"Why not try and find Julie, the French maid?"
The eagerness died out of Mitchell's face. "We are trying," he said. "But we can convict Miss Whitney without her evidence."
"So you think Julie's testimony will implicate Miss Whitney still further in the crime?"
"I do. I have no doubt she is accessory after the fact, and, provided with funds by Miss Whitney, stole away so as not to give evidence against her."
"You have a curious conception of human nature, Mitchell," was Miller's only comment as he signed to their waiter to bring his check. He did not speak again until he and the detective were in the street. "You have overlooked a very important point, Mitchell, in your investigation of Spencer's murder."
"What is that?"
"You apparently believe that Miss Whitney murdered Spencer between three and four in the morning and then went back to her bedroom …"
"Go on," urged Mitchell.
"At the inquest all witnesses testified that Miss Whitney was the first to find Spencer and that she was in the elevator with him." Miller spoke with impressiveness. "Even the most hardened criminal would not have deliberately walked into that elevator and shut himself in with the man he had murdered a short time before—and yet, you argue that a highly strung, delicately nurtured girl did exactly that. It's preposterous!"
"It does sound cold-blooded," admitted the detective. "It is just possible that after committing the crime, she lost consciousness and remained in the elevator all night…."