He was thinking, as he spoke, of his rabbits, and wondering whether his wife would remember to give the lop-eared doe with the litter a little milk in the course of the morning.
"It's a very sad case," said Captain Stanhill.

"Poor young thing!" The Chief Constable was a human being before he was a police official, and his face showed plainly that he was stricken with horror by the story of the crime.
"It's a damned remarkable case," exclaimed Merrington, in his booming voice.

"I do not remember its parallel.

An English lady is murdered in her home, with a crowd of people sitting at dinner in the room underneath, and the murderer gets clean away, without leaving a trace.
No weapon, no finger-prints or footprints, and no clue of any kind." Caldew had been hoping to get an opportunity of telling Merrington privately about the missing trinket, but he realized that he was not doing his duty by delaying the explanation.
"There was something which might have helped us as a clue," he said.
"Last night, while I was examining Mrs.Heredith's bedroom, I saw a small trinket lying on the floor near the bedside." "What sort of a trinket ?" asked Merrington.
"A small bar brooch." "Where is it ?" "I do not know," replied Caldew awkwardly.

"I left it where I saw it, hidden in the carpet, thinking it possible that the person who had lost it might return in search of it, but while I was downstairs it disappeared." "It is rather strange," said Merrington thoughtfully.