A car was standing before Kazmah’s premises, the chauffeur walking up and down on the pavement and flapping his hands across his chest in order to restore circulation.  The Chief Inspector stopped, “Hi, my man!” he said.

The chauffeur stood still.

“Whose car?”

“Mr. Monte Irvin’s.”

Kerry turned on his heel and stepped to the office door.  It was ajar, and Kerry, taking an electric torch from his overall pocket, flashed the light upon the name-plate.  He stood for a moment, chewing and looking up the darkened stairs.  Then, torch in hand he ascended.

Kazmah’s door was closed, and the Chief Inspector rapped loudly.  It was opened at once by Sergeant Burton, and Kerry entered, followed by Coombes.

The room at first sight seemed to be extremely crowded.  Monte Irvin, very pale and haggard, sat upon the divan beside Quentin Gray.  Seton was standing near the cabinet, smoking.  These three had evidently been conversing at the time of the detective’s arrival with an alert-looking, clean-shaven man whose bag, umbrella, and silk hat stood upon one of the little inlaid tables.  Just inside the second door were Brisley and Gunn, both palpably ill at ease, and glancing at Inspector Whiteleaf, who had been interrogating them.

Kerry chewed silently for a moment, bestowing a fierce stare upon each face in turn, then: 

“Who’s in charge?” he snapped.

“I am,” replied Whiteleaf.

“Why is the lower door open?”

“I thought—­”

“Don’t think.  Shut the door.  Post your Sergeant inside.  No one is to go out.  Grab anybody who comes in.  Where’s the body?”

“This way,” said Inspector Whiteleaf hurriedly; then, over his shoulder:  “Go down to the door, Burton.”

He led Kerry towards the inner room, Coombes at his heels.  Brisley and Gunn stood aside to give them passage; Gray and Monte Irvin prepared to follow.  At the doorway Kerry turned.

“You will all be good enough to stay where you are,” he said.  He directed the aggressive stare in Seton’s direction.  “And if the gentleman smoking a cheroot is not satisfied that he has quite destroyed any clue perceptible by the sense of smell I should be glad to send out for some fireworks.”

He tossed his oilskin and his cane on the divan and went into the room of seance, savagely biting at a piece of apparently indestructible chewing-gum.

The torn green curtain had been laid aside and the electric lights turned on in the inside rooms.  Pallid, Sir Lucien Pyne lay by the ebony chair glaring horribly upward.

Always with the keen eyes glancing this way and that, Inspector Kerry crossed the little audience room and entered the enclosure contained between the two screens.  By the side of the dead man he stood, looking down silently.  Then he dropped upon one knee and peered closely into the white face.  He looked up.

“He has not been moved?”