He had accepted Detective Ferguson's statement
that he had removed the envelope from the safe, and therefore had
never looked in the compartment where Helen had put it to verify its
disappearance.
Ferguson had removed it, Kent concluded as he examined the envelope
with more care; it was the identical one, unaddressed, with the same
red seal holding down the flap. The same red seal, but with a
difference - a corner was missing.
Kent stared at the seal for a moment in doubt, then his fingers
sought his vest pocket and fumbled about for a minute. Taking out
Mrs. Brewster's check, he laid it on the desk alongside the envelope,
unfolded it, and picked out a piece of red sealing wax which had slid
inside the check. Kent placed the red wax on the broken section of
the seal - it fitted exactly, forming a perfect letter "B."
Kent sat in dumbfounded silence, regarding the red seal and the
envelope. The piece of wax broken off from the seal had caught on
his coat sleeve when he had been in the Venetian casket in the
library at the McIntyre house.
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