“I’m not crazy! But you’re blind. I tell you, Rick, the detectives do suspect Miss Prall,—I heard them tell mother so,—and you must wake up and look into things.”
“I should say so!” Bates seemed to get awake all at once. “You heard this, Dorcas? I’m glad you told me. Go home, dear, and I’ll look up Gibbs or Corson at once!”
CHAPTER XII
One Woman and Another
Bates’ search for Gibbs or Corson resulted in finding the former in the rooms of the late Sir Herbert Binney. Peters was also there, packing up the personal effects of the dead man preparatory to vacating the apartment.
As sole heir, Bates was in authority regarding these effects, but he had paid little attention to them beyond giving orders to have them packed and stored for the present.
“Thought I’d dig around a bit,” Gibbs vouchsafed, “but there’s no indicative evidence that I can find. No papers of an incriminating sort, no sign of any special woman friend—or feminine enemy, for that matter.”
“Never mind generalities or suppositions. Look here, Mr Gibbs, what about my aunt’s connection with this matter?”
Gibbs looked up quickly. “Just what do you mean by that?”