A clue that is now much easier to guess than it was in 1916 when it was written, I guess, because of the great number of crime fiction that we can find on screen or in books.
In a way this book is the famous case of the murders in the room locked from the inside :-)
Remington Kara is a very rich and very evil greek man, very powerful in Albania too. John Lexman is a crime novels writer married to Grace, who once refused Kara, and he hates her for this. Kara doesn't love her, he hates her because she dared refuse him, she was the only thing that he could not have when he wanted it. He plots to have John kill a man and have him arrested. John thought it was self-defence, but no proof is found so he's sent to prison. Only after some months policemen T.X. (Thomas Xavier) Meredith and Mansus finally find that proof indispensable to free John.
Knowing about this, vengeaful Kara prevents it arranging for John's escape, taking him and Grace to his place in Albania where he abandons the 'friend-mask' and reveals himself to Lexman for what he is. He keeps them prisoners (John and his wife), separated, torturing them psychologically even more than physically. Back to England, one night he's found dead, killed, in his own room locked-bolted from the inside. Only clue: two candles on the floor.
Obviously there is also a girl, brave and pretty: Belinda Mary Bartholomew, who worked for Kara under the name of Miss Holland to retrieve a precious object of her mother. Found out, she was locked in a cell by him. She managed to escape, but only after having killed with a pair of scissors a dog that was terrorizing Grace. John thought she was dead, but Kara wanted to torture them forever, so he lied.
T.X. and Belinda fall in love, of course.
At the end it's John himself to admit he killed Kara, disguised as another man , a man Kara was waiting for, to have access to his room, then used the candles to bolt the door after he was gone.
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