‘What is it, doctor?’ ‘I met a man this evening – just as I was turning out of the gate. He asked me the way to Fernly Park.’ ‘What time would that be?’ ‘Just nine o’clock. I heard it chime the hour as I was turning out of the gate.’ ‘Can you describe him?’ I did so to the best of my ability.
The inspector turned to the butler.
‘Anyone answering that description come to the front door?’ ‘No, sir. No one has been to the house at all this evening.’ ‘What about the back?’ ‘I don’t think so, sir, but I’ll make inquiries.’ He moved towards the door, but the inspector held up a large hand.
‘No, thanks. I’ll do my own inquiring. But first of all I want to fix the times a little more clearly. When was Mr Ackroyd last seen alive?’ ‘Probably by me,’ I said, ‘when I left at – let me see about ten minutes to nine. He told me that he didn’t wish to be disturbed, and I repeated the order to Parker.’ ‘Just so, sir,’ said Parker respectfully.
‘Mr Ackroyd was certainly alive at half-past nine,’ put in Raymond, ‘for I heard his voice in here talking.’ ‘Who was he talking to?’ ‘That I don’t know. Of course, at the time I took it for granted that it was Dr Sheppard who was with him. I wanted to ask him a question about some papers I was engaged upon, but when I heard the voices I-remembered that he had said he wanted to talk to Dr Sheppard without being disturbed, and I went away again. But now it seems that the doctor had already left?’ I nodded.
‘I was at home by a quarter past nine,’ I said. ‘I didn’t go out again until I received the telephone call.’ ‘Who could have been with him at half-past nine?’ queried the inspector. ‘It wasn’t you, Mr – er ‘ ‘Major Blunt,’ I said.
‘Major Hector Blunt?’ asked the inspector, a respectful tone creeping into his voice.
Blunt merely jerked his head affirmatively.
‘I think we’ve seen you down here before, sir,’ said the inspector. ‘I didn’t recognize you for the moment, but you were staying with Mr Ackroyd a year ago last May.’ ‘June,’ corrected Blunt.
‘Just so, June it was. Now, as I was saying, it wasn’t you with Mr Ackroyd at nine-thirty this evening?’ Blunt shook his head.
‘Never saw him after dinner,’ he volunteered.
The inspector turned once more to Raymond.
‘You didn’t overhear any of the conversation going on, did you, sir?’ ‘I did catch just a fragment of it,’ said the secretary, ‘and, supposing as I did that it was Dr Sheppard who was with Mr Ackroyd, that fragment struck me as distinctly odd. As far as I can remember, the exact words were these. Mr Ackroyd was speaking. “The calls on my purse have been so frequent of late” – that is what he was saying – “of late, that I fear it is impossible for me to accede to your request…” I went away again at once, of course, so I did not hear any more. But I rather wondered because Dr Sheppard ‘ ‘ – Does not ask for loans for himself or subscriptions for others,’ I finished.
‘A demand for money,’ said the inspector musingly. ‘It may be that here we have a very important clue.’ He turned to the butler. ‘You say, Parker, that nobody was admitted by the front door this evening?’ ‘That’s what I say, sir.’ ‘Then it seems almost certain that Mr Ackroyd himself must have admitted this stranger. But I don’t quite see ‘ The inspector went into a kind of day-dream for some minutes.
‘One thing’s clear,’ he said at length, rousing himself from his absorption, ‘Mr Ackroyd was alive and well at nine-thirty.
That is the last moment at which he is known to have been alive.’ Parker gave vent to an apologetic cough which brought the inspector’s eyes on him at once.
‘Well?’ he said sharply.
‘If you’ll excuse me, sir. Miss Flora saw him after that.’ ‘Miss Flora?’ ‘Yes, sir. About a quarter to ten that would be. It was after that that she told me Mr Ackroyd wasn’t to be disturbed again tonight.’ ‘Did he send her to you with that message?’ ‘Not exactly, sir. I was bringing a tray with soda and whisky when Miss Flora, who was just coming out of this room, stopped me and said her uncle didn’t want to be disturbed.’ The inspector looked at the butler with rather closer attention than he had bestowed on him up to now.