“I do not see how I can help,” she said, after a pause.
“Possibly you cannot,” put in Mr. Bangs, “but Mrs. St. Clair thought you might have noticed something unusual, and being a guest were too polite to speak of it. For instance, were you standing near Mrs. St. Clair when she removed the sheet and pillow case?”
“Yes,” said Fannie, “there were several of us in the party.”
“Did you notice who unpinned the sheet for Mrs. St. Clair?”
Fannie paused a long time without replying.
“It was not you who did it?”
The young girl compressed her lips and looked the detective squarely in the eye.
“The girl who unpinned the sheet was Mary Price,” she replied, “and since you are determined to question me, I will tell you.”
She drew a deep breath, looked first at the detective, then at Mrs. St. Clair, and proceeded:
“I did notice that she removed the sheet from your shoulders and her actions were very strange. But, knowing what I did, I was not surprised, and I am not surprised to hear now that you have lost something valuable, Mrs. St. Clair,” she went on, more and more glibly, as she saw she was gaining the interest of the other two.