.

"If you please, Dr. Pateley," said his lordship.

He knelt on one side of the corpse and watched carefully while Pateley
knelt on the other side and looked at the face of the dead man. Then
he touched one of the hands and tried to move an arm. "Rigor has set
in--even to the fingers. Single bullet hole. Rather small caliber--I
should say a .28 or .34--hard to tell until I've probed out the
bullet. Looks like it went right through the heart, though. Hard to
tell about powder burns; the blood has soaked the clothing and dried.
Still, these specks ... hm-m-m. Yes. Hm-m-m."

Lord Darcy's eyes took in everything, but there was little enough to
see on the body itself. Then his eye was caught by something that gave
off a golden gleam. He stood up and walked over to the great canopied
four-poster bed, then he was on his knees again, peering under it. A
coin? No.

He picked it up carefully and looked at it. A button. Gold,
intricately engraved in an Arabesque pattern, and set in the center
with a single diamond. How long had it lain there? Where had it come
from? Not from the Count's clothing, for his buttons were smaller,
engraved with his arms, and had no gems. Had a man or a woman dropped
it? There was no way of knowing at this stage of the game.

Darcy turned to Sir Pierre. "When was this room last cleaned?"

"Last evening, your lordship," the secretary said promptly. "My lord
was always particular about that. The suite was always to be swept and
cleaned during the dinner hour."

"Then this must have rolled under the bed at some time after dinner.
Do you recognize it? The design is distinctive."

The Privy Secretary looked carefully at the button in the palm of
Lord Darcy's hand without touching it. "I ... I hesitate to say," he
said at last. "It looks like ... but I'm not sure--"

"Come, come, Chevalier! Where do you think you _might_ have seen it?
Or one like it." There was a sharpness in the tone of his voice.

"I'm not trying to conceal anything, your lordship," Sir Pierre said
with equal sharpness. "I said I was not sure. I still am not, but it
can be checked easily enough. If your lordship will permit me--" He
turned and spoke to Dr. Pateley, who was still kneeling by the body.
"May I have my lord the Count's keys, doctor?"

Pateley glanced up at Lord Darcy, who nodded silently. The physician
detached the keys from the belt and handed them to Sir Pierre.

The Privy Secretary looked at them for a moment,