“He had to reach the Gleason apartment soon after Buddy left,” Phyllis mused, thinking it out. “Well, Manning, I’m convinced of Buddy’s innocence. My boy can’t lie to me! I know him too well. He is worried and anxious about the suspicions that may attach to him, but he’s absolutely innocent of crime, aren’t you, dear?”
And Louis looked into his sister’s face, and quietly replied, “Yes, Phyllis,” and she believed him.
“Now,” she said, “I’m going to free Phil Barry.”
“You!” exclaimed Pollard. “Are you going to turn detective?”
“I’m going to help the detectives work,” she declared. “Or, rather, I’m going to get a detective that can work. I don’t think much of what has been accomplished so far. I’m going to get another detective——”
“A private detective?” asked Pollard. “Better be careful, dear. Don’t get mixed up in this thing too deeply.”
“No, I won’t. I’m not going to do anything myself. But, I want to tell you something. Ivy Hayes knows of a girl——”
“Ivy Hayes!” exclaimed Louis, while Pollard raising his eyebrows, murmured, “A girl!”
“I seem to have exploded two bombshells!” said Phyllis, smiling.
She was in better spirits now, since the assurance of Louis that he was not guilty.