“Very well,” said the Russian. “I shall be content with second-hand information and guesswork, since you will not oblige. Now, Miss Breese and gentlemen, we must first enter into the motives that prompted the first of Mr. Rice’s crimes. It is my guess that Mr. Rice deserted you, Mr. Breese, during the unpleasantness of the divorce trial at his own suggestion. He suggested to you that if he became Mrs. Breese’s business adviser, he could keep an eye out for your interests. He might even be able to patch up your domestic differences. Am I right?” “Yes,” said Breese, staring incredulously at Rice while he answered. “He did suggest just that.” “His real reason, of course,” continued the Russian, “was to get his hands on Mrs. Breese’s extensive properties. Mr. Rice was a promoter by trade and a soldier of fortune by inclination. We must go deeply into his character to understand and appreciate his motives. Until the time he met you in Paris, Mr. Breese, he had led a hand to mouth existence. Association with you helped him float a few ventures, some of them successful, some of them failures. His ambition was boundless.” “You asked him to Riga. It is my theory, Mr. Rice, that you were acquainted with the Baron Peter Setovski before you met him in Riga on the occasion of the marriage of my friend, the Count, to Miss Breese. I cannot prove it. It is my guess that the Baron knew of some disreputable incident--one of many--in your past, and threatened to expose you to Mr. Breese. You took an effective way out, and my friend, the Count, was implicated. This is only a theory. I cannot prove it. Perhaps you care to comment, Mr. Rice?” But the promoter looked disdainfully at him and said nothing. “Very well,” the Russian shrugged his shoulders. “We leave theory and proceed to facts. For a long time I was led astray in this case by a series of suspicious circumstances that signified nothing. It so happens that any human being is capable of murder under certain circumstances. Otherwise, no murder would remain unsolved. All murderers would be labelled, or even licensed. But I joke. It is in bad taste. “In this case, we were faced with the problem of a very unusual woman. She had been separated from her husband, and attached herself to a worthless young man who has not been even faithful to her. It was only natural that suspicion should seek out these two. Mr. Smith chose one suspect. And I the other. “I say nothing of my friend, the Count. He managed to confuse us for but an instant with his confession. He, too, suspected the elder Breese and sought to protect the father of the girl he loves.