“Didn’t say anything about where he’d been or whom he’d seen?”
“Not a word.”
“Could you tell anything from his manner?”
“Well, he seemed more at ease, I thought… A little less nervous, but that may have been merely my impression.”
Sergeant Holcomb turned back to Mrs. Tump. “Now then, Mrs. Tump,” he said. “You went back to Tidings’ office on Tuesday morning, didn’t you?”
Mrs. Tump fidgeted uneasily in her chair.
“Go ahead,” Sergeant Holcomb said. “Answer the question.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Why?”
“Well,” she said, “I figured… I don’t know. I just wanted to give him one more chance.”