ientiously written
and left on his desk Tuesday morning:

"Peter, declaring he wanted to get at the bottom of this case, presided
almost like a judge on the bench, and asked nearly every question you
wanted the answer to. Everyone in the crowd adores gruff old Peter and
no one dreamed of resenting his barrage of questions. What a detective
_he_ would make!

"First: Janet admitted that she did not go directly to the front porch
when she left the living room after her table finished the last rubber.
Went first to the hall lavatory to comb her hair and renew her make-up.
Said she was there alone about five minutes, then went to the front
porch. (Revised her story after Tracey had said he did not see her on
the porch when he arrived.)

"Second: Judge Marshall said he glanced into the living room when he
arrived, saw Karen, Carolyn and me absorbed in our game, and went on
down the hall, to hang up his hat and stick. Proceeded immediately to
the living room.

"Third: John Drake told Peter he entered the front hall and passed on to
the lavatory to wash up. Felt sticky after his walk from the Country
Club. Hung up hat in the guest closet. Went to living room within three
minutes after reaching the house.

"Fourth: Polly and Clive told Peter they stayed together in the solarium
the whole time, stationed at a front window, watching for Ralph. When
Peter asked them if they could confirm Judge Marshall's story and Johnny
Drake's story, they said they had seen them both arrive, but had paid no
attention to them after they were in the house. It occurred to Peter,
too, to wonder if either Polly or Clive went to Nita's room to warn her
that Ralph knew about Sprague's having slept the night before in the
upstairs bedroom. They both denied emphatically that they had done so.

"Fifth: Judge Marshall--the pompous old darling--still smarting under
the insinuations you made about him and Nita right after the murder,
volunteered the information to Peter that Nita had _not_ paid her rent,
on the plea that she was short of funds, and that he had told her to let
it go until it was quite convenient.

"Sixth: The word 'blackmail' was not mentioned, and Johnny Drake,
because of professional ethics, I suppose, did not tell about Nita's two
deposits of $5,000 each in his bank.

"Seventh: The secret shelf in the foyer closet was not mentioned.

"Peter's verdict, after he got through with us, was that only Sprague
could have done it--using t