“Oh, I just want to ask you both a few questions!” he replied. “May I come in?”
She seemed to hesitate, and then, reluctantly, stood aside for him to pass, saying ungraciously, as she pushed open a door on the right of the passage. “Oh, all right! Go in there, will you? I'll send to fetch my husband.”
She then walked away down the passage, and could be heard a minute later shouting to one Walter to tell the master he was wanted up at the house. When she came back to the sitting-room, she still wore a defensive look, but said, with a perfunctory smile: “Sorry if I bit your head off! But, really, it's a bit much! We've already told the police all we know about what happened on Saturday, and the answer is nothing. I left The Cedars just after half-past six, and came straight back here to put my baby to bed. I can't tell you the exact moment when my husband left: he was still playing tennis when I went away: but I happen to know he wasn't anywhere near Fox Lane when Mr. Warrenby was shot!”
Hemingway, who rarely found it necessary to consult his notes, said affably: “Ah, that's a bit of evidence the local police must have forgotten to give me! It's a good job I came. How do you happen to know it, madam?”
“Because he was down by the water-meadows,” she replied, boldly meeting his eyes. “I saw him there!”
“You did?” said Hemingway, all polite interest.
“I'll take you up and show you the window, if you like. You can see the water-meadows from one of the attics. I happened to run up to get something—we keep a lot of junk stored in the attics—and I distinctly saw my husband!” She paused, and added: “I'm sure I told the other detective, when he first came to see us! I'd be ready to swear I did!”
“I don't doubt that for a moment,” said Hemingway. “Or you might have had your reasons for not telling Sergeant Carsethorn at the time.”
“What possible reason could I have had?”
“Well, I don't know, but perhaps you hadn't realised, when the Sergeant first called on you, that you could see the water-meadows from that attic window,” suggested Hemingway.