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.
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