Mrs. Moxton picked it up, thrust it into the pocket of her cloak, and, without a glance at the amazed doctor, left the room. As she did so Busham stepped across to the grate in which a starved fire was burning and deliberately placed the will on the coals. Before Ellis could prevent it, the document was ablaze, and shortly nothing remained but black tinder.
"Now," snapped Busham, pointing to the door, "you can follow her."
[CHAPTER XIV]
THE PIMLICO HOUSE
Having seen Busham commit a felony by burning the will, Ellis left the office. He did not even protest against the destruction of the document, since it was none of his business to do so. Mrs. Moxton, who benefited under the will, had not only handed it over to her enemy, but had advised him to destroy it. She had exchanged it, so to speak, for the knife with which Moxton had been killed, and, in addition, had secured the lawyer's silence by yielding up her property. Silence about what? That was the question Ellis asked himself, and which he put to Cass when reporting the extraordinary scene which had taken place in the Esher Lane office.
"I think I can guess what Busham hinted at," said the reporter. "He accuses Janet Gordon of the crime?"
"Why should he? She had no motive to kill Moxton, so far as I can see."
"Precisely, so far as you can see, Bob. Depend upon it, Busham is certain that Janet Gordon is guilty, and Mrs. Moxton knows that such is the case, else she would not give up her property so freely."
"You mean that she allowed the will to be destroyed so that Busham should not accuse her sister?"
"Yes. All along I said that Mrs. Moxton was shielding some person; now we know who the person is."