"You surprise me!"
"It is quite possible," continued the inspector without heeding Cyril's interruption, "that you have met either Prentice or Lady Wilmersley, the dowager, I mean."
"Really! And why should they have given this bag to me, of all people? Surely you must see that they could have found many easier, as well as safer, ways of disposing of it."
"Quite so, my lord, and that is why I am inclined to believe that it was not through either of them that the bag came into your possession. I think it more probable that her Ladyship brought it with her."
"Her Ladyship? What do you mean?" Cyril's voice grew suddenly harsh.
"You told me yourself that her Ladyship met you in Newhaven; that, in fact, she had spent the night of the murder there."
Cyril clutched the table convulsively.
Amy! They suspected Amy. This was too horrible! Why had it never occurred to him that his lies might involve an innocent person?
"But this is absurd, you know," he stammered, in a futile effort to gain time.
"Let us hope so, my lord."