The following day was a Sunday, but on Monday morning Poole reported again to Sir Leward and the latter, after hearing what he had to say, decided that the time had come to call Chief Inspector Barrod into their councils. Barrod listened with attention to the précis of the case given by Poole, but showed no sign of making any amends for his former scepticism. “Yes, sir,” he said, “you’ve got the motive all right; you’ve probably got the murderer; but have you got the murder?” Sir Leward looked at Poole. The latter nodded. “I agree,” he said, “that’s the missing link up to date. So far there is nothing to prove that a murder has been committed.” “And how are you going to prove it?” “In the first place, we ought to have a look at the body.” “Exhumation?” “That’s it, sir.” “Do you agree, Barrod?” asked Sir Leward, turning to the Chief Inspector, who had remained silent. “If you want to go any further, sir, yes.” Marradine was not quite so sure now that he did want to go further; the chances of “seeing more of” Inez Fratten, under favourable conditions, whilst pursuing her brother for murder, were hardly promising. Still, he had gone too far now to turn back. “Very well,” he said, “get an exhumation order and let me have the surgeon’s report as soon as possible.” “What about re-burial, sir? If it’s to be done without attracting attention it’ll be much better to do it straight-a-way—that is to say, if you decide not to proceed with the case. On the other hand, if you do proceed, there’ll have to be an inquest and, if it’s not too far gone, the jury’ll have to view the body. In that case it had better come straight up to the mortuary here.” “Well,” said Sir Leward testily, “what do you suggest, Barrod?” “Either that you come to Woking yourself, sir, and have the preliminary examination there—in which case, if there’s nothing you can give the order for the re-burial on the spot; or else that you authorize me to take the decision in the same way.” “But I don’t know that there need necessarily be visible signs on the body, even if a murder has been committed. The cause of death was the rupture of an artery due to shock—the shock need not necessarily have left marks.” “I think you’ll find it difficult, sir, to persuade a coroner’s jury, let alone a petty jury, to bring in a verdict of murder if there aren’t any marks. Personally I don’t see how your murderer could count on death ensuing from a mere push—there must have been a blow—and if there was a blow, there must be a mark.”