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thoughtfully.
    â€œYou got the story of this séance business from the young lady?” he asked.
    â€œYes”
    â€œIs she... is she loopy?” asked the officer in an impatient tone.
    â€œNot in the least. She’s a very sensible and charming young woman, in my opinion,” replied Vereker with emphasis.
    â€œIf they’re charming, they’re always sensible, with most young men,” commented Heather and asked: “but you don’t think this spirit business had anything to do with Thurlow’s disappearance and murder?”
    â€œI’m not going to express any rash opinions at this stage, Heather. Miss Thurlow has asked me to come and see her, if I want to ask her any further questions. I’d like to get a little more information about this spirit manifestation. As you know, I’ve always been rather interested in the subject.”
    â€œGod bless my soul, I’d forgotten that! Does the young lady call herself a medium by any chance?” 
    â€œI’m not certain. She impresses me as a genuine psychic, if there is such a thing, and I can only presume there is from what I’ve read.”
    â€œYou mean Psyche, I suppose. This is a bad beginning, Mr. Vereker. I don’t know what’s the matter with the younger generation. A sensible man like you—apart from your painting—paying any heed to this kind of bugaboo! That’s the word, pure bugaboo! Really, really, it’s too bad!”
    â€œHave you ever been to a séance with a genuine medium, Heather?”
    â€œYes, but it’s many years ago now.”
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œWe arrested the genuine medium. You’ve heard of the Farrow case?”
    â€œI’ve read of it. Spiritualists say it was a disgraceful business on the part of the police.”
    â€œThat may be their opinion. I simply did my duty. Still, it’s no use discussing that affair now. It doesn’t affect the present case.”
    â€œAnd you’re no wiser on the subject to-day?”
    â€œI wouldn’t say that, but I can’t for the life of me see what this séance business has to do with Mr. Thurlow’s disappearance and murder. What connection do you see?”
    â€œNone at present, but I feel that Miss Thurlow thinks there is, and I’m going to keep it in mind.”
    â€œHave you managed to get in touch with Miss Dawn Garford?”
    â€œNo. She left Yarham on the morning of Tuesday, the very morning that Miss Thurlow discovered that her uncle had vanished. She has gone down to stay with friends at Midhurst, in Sussex.”
    â€œThat sounds more significant to me than raising spooks,” commented Heather. “Do you know anything more about this Miss Garford?”
    â€œVery little. Village gossip says she’s in the habit of exceeding the speed limit. In a little place like Yarham, gossip’s guarded. A wink says what it’s unsafe to say. The worst of it is, you can’t translate winks explicitly.”
    â€œJust so. How is she fixed financially?”
    â€œHer late husband left her enough to live on.”
    â€œI thought you said she was Miss Garford.”
    â€œThat’s how she’s known in Yarham. Her married name is Mrs. Button.”
    â€œWhy didn’t you tell me she was a widow? It’s most important. They never hesitate to employ bodyline stuff to pull off an important match. How did she get on with the old boy’s niece?”
    â€œIt seems they were quite good friends.”
    â€œWould her marriage to Thurlow have had any financial effect on the niece?”
    â€œI can’t tell you definitely. The rector, who was very friendly with the dead man, tells me that, by his will, Thurlow had left everything he possessed to his niece. His marriage might have altered that considerably.”
    â€œAlmost a certainty. To put the matter very bluntly, by her uncle’s sudden death, Miss Eileen bags the