Mason said, “There are several factors involved in fixing the time, Mrs. Sabin.”
“And that,” she said, “is where I come in. I’m going to see that none of the evidence is tampered with. My husband met his death before noon on the sixth. I didn’t get my divorce until four-thirty in the afternoon.”
“Of course, the decree of divorce doesn’t show at what time during the day the decree was granted,” Mason said.
“Well, I guess my testimony amounts to something, doesn’t it?” she snapped. “I know when I got the divorce. What’s more, I’ll get a letter from the lawyer who represented me in Reno.”
Charles Sabin looked at Mason with worried eyes. “The evidence,” he said, “shows my father met his death some time before noon, probably around eleven o’clock.”
Mrs. Sabin said nothing, but rocked back and forth, triumphantly, in the big rocking chair.
Charles Sabin turned to her savagely. “You have been rather free with your accusations directed at me,” he said, “but what were you doing about that time? If anyone had a motive for killing him, you did.”
Her smile was expansive. “Don’t let your anger get the best of you, Charles,” she said. “It’s bad for your blood pressure. You know what the doctor told you... You see, Charles, I was in Reno getting my divorce. Court was called at two o’clock, and I had to wait two hours and a half before my case came up. I’m afraid you’ll have to find a pretty big loophole in that alibi to pin the crime on me — or don’t you think so?”
Mason said, “I’m going to tell you something which hasn’t as yet been made public. The authorities at San Molinas will probably discover it shortly. In the meantime, the facts happen to be in my possession. I think you all should know them.”
“I don’t care what facts you have,” Mrs. Sabin said. “You’re not going to bluff me.”