Alfred sat. He murmured: "Hercule Poirot. Now, who-who-?"

He passed his hand in a dazed fashion over his forehead.

Lydia Lee said: "Colonel Johnson will want to ask you a lot of questions, Alfred."

The chief constable looked at her with approval. He was thankful that Mrs. Alfred Lee was turning out to be such a sensible and competent woman.

Alfred said: "Of course. Of course . . ."

Johnson said to himself; "Shock seems to have knocked him out completely. Hope he can pull himself together a bit."

Aloud he said: "I've got a list here of everybody who was in the house tonight. Perhaps you'll tell me, Mr. Lee, if it is correct."

He made a slight gesture to Sugden and the latter pulled out his note-book and once more recited the list of names.

The businesslike procedure seemed to restore Alfred Lee to something more like his normal self. He had regained command of himself, his eyes no longer looked dazed and staring. When Sugden finished, he nodded in agreement.

"That's quite right," he said.

"Do you mind telling me a little more about your guests? Mr. and Mrs. George Lee and Mr. and Mrs. David Lee are, I gather, relatives?"

"They are my two younger brothers and their wives."

"They are staying here only?"

"Yes, they came to us for Christmas."

"Mr. Henry Lee is also a brother?"

"Yes."

"And your two other guests? Miss Estravados and Mr. Farr?"

"Miss Estravados is my niece. Mr. Farr is the son of my father's onetime partner in South Africa."

"Ah, an old friend."

Lydia intervened.

"No, actually we have never seen him before."

"I see. But you invited him to stay with you for Christmas?"

Alfred hesitated, then looked towards his wife. She said clearly: "Mr. Farr turned up quite unexpectedly yesterday. He happened to be in the neighbourhood and came to call upon my father-in-law. When my father-in-law found he was the son of his old friend and partner, he insisted on his remaining with us for Christmas."

Colonel Johnson said: "I see. That explains the household. As regards the servants, Mrs. Lee, do you consider them all trustworthy?"

Lydia considered for a moment before replying. Then she said: "Yes. I am quite sure they are all thoroughly reliable. They have mostly been with us for many years. Tressilian, the butler, has been here since my husband was a young child. The only newcomers are the betweenmaid, Joan, and the nurse-valet who attended on my father-in-law."

"What about them?"

"Joan is rather a silly little thing. That is the worst that can be said of her. I know very little about Horbury. He has been here just over a year. He was quite competent at his job and my father-in-law seemed satisfied with him."

Poirot said acutely: "But you, madame, were not so satisfied?"

Lydia shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"It was nothing to do with me."

"But you are the mistress of the house, madame. The servants are your concern?"

"Oh yes, of course. But Horbury was my father-in-law's personal attendant. He did not come under my jurisdiction."

"I see."

Colonel Johnson said: "We come now to the events of tonight. I'm afraid this will be painful for you, Mr. Lee, but I would like your account of what happened."

Alfred said in a low voice: "Of course."

Colonel Johnson said, prompting him: "When, for instance, did you last see your father?"

A slight spasm of pain crossed Alfred's face as he replied in a low voice: "It was after tea. I was with him for a short time. Finally I said good night to him and left him at-let me see-about a quarter to six."

Poirot observed: "You said good night to him? You did not then expect to see him again that evening?"

"No. My father's supper, a light meal, was always brought to him at seven. After that he sometimes went to bed early or sometimes sat up in his chair, but he did not expect to see any members of the family again unless he specially sent for them."

"Did he often send for them?"

"Sometimes. If he felt like it."

"But it was not the ordinary procedure?"

"No."

"Go on, please, Mr. Lee."

Alfred continued: "We had our dinner at eight o'clock. Dinner was over and my wife and the other ladies had gone into the drawing room." His voice faltered. His eyes began to stare again. "We were sitting there-at the table . . . Suddenly there was the most astounding noise overheard. Chairs overturning, furniture crashing, breaking glass and china, and then-Oh, God"-he shuddered-"I can hear it still-my father screamed-a horrible, long-drawn scream-the scream of a man in mortal agony. . . ."

He raised shaking hands to cover his face. Lydia stretched out her hand and touched his sleeve. Colonel Johnson said gently: "And then?"

Alfred said in a broken voice: "I think-just for a moment we were stunned. Then we sprang up and went out of the door and up the stairs to my father's room. The door was locked. We couldn't get in. It had to be broken open. Then, when we did get in, we saw-"

His voice died away.

Johnson said quickly: "There's no need to go into that part of it, Mr. Lee. To go back a little, to the time you were in the dining room. Who was there with you when you heard the cry?"

"Who was there? Why, we were all-No, let me see. My brother was there-my brother Harry."

"Nobody else?"

"No one else."

"Where were the other gentlemen?"

Alfred sighed and frowned in an effort of remembrance.

"Let me see-it seems so long ago-yes, like years-what did happen? Oh, of course, George had gone to telephone. Then we began to talk of family matters, and Stephen Farr said something about seeing we wanted to discuss things, and he took himself off. He did it very nicely and tactfully."

"And your brother David?"

Alfred frowned.

"David? Wasn't he there? No, of course, he wasn't. I don't quite know when he slipped away."

Poirot said gently: "So you had the family matters to discuss?"

"Er-yes."

"That is to say, you had matters to discuss with one member of your family?"

Lydia said: "What do you mean, M. Poirot?"

He turned quickly to her.

"Madame, your husband says that Mr. Farr left them because he saw they had affairs of the family to discuss. But it was not a conseil de famille, since M. David was not there and M. George was not there. It was, then, a discussion between two members of the family only."

Lydia said: "My brother-in-law, Harry, had been abroad for a great number of years. It was natural that he and my husband should have things to talk over."

"Ah! I see. It was like that."

She shot him a quick glance, then turned her eyes away.

Johnson said: "Well, that seems clear enough. Did you notice anyone else as you ran upstairs to your father's room?"

"I-really I don't know. I think so. We all came from different directions. But I'm afraid I didn't notice-I was so alarmed. That terrible cry . . ."

Colonel Johnson passed quickly to another subject.

"Thank you, Mr. Lee. Now, there is another point. I understand that your father had some valuable diamonds in his possession."

Alfred looked rather surprised.

"Yes," he said. "That is so."

"Where did he keep them?"

"In the safe in his room."

"Can you describe them at all?"

"They were rough diamonds-that is, uncut stones."

"Why did your father have them there?"

"It was a whim of his. They were stones he had brought with him from South Africa. He never had them cut. He just liked keeping them in his possession. As I say, it was a whim of his."

"I see," said the chief constable.

From his tone it was plain that he did not see. He went on: "Were they of much value?"

"My father estimated their value at about ten thousand pounds."

"In fact, they were very valuable stones?"

"Yes."

"It seems a curious idea to keep such stones in a bedroom safe."

Lydia interposed.

"My father-in-law, Colonel Johnson, was a somewhat curious man. His ideas were not the conventional ones. It definitely gave him pleasure to handle those stones."

"They recalled, perhaps, the past to him," said Poirot.

She gave him a quick appreciative look.

"Yes," she said. "I think they did."

"Were they insured?" asked the chief constable.

"I think not."

Johnson leaned forward. He asked quietly: "Did you know, Mr. Lee, that those stones had been stolen?"

"What?" Alfred Lee stared at him.

"Your father said nothing to you of their disappearance?"

"Not a word."

"You did not know that he had sent for Superintendent Sugden here and had reported the loss to him?"

"I hadn't the faintest idea of such a thing!"

The chief constable transferred his gaze.

"What about you, Mrs. Lee?"