Whether Fratten recognized him or not, the detective could not be certain; he did not appear to look at him, but turned away and walked off at the same pace as before. Poole gave a quick glance at his companion’s face and saw that its expression had changed slightly, from astonishment to puzzlement—there was a slight frown of thought on Inez’s brow as her eyes followed Ryland’s retreating form. Poole had to think, and decide, quickly. What was Ryland Fratten doing here? He had said that he did not know the whereabouts of “Daphne”; Inez Fratten presumably had not told him—she had said that she had not seen Ryland since she picked up Daphne’s trail. Could it be that he was in some way connected with the Victory Finance Company? If he were, it was most unlikely that his father had known about it; it was an uncomfortable thought. Should he himself follow Ryland now—Ryland, who had slipped the police that morning? It would mean losing Daphne, for the time being at any rate—unless Inez Fratten followed her alone. Poole did not like the idea; if Daphne were really the dangerous woman that Ryland’s story indicated, she was capable of playing some desperate trick on anyone who crossed her path; it was a melodramatic thought, but not entirely discountable. In the meantime Ryland Fratten was nearly out of sight; Poole was on the point of telling Inez to go home and himself following Ryland when the girl seized his arm; at the same instant footsteps in Ald House again caught his ear. A second later two people, a man and a woman, came out of the entrance and turned towards the Monument station; as they passed, the man glanced casually at Poole and Inez but took no notice of them. “That’s she!” whispered Inez excitedly. “Who’s the man?” “I don’t know.” The short glance that Poole had got at him had shown a man of rather more than medium height, well-built and carrying himself well, with an expression of strength and a close-cut moustache. The woman he had not time to observe, except that she was good-looking. Once again Poole’s mind had to work quickly. Should he follow these people and let Fratten go? He would get into trouble if the latter disappeared from the view of the police, but on the other hand he badly wanted to know, not only who “Daphne” was and where she lived, but who her companion was. His decision was helped by the fact that Ryland was no longer in sight; he would follow the pair now and keep his eyes open for Ryland. As they followed—at a very discreet distance—Poole arranged his plan of action with Inez. If, as seemed likely, Daphne and her friend took the Underground, Poole would enter the coach on one side of theirs, Inez that on the other; this would make them less conspicuous and would double the watch on their quarry.