"No," he admitted again, "he could not do that."
"Well then?" I retorted.
"Well then, the murder must have been committed by one of the inmates of the house," he said; and now I knew that I was on the point of hearing the solution of the mystery of the five diamond stars, because his thin, claw-like fingers were working with feverish rapidity upon his beloved bit of string.
"But neither Mrs. Aaron," I argued, "nor Reuben Levison——"
"Neither," he broke in decisively. "We all know that. It was not conceivable that a woman could commit such a murder, nor that Reuben would kill his mother in order to gratify his sister-in-law's whim. That, of course, was nonsense, and every proof, both of time and circumstance, both of motive and opportunity, was entirely in their favour. No. We must look for a deeper motive for the hideous crime, a stronger determination, and above all a more powerful physique and easier opportunity for carrying the plot through. Personally, I do not believe that there was a plot to murder; on the other hand, I do believe in the man who idolised his young wife, and had witnessed a deadly quarrel between her and his mother, and I do believe in his going presently to the latter in order to try to soothe her anger against the woman he loved."
"You mean," I gasped, incredulous and scornful, "that it was Aaron Levison?"
"Of course I mean that," he replied placidly. "And if you think over all the circumstances of the case you will readily agree with me. We know that Aaron Levison loved and admired his wife; we know that he was very athletic, and altogether an outdoor man. Bear these two facts in mind, and let your thoughts follow the man after the terrible quarrel at the dinner-table.
"For a while he is busy in the shop, probably brooding over his mother's anger and the unpleasant consequences it might have for the lovely Rebecca. But presently he goes upstairs determined to speak with his mother, to plead with her. Dreading that Ida Griggs, with the habit of her kind, might sneak out of her room, and perhaps glue her ear to the keyhole, he turns the key in the lock of the girl's bedroom door. He knows that the interview with his mother will be unpleasant, that hard words will be spoken against Rebecca, and these he does not wish Ida Griggs to hear.
"Then he knocks at his mother's door, and asks admittance on the pretext that he has something of value to remit to her for keeping in her safe. She would have no reason to refuse. He goes in, talks to his mother; she does not mince her words. By now she knows the diamond stars have been extracted from the safe, stolen by her beloved Reuben for the adornment of the hated daughter-in-law.
"Can't you see those two arguing over the woman whom the man loves and whom the older woman hates? Can't you see the latter using words which outrage the husband's pride and rouses his wrath till it gets beyond his control? Can't you see him in an access of unreasoning passion gripping his mother by the throat, to smother the insults hurled at his wife?—and can you see the old woman losing her balance, and hitting her head against the corner of the marble wash-stand and falling—falling—whilst the son gazes down, frantic and horror-struck at what he has done?