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Page 120
"By accident, but I'm absolutely sure of it. Listen, and you'll see I'm right. When lunch was announced, the general went out first with your aunt and Mrs. Sotheby. Then Donald, Rose-Anne, and you, in that order. I stayed just a moment to empty the ashtrays. You know your aunt can't abide the odor of stale smoke. When I was looking for dirty ashtrays, I looked at every flat surface in the drawing roomand there was no box of candy. There were briefcases and two folded newspapers that could have covered the box, but it wasn't in the open."
"I see," Peter muttered. "I see."
"Not yet, you don't. Not the whole thing. When I got to the dining room, everyone was there, but Mrs. Sotheby was just getting up to leave and you, Rose-Anne, and Donald were sitting like mummies. Mrs. Sotheby came back a minute or two after I sat down, and after waiting for someone else to be civilized, I started to make small-talk."
Peter looked a trifle conscience-stricken. "I guess Rose-Anne got to me. Sometimes she does. She has a damn good eye for a weakness, and she said something that made me lose my temper."
"Not the most stable in the world," Linda said, grinning at him. "It was fairly obvious. Anyway, I was happy as a clam with the topic I chose at the moment, but like a clam I couldn't see far enough. You see, Donald and Rose-Anne both went out to get papers

 
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