"I don't!" declared Iris, her eyes snapping at the implication. "I was angry at my aunt. I've told you the truth about that, but I didn't kill her. Nor did her nephew. Because we are her probable heirs does not mean that we're her murderers!"
"Your protestation doesn't carry much weight," said Timken, coldly. "We're after proofs, and we'll get them yet. Mr. Bowen, will you take the stand?"
The rector somewhat ponderously acquiesced, and the coroner put some questions to him, which like the preceding queries brought little new light on the mystery.
But one statement roused a slight wave of suspicion toward Iris Clyde. This was the assertion that Mrs. Pell had said she would call her lawyer to her the next day, to change her will.
"With what intent?" asked Timken.
"She promised that she would have all her jewels set into a chalice, and present it to me for my church."
"Oh, she didn't mean that, Mr. Bowen," Iris exclaimed.
"Why didn't she? She said it, and I have no reason to think she was not sincere."
"She may have meant it when she said it," put in Lawyer Chapin, "but she was likely to change her mind before she changed her will."
"That's mere supposition on your part," objected Mr. Bowen.