"I don't say that either," remarked Miss Toat, drily.
"You must have done one or the other," cried Shawe, exasperated.
"No. I have learnt nothing very definite; but there are certain facts." She drummed on the table--her usual gesture when puzzled. "It is a very difficult case, Mr. Shawe."
"I know that, and for such a reason I placed it in your hands," he retorted.
Miss Toat nodded. "I am gratified by your opinion of my skill," she said politely. "All the same, you can't expect me to work miracles."
"Is a miracle required in this case?"
"I think so." She produced a mass of notes from her bag, and laid them down before the barrister. "There you will find all that I have been able to learn," she said to her employer. "They contain information about Madame Coralie--information which reveals much she would give her ears not to have known. Read these notes."
Ralph turned over the loose papers. "I would rather hear what you have discovered by word of mouth," he said fretfully; for this beating round the bush annoyed him. "In a word, Miss Toat, do you suspect anyone?"
"Yes, I do"--the detective leant forward with bright eyes--"but only theoretically. I suspect"--she paused for effect--"I suspect Madame Coralie herself as having strangled Lady Branwin."