"I cannot say! Your mother was suspected and proved innocent. A friend of your father was also suspected and——"
"And proved innocent?"
"No! He was never arrested—he was never tried. He vanished on the night of the murder and has not been heard of since. Now, I can tell you no more. Go and read the papers, Claude."
Larcher took up his hat and hurried toward the door in a mechanical manner. There he paused.
"Does Mrs. Bezel know the truth?"
Hilliston, arranging the papers on the table, looked up with a face which had unexpectedly grown gray and old.
"Yes!" he said quickly. "I think Mrs. Bezel knows the 'truth.'"