"You say you found it there," said Derrington, meaningly.
"Do you deny that it was in the pocket?"
"Certainly. Had it been in the pocket I should have known it was there. But it was not in the pocket."
Mrs. Ward stared. "You are very brazen," she said; "you knew it was there all the time."
"In the pocket?" asked Derrington, politely and perfectly calm.
Mrs. Ward hesitated. Then she faced him defiantly. "I am so sure of my ground," she declared, "that I don't mind saying it wasn't exactly in the pocket. There was a hole in the pocket and the dagger had slipped down into the lining between the inside fur and the outer cloth. It lay sideways, and what with its position and the heavy fur----"
"I could not have known it was there," finished Derrington, balancing a paper-cutter on his forefinger. "You have found a mare's nest, my dear Mrs. Ward, and if this is your trump card I am sorry to say it won't take the trick you wish to secure. I did not know that this--" he touched the stiletto--"was in the lining of my fur coat."
"Then it was, and Mrs. Jersey was stabbed with it."
"Isn't that taking a great deal for granted?" said Derrington, with raised brows. "Mrs. Jersey, according to the doctor, if I recall the report of the inquest rightly, was certainly stabbed with a weapon similar to this. But why do you say this is the one?"
"Because I believe you were in the house on that night."