I fancy he had some ghoulish hope that the missing gentleman's head might turn up in somebody's dust-bin.
Here we are; the other man's name is Hurst.

He is apparently a cousin, and it was at his house that the missing man was last seen alive." "So you think Mr.Hurst is moving in the matter ?" said Thorndyke, when he had glanced over the report.
"That is my impression," I replied, "though I really know nothing about it." "Well," said Thorndyke, "if you should learn what is being done and should have permission to speak of it, I shall be very interested to hear how the case progresses; and if an unofficial opinion on any point would be of service, I think there would be no harm in my giving it." "It would certainly be of great value if the other parties are taking professional advice," I said; and then, after a pause, I asked: "Have you given this case much consideration ?" Thorndyke reflected.

"No," he said, "I can't say that I have.

I turned it over rather carefully when the report first appeared, and I have speculated on it occasionally since.

It is my habit, as Jervis was telling you, to utilise odd moments of leisure (such as a railway journey, for instance) by constructing theories to account for the facts of such obscure cases as have come to my notice.