‘Then they are probably still there.’
He turned to Captain Maitland and his usually gentle face grew hard and stern.
‘There must be no question of hushing this story up, Captain Maitland. The one thing necessary is for this man to be caught and punished.’
‘You believe it actually is Mrs Leidner’s former husband?’ I asked.
‘Don’t you think so, nurse?’ asked Captain Maitland.
‘Well, I think it is open to doubt,’ I said hesitatingly.
‘In any case,’ said Dr Leidner, ‘the man is a murderer—and I should say a dangerous lunatic also. He must be found, Captain Maitland. He must. It should not be difficult.’
Dr Reilly said slowly: ‘It may be more difficult than you think…eh, Maitland?’
Captain Maitland tugged at his moustache without replying.
Suddenly I gave a start.
‘Excuse me,’ I said, ‘but there’s something perhaps I ought to mention.’
I told my story of the Iraqi we had seen trying to peer through the window, and of how I had seen him hanging about the place two days ago trying to pump Father Lavigny.
‘Good,’ said Captain Maitland, ‘we’ll make a note of that. It will be something for the police to go on. The man may have some connection with the case.’
‘Probably paid to act as a spy,’ I suggested. ‘To find out when the coast was clear.’
Dr Reilly rubbed his nose with a harassed gesture.
‘That’s the devil of it,’ he said. ‘Supposing the coast wasn’t clear—eh?’
I stared at him in a puzzled fashion.
Captain Maitland turned to Dr Leidner.
‘I want you to listen to me very carefully, Leidner. This is a review of the evidence we’ve got up to date. After lunch, which was served at twelve o’clock and was over by five and twenty to one, your wife went to her room accompanied by Nurse Leatheran, who settled her comfortably. You yourself went up to the roof, where you spent the next two hours, is that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you come down from the roof at all during that time?’
‘No.’
‘Did anyone come up to you?’
‘Yes, Emmott did pretty frequently. He went to and fro between me and the boy, who was washing pottery down below.’
‘Did you yourself look over into the courtyard at all?’
‘Once or twice—usually to call to Emmott about something.’
‘On each occasion the boy was sitting in the middle of the courtyard washing pots?’
‘Yes.’
‘What was the longest period of time when Emmott was with you and absent from the courtyard?’
Dr Leidner considered.
‘It’s difficult to say—perhaps ten minutes. Personally I should say two or three minutes, but I know by experience that my sense of time is not very good when I am absorbed and interested in what I am doing.’
Captain Maitland looked at Dr Reilly. The latter nodded. ‘We’d better get down to it,’ he said.
Captain Maitland took out a small notebook and opened it.
‘Look here, Leidner, I’m going to read to you exactly what every member of your expedition was doing between one and two this afternoon.’
‘But surely—’
‘Wait. You’ll see what I’m driving at in a minute. First Mr and Mrs Mercado. Mr Mercado says he was working in his laboratory. Mrs Mercado says she was in her bedroom shampooing her hair. Miss Johnson says she was in the living-room taking impressions of cylinder seals. Mr Reiter says he was in the dark-room developing plates. Father Lavigny says he was working in his bedroom. As to the two remaining members of the expedition, Carey and Coleman, the former was up on the dig and Coleman was in Hassanieh. So much for the members of the expedition. Now for the servants. The cook—your Indian chap—was sitting immediately outside the archway chatting to the guard and plucking a couple of fowls. Ibrahim and Mansur, the house-boys, joined him there at about 1.15. They both remained there laughing and talking until 2.30—by which time your wife was already dead.’
Dr Leidner leaned forward.
‘I don’t understand—you puzzle me. What are you hinting at?’
‘Is there any means of access to your wife’s room except by the door into the courtyard?’
‘No. There are two windows, but they are heavily barred—and besides, I think they were shut.’