"Why did Mrs. Heredith give you her necklace?"
"She asked me to raise some money on it for her."
"For what purpose?"
"I cannot say. Pretty women always need money. It may have been for dress, or bridge, or old debts. She brought me the necklace one day, and asked me to get some money on it. I suggested that she should apply to her husband, but she said she needed some extra money, and she did not wish him to know."
"And you complied with her request?"
"I did, after she had pressed me several times. I am always a fool where women are concerned. I promised to raise money on the necklace in London for her. That was the beginning of my troubles. But who could have foreseen? How was I to know what was going to happen?"
He sat brooding for a space with gloomy eyes, like a man repelled by the menace of events, then burst out wildly:
"I'm in a horrible position. Who will believe me? My God, what a fool I've been!"
"You are doing yourself no good by going on like this," Colwyn said. "You are keeping something back. My advice to you is to be quite frank with me and tell me everything."
"You must give me a few minutes first to think it over," responded Nepcote. He cast a doubtful glance at the detective, and relapsed into another brooding silence.