“Did Martin say that?” she asked breathlessly.
“Does it matter who said it?”
Her thin hands clasped over her breast. There was a look in her face he had never seen there before.
“But it matters a great deal if it was Martin. Were you and he long in this room together?”
“No,” she said tremulously, “only a moment, but he stayed there after the doctor came.”
Derrick’s voice, which in spite of himself had risen a little, now dropped to a more level pitch.
“And in spite of all this nothing of any importance seems to have disappeared. Even his papers were undisturbed, so it was not burglary. He had no enemies?”
“He was not that kind. All liked him who knew him.”
“And you have nothing to say or suggest as to any possible motive.”
She did not answer but seemed to withdraw lest he unearth more than she was prepared to reveal. This suggested that it was now for him to follow the trail alone—if he could.