"Good Heavens!" he exclaimed, with a start, "where did you get that?"
The result of my sudden move was all I could have desired. Leroy's calm was shaken at last; his interest was aroused, and the strange expression that showed on his saturnine face proved that he was greatly agitated at the sight of that key. It seemed to me that fear possessed him, or that at any rate he was startled by some unpleasant thought.
The District Attorney, who had been apprised by the Coroner of my tracing of the key, turned to Leroy with a hint of accusation in his manner.
"You recognize that key, Mr. Leroy?" he said.
"I do," returned Leroy, and though he spoke in quiet tones, he had difficulty in concealing his agitation.
"Is it yours?"
"It is not mine, but it was in my possession."
"Whose is it?"
"It belongs to Mrs. Altonstall, a client of mine. She gave it to me, to get some papers for her from a safety deposit box."
"And you lost it?"