“No, please—you had every reason.” He changed the subject abruptly.
“Do we let her have the money?” He smiled for a minute. “Money’s tight as hell. I haven’t got much in cash you know. But I don’t see how we can refuse the girl.”
“We won’t,” said Helen.
“By the way, what I came out to say was that Walter’s lawyer thinks we should send for Margaret Duffield. There’s a rumor that she is his legatee. He had no family—his mother died last year. From what Pratt said he left it all to Margaret. She’ll be rich.”
“I did wire her,” answered Helen, “an hour ago. I thought she ought to know.”
“That’s good.”
“Tell me about it.”
“It was all in the paper. He shot himself a little after midnight. He was alone in his room. It was evidently quite premeditated. There was a sealed letter for his lawyer with instructions undoubtedly and everything was in perfect order. He—he had simply decided to do it. And he has done it. Something made him lie down—that’s all.”
He spoke reflectively, with a degree of abstraction that was surprising.
“Why do they think he did it?”