“Premeditation, all right. Was there anybody in the outfit who didn’t know you’d opened that drawer and found the revolver gone?”
Bassett considered:
“Stokes didn’t know. He came in after I’d shut the drawer. I didn’t speak of it because just as I’d got through asking him if he’d seen any one, we heard Mrs. Stokes’ scream.”
“And she didn’t, of course,” commented Williams.
“While you were running round at the Point the house was empty?”
“I think Mrs. Stokes was here all the time. I never saw her outside.”
“Any of the others come up?”
“I’m not certain of all of them. I know Shine did; I sent him back to phone over to Hayworth for the boats. And Stokes did, he came up for the electric torch when I was in here telephoning to you.”
“Then neither of them knew the loss of the revolver had been discovered and they had plenty of opportunity to return it to the desk?”
Bassett nodded, and after a minute’s cogitation Rawson went on: