le suspicion could attach to Richard Knighton。 But like all great men … and the Marquis was a great man … he had his weaknesses。 He fell genuinely in love with Miss Grey； and suspecting her liking for Derek Kettering； he could not resist the temptation to saddle him with the crime when the opportunity presented itself。 And now； Monsieur Van Aldin； I am going to tell you something very curious。 Miss Grey is not a fanciful woman by any means； yet she firmly believes that she felt your daughter's presence beside her one day in the Casino Gardens at Monte Carlo； just after she had been having a long talk with Knighton。 She was convinced； she says； that the dead woman was urgently trying to tell her something； and it suddenly came to her that what the dead woman was trying to say was that Knighton was her murderer！ The idea seemed so fantastic at the time that Miss Grey spoke of it to no one。 But she was so convinced of its truth that she acted on it … wild as it seemed。 She did not discourage Knighton's advances； and she pretended to him that she was convinced of Derek Kettering's guilt。〃
〃Extraordinary；〃 said Van Aldin。
〃Yes； it is very strange。 One cannot explain these things。 Oh； by the way； there is one little point that baffled me considerably。 Your secretary has a decided limp … the result of a wound that he received in the ost decidedly did not limp。 That was a stumbling…block。 But Miss Lenox Tamplin happened to mention one day that Knighton's limp had been a surprise to the surgeons who had been in charge of the case in her mother's hospital。 That suggested camouflage。 When I was in London I went to the surgeon in question； and I got several technical details from him which confirmed me in that belief。 I mentioned the name of that surgeon in Knight