“In my opinion she is,” with emphasis. “Wait; I’ve noticed that whenever the coroner or the detectives wish to interview her, Mrs. Ward always becomes worse or says so, and just to satisfy myself I examined the nurse’s chart and found nothing on it to indicate such changes in her condition. To-day she refused to get up.”
“She did? But I told her last night——”
“I know, I heard you. She ate a large and substantial breakfast and then had the effrontery to tell me that she was too weak to get out of bed. I know a sick woman when I see one,” ended Mrs. Burnham with vigor, “and in my opinion she is no invalid.”
“I shall talk to her,” and Hayden’s square jaw became more pronounced.
“Do, please. Wait just a moment; why is she malingering?”
Hayden pondered the question before answering. “It may be, considering her emotion after the discovery of the dead man and her attempts to avoid interviews with Coroner Penfield and Detective Mitchell, that she hopes to get out of attending the inquest as a witness.”
“I believe you’ve hit it,” ejaculated Mrs. Burnham. “I’ve been questioning Mrs. Ward this morning about her actions on Monday and Tuesday, and to be quite frank her answers did not ring true.”
“Ah, indeed. What did she say?”
“She stated that she left Chelsea a day earlier than she had intended on the receipt of a telegram from her niece saying her mother was ill. Mrs. Ward went on to say that her sister died shortly after her arrival in Baltimore, and the shock of finding a dead man here on top of her grief for her sister upset her.”
Hayden listened with close attention. “Did you see the telegram?”