“How came you to know Putney Stephney?” Fay asked, feeling his way for a surprise.
“I met him two years ago. He was just a good friend of mine. I can’t see your purpose in questioning me concerning him.”
Fay watched her lips tremble. He had conceived a liking for Elsie De Groot over the period of minutes. He said through his white teeth:
“Putney Stephney was murdered last night!”
The girl swayed. She reached blindly for the arms of the chair.
“Murdered by an unknown method!”
A gasping sob racked the air. The beat of a powerful engine throbbed the garage. It was like the roll of a muffled drum.
“Foully murdered! Done to death between the steamship dock and Poughkeepsie, where he was found with skull crushed and his lungs empty of air. He was last seen getting into your taxicab!”
“Oh, don’t! It isn’t true!”