. "Why, he has not
been identified. No one knows who he was."

She raised her eyebrows very slightly.

"Mr. Laverick," she murmured, "the newspapers do not tell you
everything. I repeat that the murdered man was an acquaintance of
mine. Only three days ago I traveled part of the way from Vienna
with him."

Laverick was intensely interested.

"You could, perhaps, throw some light, then, upon his death?"

"Perhaps I could," she answered. "I can tell you one thing, at any
rate, Mr. Laverick, if it is news to you. At the time when he was
murdered, he was carrying a very large sum of money with him. This
is a fact which has not been spoken of in the Press."

Once again Laverick was thankful for those nerves of his. He sat
quite still. His face exhibited nothing more than the blank
amazement which he certainly felt.