And
when a man has a clear conscience and twelve good men in his favor--"
The ex-inspector seized him by the arm and said:
"No fine phrases, my boy. Now, listen to me and weigh my words
carefully. You will find they are worthy of your consideration.
Now, Danegre, three weeks before the murder, you abstracted the
cook's key to the servants' door, and had a duplicate key made by a
locksmith named Outard, 244 rue Oberkampf."
"It's a lie--it's a lie!" growled Victor. "No person has seen that
key. There is no such key."
"Here it is."
After a silence, Grimaudan continued:
"You killed the countess with a knife purchased by you at the Bazar
de la Republique on the same day as you ordered the duplicate key.
It has a triangular blade with a groove running from end to end."
"That is all nonsense. You are simply guessing at something you
don't know. No one ever saw the knife."
"Here it is."
Victor Danegre recoiled. The ex-inspector continued:
"There are some spots of rust upon it. Shall I tell you how they
came there?"
"Well!....you have a key and a knife. Who can prove that they
belong to me?"
"The locksmith, and the clerk from whom you bought the knife.
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