"Thank God, thank God!" exclaimed Annie. "I see it all now."
Her tears were dried. Her brain was beginning to work rapidly. She already saw a possible line of defense.
"I don't know how it all happened," went on Howard. "I don't know any more about it than you do. I left you to go to Underwood's apartment. On the way I foolishly took a drink. When I got there I took more whiskey. Before I knew it I was drunk. While talking I fell asleep. Suddenly I heard a woman's voice."
"Ah!" interrupted Annie. "You, too, heard a woman's voice. Captain Clinton said there was a woman in it." Thoughtfully, as if to herself, she added: "We must find that woman."
"When I woke up," continued Howard, "it was dark. Groping around for the electric light, I stumbled over something. It was Underwood's dead body. How he came by his death I have not the slightest idea. I at once realized the dangerous position I was in and I tried to leave the apartment unobserved. Just as I was going, Underwood's man-servant arrived and he handed me over to the police. That's the whole story. I've been here since yesterday and I'll be devilish glad to get out."
"You will get out," she cried. "I'm doing everything possible to get you free. I've been trying to get the best lawyer in the country—Richard Brewster."
"Richard Brewster!" exclaimed Howard. "He's my father's lawyer."
"I saw your father yesterday afternoon," she said quietly.
"You did!" he exclaimed, surprised. "Was he willing to receive you?"
"He had to," she replied. "I gave him a piece of my mind."