The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

won't go down so well with the old boy. So it's Ruby's business to keep that dark. Josie doesn't know much about the girl, anyway not about her friends and all that. But one thing she wouldn't stand for Ruby's messing up things by carrying on with some undesirable fellow. So it stands to reason that Ruby who, as I see it, was a sly little piece, would keep very dark about seeing any old friend. She wouldn't let on to Josie anything about it; otherwise Josie would say, 'No, you don't, my girl.' But you know what girls are especially young ones always ready to make a fool of themselves over a tough guy. Ruby wants to see him. He comes down here, cuts up rough about the whole business and wrings her neck.”
    “I expect you're right Slack,” said Colonel Melchett, disguising his usual repugnance for the unpleasant way Slack had of putting things. “If so, we ought to be able to discover this tough friend's identity fairly easily.”
    “You leave it to me, sir,” said Slack with his usual confidence. “I'll get hold of this Lil girl at that Palais de Danse place and turn her right inside out. We'll soon get at the truth.”
    Colonel Melchett wondered if they would. Slack's energy and activity always made him feel tired.
    “There's one other person you might be able to get a tip from, sir,” went on Slack. “And that's the dance-and-tennis-pro fellow. He must have seen a lot of her, and he'd know more than Josie would. Likely enough she'd loosen her tongue a bit to him.”
    “I have already discussed that point with Superintendent Harper.”
    “Good, sir. I've done the chambermaids pretty thoroughly. They don't know a thing. Looked down on these two, as far as I can make out. Scamped the service as much as they dared. Chambermaid was in here last at seven o'clock last night, when she turned down the bed and drew the curtains and cleared up a bit. There's a bathroom next door, if you'd like to see it.”
    The bathroom was situated between Ruby's room and the slightly larger room occupied by Josie. It was unilluminating. Colonel Melchett silently marvelled at the amount of aids to beauty that women could use. Rows of jars of face cream, cleansing cream, vanishing cream, skin-feeding cream. Boxes of different shades of powder. An untidy heap of every variety of lipstick. Hair lotions and brightening applications. Eyelash black, mascara, blue stain for under the eyes, at least twelve different shades of nail varnish, face tissues, bits of cotton wool, dirty powder puffs. Bottles of lotions - astringent, tonic, soothing, and so on.
    “Do you mean to say,” he murmured feebly, “that women use all these things?” Inspector Slack, who always knew everything, kindly enlightened him.
    “In private life, sir, so to speak, a lady keeps to one or two distinct shades - one for evening, one for day. They know what suits them and they keep to it. But these professional girls, they have to ring a change, so to speak. They do exhibition dances, and one night it's a tango, and the next a crinoline Victorian dance, and then a kind of Apache dance, and then just ordinary ballroom, and of course the make-up varies a good bit.”
    “Good Lord,” said the colonel. “No wonder the people who turn out these creams and messes make a fortune.”
    “Easy money, that's what it is,” said Slack. “Easy money. Got to spend a bit in advertisement, of course.”
    Colonel Melchett jerked his mind away from the fascinating and age-long problem of woman's adornments.
    He said, “There's still this dancing fellow. Your pigeon, superintendent.”
    “I suppose so, sir.”
    As they went downstairs Harper asked, “What did you think of Mr Bartlett's story, sir?”
    “About his car? I think, Harper, that that young man wants watching. It's a fishy story. Supposing that he did take Ruby Keene out in that car last night, after all?”

The Body in the Library

Chapter 10
    Inspector Harper's attitude was calm and pleasing. This affairs where the