“I suspected some such affair. Miss Day made a point of saying that the last time she saw Dr. Letheny was when she left your house Thursday night, and it was perfectly true. She did not see him when she talked to him later. But, of course, I knew that she must have had some sort of meeting with him. Indeed,” he went on quietly, “I can quite understand Miss Day’s reluctance to tell of the matter. Any young woman would shrink from the headlines—can’t you see them: ‘Beautiful young nurse—Love quarrel with Doctor’—all that sort of thing? Doubtless the cuff link got detached from the cuff and into Dr. Letheny’s hand and he thrust it into his pocket thinking to return it—not knowing what was to happen. Thank you for telling me this, Miss Letheny.” He walked to the door and paused with his hand on the knob. His face was very stern as he glanced back at Corole. “You are only making things worse for yourself when you refuse to tell the whole truth. Good-morning, Miss Letheny.”
Once again on that damp path we said little.
“It was Miss Day’s meeting with Dr. Letheny that Corole overheard, then, and threatened to tell of; that is what Gainsay’s note to Miss Day meant,” said O’Leary musingly as we approached the south door. “Well, that meeting does throw a new light on things—doesn’t it? By the way, Miss Keate, I expect to stay in St. Ann’s for a night or two. I want no one but you to know of it.”
“But where—in what room will you be?”
“Room 18.”
I could feel the colour draining from my face.
“That—room is not safe!”
“Nonsense.”
“But, Mr. O’Leary—I have not told you what I heard this morning!”
“What’s that!”