Whether that possibility ever came off or not, he literally dared not regard it just then.

To put himself in safety was the one, the vital consideration.

And his Highmarket property and his share in the business only represented a part of Mallalieu's wealth.

He could afford to do without all that he left behind him; it was a lot to leave, he sighed regretfully, but he would still be a very wealthy man if he never touched a pennyworth of it again.
From the moment in which Mallalieu had discovered that Kitely knew the secret of the Wilchester affair he had prepared for eventualities, and Kitely's death had made no difference to his plans.

If one man could find all that out, he argued, half a dozen other men might find it out.
The murder of the ex-detective, indeed, had strengthened his resolve to be prepared.