"Later on he is called to the Corner House, where he is received by the Spanish lady, and then he has to handle a man in the last stage of collapse. The latter part of the plot is your own, and from an artistic point of view, a great improvement on mine. Murder and robbery make a fine combination. You had previously arranged the proceedings, the notes and their numbers--adopted or suggested doubtless by you as a precaution--the letter to René Lalage and all to be found on the body. If you can plant those numbered notes on Bruce, then he is ruined for all time.
"Having gone so far, the rest is easy. And this is where my scheme comes in again. Bruce has to take his coat off. In the guise of the Spanish lady--a slight variation of my mysterious woman--you hang his coat up carefully in a closet for him. You knew that £200 in notes was in that pocket, notes that Bruce had come by quite honestly. The rest is easy."
Leona bent forward to listen. Even Charlton seemed to have forgotten his troubles for the moment. A beam of light illuminated his sombre face.
"Go on," said Leona. "Nothing seems to be concealed from you. Now please tell me what happens next."
"The simplest thing in the world. You took the packet of notes from Bruce's pocket and supplied their place with the forty £5 notes, the numbers of which were sent out in the letter which Leon Lalage had intended for his brother. And when Bruce went away he had that damning evidence in his pocket. And that is how that vile, shameless thing was done."
[CHAPTER LXII.]
CONFESSION.
For the first time Lawrence showed signs of indignation. Cool and logical as he had hitherto been, he could not quite restrain himself in the presence of this woman, who had no shame or remorse, or anything save admiring curiosity.
"Directly Bruce told his story," he went on presently, "I knew exactly what had happened. I knew all about the motor car also. Then it was time for me to act. I was using the house as a kind of trap for you one night when Mr. Charlton appeared. He was good enough to pardon the liberty we had taken and to tell us his story. Then I began to see my way pretty clear. It was I who caused you to be informed about the missing diamonds being still in the well. I had found out that you were in desperate need of money. Isidore let me into that, also through him I got to know Maitrank. You came for the diamonds, but you did not get the real ones, for the simple reason that I had already been down the well and got them for myself. They were simply and plainly set, so that I had no trouble in getting paste imitations.