"Perhaps the Senora is after Whitney, while
her son is after Inez. Lockwood seems to be impervious to her.
Yes, I'll undertake that commission for you, only I can't promise
what success I'll have."
Kennedy restored the shoe-prints to the drawer.
"I think that's gratifying progress," went on Norton. "First we
know who stole the dagger. We know that the dagger killed Mendoza.
You have even determined what the poison on the blade was. It
seems to me that it remains only to determine who struck the
actual blow. I tell you, Kennedy, Whitney will regret the day that
he ever threw me over on so trivial a pretext."
Norton was pacing up and down excitedly now.
"My only fear is," he went on, "what the shock of such a thing
will be on that poor little girl. First her father, then Lockwood.
Why--the blow will be terrible. You must be careful, Kennedy."
"Never fear about that," reassured Craig. "Not a word of this has
been breathed to her yet. We are a long way from fixing the guilt
of the murder; inference is one thing, fact another. We must have
facts. And the facts I want, which you may be able to get, relate
to the strange actions of the de Moches."
Norton scanned Kennedy's face for some hint of what was back of
the remark.
Pages:
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176