"And there are no servants here but the maid Julie?" "I have often seen others. But I fancy they do not live in the house. Madame Julie superintends and directs us always. Miss Van Allen leaves much to her. She is most capable." "When did you see this woman, this Julie, last?" "A short time before--before that happened." Luigi looked toward the body. "She was in and out of the pantries all the evening. She admitted the guests, she acted as ladies' maid, and she arranged the favors in the pie. It was, I should say, ten minutes or so since she was last in the pantry, when I peeped in at the door." "Where was Julie then?" "I don't know. I did not see her. Perhaps upstairs, or maybe in the front of the hall, waiting to bring me word to serve supper." "Tell me something distinctive about this maid's appearance. Was she good-looking?" "Yes, a good-looking woman. But nothing especial about her. She had many gold fillings in her teeth--" "That's something," and Lowney noted it with satisfaction. "Go on." But Luigi seemed to know nothing else that differentiated Julie from her sisters in service, and Lowney changed his questions. "How could Miss Van Allen get that knife of yours?" he asked. "I don't know, sir. It was, I suppose, in the pantry, with our other knives." "What is its use?" "It is a boning knife, but doubtless one of our men used it in cutting celery for salad, or some such purpose." "Ask them." Inquiry showed that a man, named Palma, had used the knife for making a salad, and had left it in the butler's pantry an hour or so before the crime was committed. Any one could have taken the knife without its being missed, as the salad had been completed and put aside. "In that case, Miss Van Allen must have secured the knife some little time before it was used, as Luigi was in the pantry just previously," observed Fenn. "That shows premeditation. It wasn't done with a weapon picked up at the moment." "Then it couldn't have been done by Miss Van Allen!" exclaimed Mrs. Reeves triumphantly, "for Vicky had no reason to premeditate killing a man she had never seen before." "Vicky didn't do it," wailed Ariadne. "I know she didn't." "She must be found," said Lowney. "But she will be found. If she's innocent, she will return herself. If guilty, we must find her. And we will. A householder cannot drop out of existence unnoticed by any one. Does she own this house?" "I think so," said Mrs. Reeves. "I'm not positive, but it's my impression that she does. Vicky Van never boasts or talks of her money or of herself. But I know she gives a good deal in charity, and is always ready to subscribe to philanthropic causes. I tell you she is not the criminal, and I don't believe she ever left this house in the middle of the night in evening dress! That child is scared to death, and is hiding--in the attic or somewhere."