Chapter Ten

They had just re-hung the picture and were preparing to leave when the door handle was quietly turned. Immediately, they both moved to stand silently behind it, and as the door swung open, held their breath.

Anthony Chorley edged into the room.

And spun round when Jack pushed the door closed behind him.

"Mr Chorley. Just the man I wanted to see," he remarked chattily.

"Wha- what are you doing here Inspector? Phryne?" Chorley had gone a little pale, and sat down rather heavily in a threadbare armchair.

"We came to look for some letters, Chorley. We found them." If possible, Chorley went even paler.

"Don't worry, Chorley. I'm not going to arrest you for homosexuality." The young man swallowed, and recovered some of his colour. He lost it altogether with Jack's next words.

"I'm arresting you for murder."

"It was you who took Miss Fisher's gun from her bag at the ball, wasn't it? When you said you hadn't seen anyone go to our table while we were dancing – it was you yourself who'd done so. My guess is you followed us out of the ballroom and watched us come over here, then sneaked in after we left." Jack was warming to his theme now.

"It was Conway, wasn't it? Blackmailing you?"

This, at least, received a sullen nod.

Phryne picked up the tale.

"He doesn't get any kind of allowance from his father, but he likes to live the high life, so he had to find a source of funds – and decided your trust fund would be as good a source as any."

She tilted her head. "I'm guessing that, rather than be milked dry by Conway, you broke it off with Gervase?" Another sullen nod.

"But that didn't stop Conway. Even if he couldn't threaten to expose a relationship that no longer existed, he'd seen you writing the letters, and decided to get hold of those instead.

"I don't understand why you had to shoot Gervase, though."

"He wouldn't give me the letters!" shouted Chorley. "I went to him a week ago, and asked him to give them back to me, but he wouldn't tell me where they were, and he wouldn't destroy them either. He said they were all he had of me now, and that I shouldn't ask it!"

He glared at them both, with tears building in his eyes.

"What sort of love is that? How could he be so selfish?"

He wrung his hands.

"I decided the only thing to do was to show him I meant business – that I was serious. I knew Phryne often carried a gun, and it was easy to get hold of it while you were dancing. After you'd gone, I went up to Gervase's room and woke him up, and threatened him with it."

"But surely, when you shot him, you lost any chance of finding the letters?" asked Jack.

"I didn't mean to shoot him! I only meant to frighten him, and the damn thing went off!" wailed Chorley plaintively. "It wasn't my fault!"

Phryne rolled her eyes as Jack snapped on the handcuffs.

"Jack, let's take him to Rossiter at North and let him do the work of explaining whose fault it is when a gun goes off. They deserve each other. I want my revolver back, and then I'd like a drink."