“I expected to go back and clear the thing up.”
“How did you expect to square it?” Mason asked.
“I thought I could tell the truth. I thought Emily could back me up.”
Mason said, “Don’t be foolish. Emily can’t back you up. Her story would furnish motivation — that’s all. After all this time, the facts are obscured. John had the evidence against you. He gave it to Marcia Whittaker to keep. She gave it to me. I told her you’d stand back of her as long as she kept her mouth shut.”
“You have that evidence?” Leeds asked eagerly.
“How about Marcia Whittaker?” Mason asked, avoiding the subject. “Did I do right?”
“Good Heavens, yes! I’d do anything in the world to get that evidence.”
Mason turned to Emily Milicant.
“How about you?” he asked. “Would you do anything in the world to get Alden out of that old charge?”
She nodded.