“Why?” ventured Anthony, “do you know?”
“I am sure that she kept nothing that you could call valuable—there—in the real sense of the word—that is——” She hesitated again. “I think that she just kept private things in there. Things that she considered valuable, let us say—but that nobody else would.”
Anthony nodded. “And I think I agree with you, Miss Kerr. I think it extremely likely that she would do so.”
“Another point,” Bannister cut in, “when you went home to Otterton for your holiday the other day—were you aware then that Miss Delaney was intending to go to Seabourne?”
“No. I knew she intended going away somewhere—as my card showed you—but I didn’t know to what particular part of the world she was going. I understood when I left her here, that she didn’t know for certain, herself—that she hadn’t made up her mind. She was always inclined to leave holidays till the last minute.”
“Had Seabourne been mentioned between you?” persisted Bannister.
“To my knowledge,” she answered, “never—that is to say in connection with this last holiday of Miss Sheila’s.”
“Now think, Miss Kerr,” exclaimed the Inspector, still quietly persistent, “has anything at all unusual or abnormal happened here, lately?”
“How do you mean?” she returned.
“In any way,” he reiterated, “in the country one day is very like another—full up with the ‘trivial round and common task’—has anything happened recently to disturb this? Has anything occurred that you could call unusual?”