"Ah!" said Ricardo, in a significant exclamation. Wethermill did
not stir. He sat still as a stone, with a face deadly white and
eyes burning upon Hanaud's face.
"But wait," said Hanaud, holding up a warning hand to Ricardo.
"Servettaz was in Chambery, where his parents live. He travelled
to Chambery by the two o'clock train yesterday. He was with them
in the afternoon. He went with them to a cafe in the evening.
Moreover, early this morning the maid, Helene Vauquier, was able
to speak a few words in answer to a question. She said Servettaz
was in Chambery. She gave his address. A telephone message was
sent to the police in that town, and Servettaz was found in bed. I
do not say that it is impossible that Servettaz was concerned in
the crime. That we shall see. But it is quite clear, I think, that
it was not he who opened the house to the murderers, for he was at
Chambery in the evening, and the murder was already discovered
here by midnight. Moreover--it is a small point--he lives, not in
the house, but over the garage in a corner of the garden. Then
besides the chauffeur there was a charwoman, a woman of Aix, who
came each morning at seven and left in the evening at seven or
eight. Sometimes she would stay later if the maid was alone in the
house, for the maid is nervous. But she left last night before
nine--there is evidence of that--and the murder did not take place
until afterwards. That is also a fact, not a conjecture. We can
leave the charwoman, who for the rest has the best of characters,
out of our calculations. There remain then, the maid, Helene
Vauquier, and"--he shrugged his shoulders--"Mlle. Celie."
Hanaud reached out for the matches and lit a cigarette.
"Let us take first the maid, Helene Vauquier. Forty years old, a
Normandy peasant woman--they are not bad people, the Normandy
peasants, monsieur--avaricious, no doubt, but on the whole honest
and most respectable. We know something of Helene Vauquier,
monsieur. See!" and he took up a sheet of paper from the table.
The paper was folded lengthwise, written upon only on the inside.
"I have some details here. Our police system is, I think, a little
more complete than yours in England. Helene Vauquier has served
Mme. Dauvray for seven years. She has been the confidential friend
rather than the maid. And mark this, M. Wethermill! During those
seven years how many opportunities has she had of conniving at
last night's crime? She was found chloroformed and bound. There is
no doubt that she was chloroformed. Upon that point Dr. Peytin is
quite, quite certain. He saw her before she recovered
consciousness. She was violently sick on awakening. She sank again
into unconsciousness. She is only now in a natural sleep. Besides
those people, there is Mlle. Celie. Of her, monsieur, nothing is
known. You yourself know nothing of her. She comes suddenly to Aix
as the companion of Mme. Dauvray--a young and pretty English girl.
How did she become the companion of Mme. Dauvray?"