There was no reply. She sent the message again and again. Suddenly, during a pause, there was a little flash upon the plate. A message was coming to her. She transcribed it with beating heart:
“O.K. Coming.”
The guard swung open the wicket in front of Quest’s cell.
“Young woman to see you, Quest,” he announced. “Ten minutes, and no loud talking, please.”
Quest moved to the bars. It was Laura who stood there. She wasted very little time in preliminaries. Having satisfied herself that the guard was out of hearing, she leaned as close as she could to Quest.
“Look here,” she said, “Lenora’s crazy with the idea that Craig has done these jobs—Craig, the Professor’s servant, you know. We used the phototelesme yesterday afternoon and saw him burn something in the Professor’s study. Lenora went up straight away and got hold of the ashes.”
“Smart girl,” Quest murmured, nodding approvingly. “Well?”
“There are distinct fragments,” Laura continued, “of embroidered stuff such as the Salvation Army girl might have been wearing. We put them on one side, but they aren’t enough evidence. Lenora’s idea is that you should try and get hold of Craig and hypnotise him into a confession.”
“That’s all right,” Quest replied, “but how am I to get hold of him?”
Laura glanced once more carelessly around to where the guard stood.