“I didn’t know such a woman existed,” she whispered. “Till a minute ago she thought that Martin was a free man and innocent.”
He shook his head. “Free, perhaps, but not innocent. It was obvious from what little I got out of her this afternoon that she was doing all she could to divert suspicion to Blunt, without actually accusing him. She was afraid of Blunt and wanted to get rid of him.”
“But why save Martin at the expense of Blunt?”
“That I can’t say.”
“But the only evidence you have against Martin is that the creese was found hidden in his cottage wrapped up in his clothing?”
“Yes.”
“Could that be called final and sufficient? Could he be convicted on that?”
“It’s enough to start with and puts it up to him to disprove his guilt, and he can’t do that without telling the whole story.”
Edith was unconverted. “He actually left that thing, which may be enough to condemn him, hidden in an old shirt where any one could have found it. That doesn’t seem likely, does it?”
“Perhaps not, but there it was.”