"I didn't kill her!" interrupted the woman, wiping her face. "'Tilda and me knew nothing about it till we found her strangled when we came back from the lecture."
"Did you attend the lecture on Dickens in the Town Hall?" asked Gebb.
"Yes, I did, sir; both me and 'Tilda, who is my servant, went."
"What is your name?" asked the detective, with professional sharpness.
"Maria Presk."
"Married or single?"
"Married once, single now," sighed the woman. "I am what you call a widow, sir; and I let lodgings in Paradise Row."
"Was this dead woman a lodger of yours?"
"Miss Ligram, you mean? Yes. Miss Ligram was in the first floor front."
"And who killed Miss Ligram?" asked Gebb, looking keenly at Mrs. Presk.