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body of the murdered woman lay crumpled on the floor. It was a chilling vision, one that said a great deal about Grove's nerve. She swallowed hard.
    "I spent the remainder of the night and the early hours of this morning talking to servants, carriage drivers and ..." He hesitated, as though choosing his words carefully. ".. . others who make their living on the streets near Delmont's house. Among other things I was able to verify Mrs. Delmont's housekeeper was busy attending her daughter, who was in the process of giving birth last night. Her alibi is unshakable. That left me with your name, Mrs. Fordyce."
    "No wonder you look so weary," she said quietly. "You have been up all night."
    He absently rubbed his stubbled jaw and grimaced. "My apologies for my appearance."
    "It is hardly a matter of importance, given the circumstances." She hesitated. "So you came here today with the intention of confronting me in this alarming manner. Your goal was to frighten me and thereby trick me into revealing some dreadful conspiracy, wasn't it?"
    He shoved a hand through his short, dark hair, showing no sign of remorse. "That was more or less my plan, yes" Uneasily aware that he might not have abandoned the
    notion entirely, she searched her brain for other possible suspects.
    "Perhaps Mrs. Delmont was the victim of a burglar who attacked her after he broke into the house," she suggested.
    "I searched the place from top to bottom. There was no evidence that the doors or windows had been forced. It appeared that she had let the killer in "
    The offhand manner in which he delivered that information deepened her sense of unease. "You certainly made a number of close observations last night, Mr. Grove. One would have thought that the proximity of a savagely murdered woman would have made it difficult to think and act so methodically and logically."
    "Unfortunately, it appears that I did not make any especially useful observations," he said. He went toward the door with a purposeful stride. "I have wasted your time and my own. I would take it as a great favor if you would refrain from discussing this conversation with anyone else."
    She did not respond to that.
    He stopped, one hand on the doorknob, and looked at her. "Well, Mrs. Fordyce? Can I depend upon you to keep our discussion confidential?"
    She braced herself. "That depends, sir."
    He was cynically amused. "Of course. You no doubt wish to be compensated for your silence. Name your price, Mrs. Fordyce."
    Another flash of anger crackled through her. "You can-not buy my silence, Mr. Grove. I do not want your money. What concerns me is the safety and security of my aunts and myself. If any one of us is placed in danger of arrest be-cause of your actions, I shall not hesitate to give the police your name and tell them every detail of this discussion."
    "I doubt very much that the police will give you any trouble. As you suggested, they will likely conclude that Mrs. Delmont was murdered by a burglar and that will be the end of it"
    "How can you be sure of that?"
    "Because that is the simplest answer, and the officers of the law are known to prefer that sort of explanation."
    "What if they find the list of sitters and proceed to make them all suspects, as you did, sir?"
    He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "They won't find the list."
    She stared at the paper. "You took it?"
    "I am quite certain that none of the names on this list would be of any practical use to the police."
    "I see." She did not know what to say.
    "Speaking of names," he said rather casually. "I should tell you that it would not do you any good to give mine to the police."
    "Why?" she asked coldly. "Because a gentleman of your obvious wealth and position does not need to worry overmuch about answering questions from the police?"
    "No one is above the law. But that is not the reason why f advised you not to give them my name." His mouth curved in a cryptic smile. "The problem is that Mr. Grove