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Renine brought down his hand on Dutreuil's shoulder: "No more talk! Facts! Gaston Dutreuil, you are the only person who on that day knew two essential things: first, that Cousin Guillaume had sixty thousand francs in his house; secondly, that Jacques Aubrieux was not going out. You at once saw your chance. The motor-cycle was available. You slipped out during the performance. You went to Suresnes.
How could one imagine that a thief would leave sixty thousand francs in an open cardboard box, in which he places his hat when he comes in, with an absent-minded air? That's just the one place we don't look in.... Well played, M. Dutreuil!" The inspector, who remained incredulous, repeated: "No, no, impossible! We were with him and he could not have started the fire himself."
"I will be calm," she said, with a pitiable air. "And confident?" "And confident." "Well, wait for me. I shall be back in two hours from now. Will you come with us, M. Dutreuil?" As they were stepping into his car, he asked the young man: "Do you know any small, unfrequented restaurant, not too far inside Paris?"
Gaston Dutreuil could not help laughing: "But that's absurd! I should have found them!" "Did you look for them?" "No. But I should have come across them at any moment. The place isn't big enough to swing a cat in. Would you care to see it?" "However small it may be, it's large enough to hold sixty bits of paper." "Of course, everything is possible," said Dutreuil.
"To hide the proceeds of his theft, the sixty bank-notes." "How do you mean? Where?" "In a flat of which he had the key, on the fifth floor." Gaston Dutreuil exclaimed, in amazement: "But there's only one flat on the fifth floor and that's the one I live in!" "Exactly; and, as you were at the cinema with Madame Aubrieux and her mother, advantage was taken of your absence...." "Impossible!
Then he took from an inner pocket of his waistcoat a bundle of bank-notes and selected six, which he burnt almost completely, arranging the remains and hiding the rest of the notes at the bottom of the box, among the ashes and the blackened bits of paper: "M. Morisseau," he said, when he had done, "I am asking for your assistance for the last time. Go and fetch Dutreuil.
Renine said: "Since you want specific details, we will get them from Madame Aubrieux herself. She's on the telephone. Let's go downstairs. We shall know all about it in a minute." Dutreuil shrugged his shoulders: "As you please; but what a waste of time!" He seemed greatly irritated. His long wait at the window, under a blazing sun, had thrown him into a sweat.
But he felt tired and told him that he would not go out. So he remained here all day." "Alone?" "Yes. The two servants were out. I went to the Cinema des Ternes with my mother and our friend Dutreuil. In the evening, we learnt that M. Guillaume had been murdered. Next morning, Jacques was arrested." "On what evidence?"
You dare to suggest that!" Renine still made no reply. Dutreuil flew into a rage and, taking Inspector Morisseau aside, exclaimed: "Mr. Inspector, I strongly protest against all this farce and against the part which you are unconsciously playing in it.
For the moment, I want you to give me some very important particulars. On the day of the murder, did Gaston Dutreuil come to your house?" "Yes, he came to fetch my daughter and myself, after lunch." "Did he know at the time that M. Guillaume had sixty thousand francs at his place?" "Yes, I told him."
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