"Never mind. It wasn't what your somewhat vulgar sister thinks. In fact, it was a metaphorical kick in the pants for me. So I came home."
"And very helpful you were," said Sally. "You spread such a blight all over everywhere that even I began to think Helen might be wise not to tell you all."
"It was - a little difficult," he replied. "Helen was so obviously dismayed at seeing me, and so obviously afraid of my finding out the nature of her dealings with Fletcher -'
"That," said Sally, "was your cue, and you missed it. If you'd gone the right way to work, she would have told you the whole story."
"Yes," said North. "But I wasn't sure that I wanted to hear it."
"An ostrich act? You? Well, I wouldn't have thought it of you," said Sally.
Helen pulled his hand to her cheek. "And thinking that, you - you tried to get yourself arrested to save me! Oh, John!"
"I'm sorry, Helen. We seemed to have lost one another."
Sally took the empty glass away from her sister. "Look here, do you mind postponing all this? You've got to come down and tell the Superintendent exactly what did happen on the fatal evening. At the moment he looks like pinching Neville for the murder, which I'm not at all in favour of. I don't know whether your evidence will be any good to him, but it might be. Shove some powder on your nose, and come downstairs."
Helen got up and went rather wearily to her dressingtable. "All right, if I must. Though why you should care, I don't know. I thought you had no use for Neville."