Stranger, Maddie and others in “Danse Macabre”

Miss Magellan? Stephen Claithorne. I believe you're a collector of mysteries?

What?! I'm sorry, I've only just this second woken up.

We're likely to get into all sorts of tangles if we play questions and answers. So with your permission. [He walks in] I'll just begin at the beginning.

Well before you do, if this some tale about a missing hymn book, it's a bit early...

It's murder, Miss Magellan. Cold, clinical and calculated. And it took place last night at my home in Oxfordshire. The midday papers will be full of it. What they won't explain, what no-one can explain is how the killer evaporated into thin air, right in front of everyone's eyes. Some miracles you don't want to believe in.