itely's
will. I quite accept all that you say about it. You, as a lawyer, know
very well that whatever I asked Miss Pett this morning was asked in the
interests of my client. No--you can put the will away as far as I'm
concerned. You've assured me that Miss Pett is as yet in ignorance of
its contents, and--I take your word. I think, however, that Miss Pett
won't be exactly surprised."

"Oh, I daresay my aunt has a pretty good idea, Mr. Brereton," agreed
Pett, who having offered the will to both Bent and the superintendent,
only to meet with a polite refusal from each, now put it back in his
bag. "We all of us have some little idea which quarter the wind's in,
you know, sir, in these cases. Of course, Kitely, deceased, had no
relatives, Mr. Brereton: in fact, so far as Miss Pett and self are
aware, beyond ourselves, he'd no friends."

"I was going to ask you a somewhat pertinent question, Mr. Pett," said
Brereton. "Quite an informal one, you know. Do you think he had any
enemies?"

Pett put his long white fingers together and inclined his head to one
side. His slit of a mouth opened slightly, and his queer teeth showed
themselves in a sly grin.

"Just so!" he said. "Of course, I take your meaning, Mr. Brereton.
Naturally, you'd think that a man of his profession would make enemies.
No doubt there must be a good many persons who'd have been glad--had he
still been alive--to have had their knives into him. Oh, yes!
But--unfortunately, I don't know of 'em, sir."

"Never heard him speak of anybody who was likely to cherish revenge,
eh?" asked Brereton.

"Never, sir! Kitely, deceased," remarked Pett, meditatively, "was not
given to talking of his professional achievements. I happen to know that
he was concerned in some important cases in his time--but he rarely, if
ever, mentioned them to me. In fact, I may say, gentlemen," he continued
in a palpable burst of confidence, "I may say, between ourselves, that
I'd had the honour of Mr. K.'s acquaintance for some time before ever I
knew what his line of business had been! Fact!"

"A close man, eh?" asked Brereton.

"One of the very closest," replied Pett. "Yes, you may say that, sir."

"Not likely to let things out, I suppose?" continued Brereton.

"Not he! He was a regular old steel trap, Kitely was--shut tight!" said
Pett.

"And--I suppose you've no theory, no idea of your own about his murder?"
asked Brereton, who was watching the little man closely. "Have you
fo