“I should like to know,” put in Mrs. Sage, “what possible motive Oliver could have had for killing his father.”
“Oliver has not been accused of killing his father, Madam,” Judge Shortridge reminded her.
“But if he did kill him,” announced Mr. Link earnestly—“now, mind you, I’m not even hinting that he did—but, the thing is, if he did do it, why, we can prove that he had the best motive in the world.”
“In God’s name,” gasped the Judge, startled out of his judicial composure, “what are you saying, Link? What motive could he have—”
“The best motive in the world, I claim,” said Mr. Link emphatically. “Insanity!”
“Don’t you know that insanity is not a motive?” snapped the Judge.
“As for Pete Hines saying he heard Oliver and his father quarreling that night,” said Mrs. Grimes, who had been silent for a long time, “I wouldn’t believe him on oath. If I was to meet him on the street and he was to say it was a nice, bright, sunshiny day, I’d hurry home and take off my rain-soaked clothes.”
“Help yourself to another cigar, Judge,” said Oliver from the sofa.
“Any objections, ladies?” In turn, each lady shook her head. “I was about to say, my friends” (with a fixed stare at Mr. Link), “that in case the grand jury finds a true bill against Oliver, I consider myself, as his counsel, quite capable of deciding what kind of a defense we shall put up—and it will not be insanity, Silas Link.”
“Well, what will it be?” demanded Mr. Link.