Chapter 19
The camel bells were back on the wall. The front door stood open to the night, throwing a hard electric glare across the damp shrubs outside. Men with heavy boots tramped on the wooden stairs. Down the road there were lights and voices and men moving around, the white explosions of flash bulbs, a jam of official cars, and the morgue ambulance. There was a cordon across the road, and beyond it a surprising number of people who had followed the sirens up from the main road.
In the living room Edmond Clive sat in the one big chair, smoking. He had his hat pushed back and one leg hung comfortably over the chair arm. Lieutenant Gaines leaned on the edge of a table, looking sullen, suspicious, and annoyed.
"All right," he said, "it all checks, and I suppose it's a clear case of sel
