The Red Bicycle by Fergus Hume — Read

When in the street, Craver turned over in his mind what the girl had said relative to the hint given by her father. Undoubtedly Lemby had a superlatively bad temper, and undoubtedly he had been in the house when the crime was committed. Adding to this the fact that Wyke disliked Claudia's father and had a bitter tongue, it did not seem impossible that the pirate might have struck the blow in a moment of anger. Before the arrival of the postman, and while Mrs. Vence was in the kitchen, Lemby might have slipped down from the upstairs drawing-room to commit the crime and then have slipped up again. But against this was to be placed the fact that a second visitor was not only in the house, but in the company of the baronet. Lemby could scarcely have used the knife while the other man was present. On the whole, Craver was perplexed by the situation, and wondered what he should do.

If Lemby took his daughter to Australia, Craver felt sure that he would never see her again, as he himself was unable to leave England. And Lemby, if implicated in the death of his proposed son-in-law, would certainly return to his native land to escape possible arrest. For quite ten minutes Craver stood by the Underground Station at Earl's Court considering how be act. Finally, he made up his mind as to his next step, and took a ticket to Blackfriars.