Inspector Slack, who always knew everything, kindly enlightened him. “In private life, sir, so to speak, a lady keeps to one or two distinct shades — one for evening, one for day. They know what suits them and they keep to it. But these professional girls, they have to ring a change, so to speak. They do exhibition dances, and one night it’s a tango, and the next a crinoline Victorian dance, and then a kind of Apache dance, and then just ordinary ballroom, and of course the make-up varies a good bit.”
“Good Lord,” said the colonel. “No wonder the people who turn out these creams and messes make a fortune.”
“Easy money, that’s what it is,” said Slack. “Easy money. Got to spend a bit in advertisement, of course.”
Colonel Melchett jerked his mind away from the fascinating and age-long problem of woman’s adornments. He said, “There’s still this dancing fellow. Your pigeon, superintendent.”
“I suppose so, sir.”
As they went downstairs Harper asked, “What did you think of Mr. Bartlett’s story, sir?”
“About his car? I think, Harper, that that young man wants watching. It’s a fishy story. Supposing that he did take Ruby Keene out in that car last night, after all?”
[missing text] really very little to say. She was quite a pleasant and rather stupid girl.”
“It’s her friendships we’re particularly anxious to know about. Her friendships with men.”
“So I suppose. Well, I don’t know anything. She’d got a few young men in tow in the hotel, but nothing special. You see, she was nearly always monopolized by the Jefferson family.”
“Yes, the Jefferson family.” Harper paused meditatively. He shot a shrewd glance at the young man. “What did you think of that business, Mr. Starr?”
Raymond Starr said coolly, “What business?”
Harper said, “Did you know that Mr. Jefferson was proposing to adopt Ruby Keene legally?”
This appeared to be news to Starr. He pursed up his lips and whistled. He said, “The clever little devil! Oh, well, there’s no fool like an old fool.”
“That’s how it strikes you, is it?”
“Well, what else can one say? If the old boy wanted to adopt someone, why didn’t he pick upon a girl of his own class?”
“Ruby never mentioned the matter to you?”
“No, she didn’t. I knew she was elated about something, but I didn’t know what it was.”
“And Josie?”
“Oh, I think Josie must have known what was in the wind. Probably she was the one who planned the whole thing. Josie’s no fool. She’s got a head on her, that girl.”
Harper nodded. It was Josie who had sent for Ruby Keene. Josie, no doubt, who had encouraged the intimacy. No wonder she had been upset when Ruby had failed to show up for her dance that night and Conway Jefferson had begun to panic. She was envisaging her plans going awry. He asked, “Could Ruby keep a secret, do you think?”
“As well as most. She didn’t talk about her own affairs much.”
“Did she ever say anything anything at all about some friend of hers, someone from her former life who was coming to see her or whom she had had difficulty with? You know the sort of thing I mean, no doubt.”
“I know perfectly. Well, as far as I’m aware, there was no one of the kind. Not by anything she ever said.”
“Thank you. Now will you just tell me in your own words exactly what happened last night?”
“Certainly. Ruby and I did our ten-thirty dance together.”
“No signs of anything unusual about her then?” Raymond considered. “I don’t think so. I didn’t notice what happened afterward. I had my own partners to look after. I do remember noticing she was not in the ballroom. At midnight she hadn’t turned up. I was very annoyed and went to Josie about it. Josie was playing bridge with the Jeffersons. She hadn’t any idea where Ruby was, and I think she got a bit of a jolt. I noticed her shoot a quick, anxious glance at Mr. Jefferson. I persuaded the band to play another dance and I went to the office and got them to ring up Ruby’s room. There wasn’t any answer. I went back to Josie. She suggested that Ruby was perhaps asleep in her room. Idiotic suggestion really, but it was meant for the Jeffersons, of course! She came away with me and said we’d go up together.”