“You’ve given us several false steers in this investigation,” Captain Eggleston said rather severely. “What are you trying to hide?”
The question irritated Mr. Hatfield. He tried not to show resentment and kept his voice controlled as he replied:
“Absolutely nothing.”
“You say you placed the money box in the drawer of your desk?”
“That is correct.”
“You considered it a safe place?”
“Safe enough. If I hadn’t, I’d have made other disposition of the box.”
“Why did you delay in calling police?”
“We’ve gone over all that before,” Mr. Hatfield said wearily. “It was late, and frankly, I was tired. I didn’t feel equal to a long harangue with police until I was more rested. So I waited until morning.”
“The first discovery that the box was gone was when police arrived here?”