“She said”—Miss Page frowned a little in concentration and then went on steadily—“she said, ‘Is that you, Stephen? . . . It’s Sue—Sue Ives. Is Mimi there? . . . How long ago did she leave? . . . Are you sure she went there? . . . No, wait—this is vital. I have to see you at once. Can you get the car here in ten minutes? . . . No, not at the house. Stop at the far corner of the back road. I’ll come through the back gate to meet you. . . . Elliot didn’t say anything to you? . . . No, no, never mind that—just hurry.’ ”
“Is that all that she said?”
“She said good-bye.”
“Nothing else?”
“Nothing else.”
“What did you do then?”
“I turned back from the porch steps and circled the house to the right, going in by the side door and on up to the nursery.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I didn’t want Mrs. Ives to know that I had overheard her conversation. I thought if by any chance she saw me coming in through the side door, it would not occur to her that I could have heard it from there.”
“I see. When you got up to the nursery was Mr. Ives still there?”