"I left the studio locked," he said.
Leighton colored in his turn.
"I forgive you that," he said quietly. "Just after I came back to town Vi called and told me she had been posing for you. She said she had left something in the studio that she wanted to fetch herself. She asked me for the key."
Lewis's hands were clenched.
"Well?" he asked.
"I went with her—to the door. She asked me to wait outside. She was gone a long time. I heard her sobbing——"
"Sobbing? Vi?"
Leighton nodded.
"So—so I went in."
Father and son looked steadily at each other for a moment. Then Lewis said: