"Perhaps you will repeat every movement you made," said Malcolm Sage. "Try to open the safe-door exactly as you did then, and leave it at the same angle. Every detail is important."
Lady Glanedale rose, picked up a wrapper that was lying over a chair-back, put it on and, walking over to the safe, turned the key that was in the lock, and opened it. Then, standing between the safe and Glanedale, she took out a jewel-case and closed the door. Finally she walked over to where her stepson stood, and handed him the jewel-case.
"Thank you," said Malcolm Sage. "I wanted to see whether or not the man had the opportunity of seeing into the safe."
"I took care to stand in front of it," she said.
"So I observed. You allowed the quarter of an hour to elapse before you raised the alarm?"
"Certainly, I had promised," was the response.
"But a promise extorted by threats of violence is not binding," he suggested as he pulled meditatively at his right ear.
"It is with me," was the cold retort.
He inclined his head slightly.
"I notice that the ground beneath the windows has been roped off."