“I didn’t know of the existence of these letters when I came down here, and the problem is one that requires thinking out. It may be that they will give us a clue to the whole mystery. As far as I can see at present, three things may have happened to them.”
He turned from Lord Ledbury to me as he went on.
“Weathered may have kept them in the same safe with his case-book. In that case the person who opened the safe and carried off the book ought to have found the letters as well. But according to my present theory the person who took the book was the wearer of this costume—” he pointed to the dress in front of us. “In other words, he or she was Lady Violet’s friend. And if her friend had found any such documents he would have destroyed them and let her know at once. In my opinion, therefore, either he overlooked them, or they were kept in some more secret receptacle.”
As Tarleton seemed to expect my opinion I nodded in confirmation. I could have sworn that the safe contained no such correspondence, but that, of course, I dared not tell him.
“The next person who seems to have had access to the safe,” said the consultant, “was Weathered’s step-daughter. And if he had some other hiding-place in the house she is the most likely person to have known of it, and to have opened it since his death. Her mother, no doubt, would have a better right to examine her husband’s papers, but she impressed me as a weak woman, very much in her daughter’s hands. We have to face the possibility that Lady Violet’s letters have been found by a young woman of very determined character who has actually denounced her ladyship to Dr. Cassilis and myself as guilty of this man’s death.”
The Earl showed himself greatly shaken.
“But this is terrible. You, sir, and you”—he appealed to each of us in turn—“don’t believe anything so hideous.”
“Not for one moment.” It was my chief who answered. “Our presence here is the best proof of that. We found ourselves accused by this young woman of hushing up the case and screening the criminal, and we came down to obtain proof of Lady Violet’s absence from the scene of the crime. You have nothing to fear on that score, I hope and believe. You can trust us both not to let anyone know of the admission Lady Violet has just made to you that she lent her costume to someone else.”
“To the actual murderer, do you mean?” the father gasped.
“Not necessarily. That point is still in doubt. As I have said, the crime may have been committed by a woman—or a man—who had been driven to desperation. I should be glad to think so, and to think that he or she had seized the secret correspondence.”