"And now, considering his intense pride, as well as his affection for Howard, do you not see the motive which this seemingly good man had for putting his troublesome sister-in-law out of existence? He wanted that letter back, and to obtain it had to resort to crime. Or such is my present theory of this murder, Miss Butterworth. Does it correspond with yours?"
XXXI.
SOME FINE WORK.
"O perfectly!" I assented, with just the shade of irony necessary to rob the assertion of its mendacity. "But go on, go on. You have not begun to satisfy me yet. You did not stop with finding a motive for the crime I am sure."
"Madam, you are a female Shylock; you will have the whole of the bond or none."
"We are not here to draw comparisons," I retorted. "Keep to the subject, Mr. Gryce; keep to the subject."
He laughed; laid down the little basket he held, took it up again, and finally resumed:
"Madam, you are right; we did not stop at finding a motive. Our next step was to collect evidence directly connecting him with the crime."