“For a moment I stared at my stepmother, thinking she had taken leave of her senses. My dear mother’s rope of pearls! They are worth about twenty thousand dollars. Grandfather Trowbridge had collected them from all parts of the world, and their great value lay in their wonderful match. Therefore, I thought my ears had played me false, and I asked unbelievingly: ‘And your price?’ ‘You know it,’ she answered. By that time I was wrought up beyond endurance, and cried out: ‘You devil, get out of my way, or I may forget myself and strike you!’ That is the part overheard by Wilkins—” her voice trailed off in a sob.
Dick broke the pause that followed. “Clark also told me that Mrs. Trevor was trying to raise a large sum of money, hoping to buy his silence,” he said. “She must have realized that she was nearly at the end of her resources.”
“‘Whoso diggeth a Pit shall fall therein,’” quoted Mrs. Macallister, softly.
CHAPTER XXIV
JOURNEYS END IN LOVERS’ MEETING
“Beatrice, dear, why did you secrete your broken hat-pin, and where did you get it after the murder?” demanded Peggy, finding courage at last to ask the question which had worried her so much. Then, seeing Beatrice’s open-eyed surprise, she added: “Your box caught when I opened my secret drawer on Friday night, and your cat’s-eye fell out. I instantly recognized it. But believe me, dear, I never for one moment thought you were connected with Mrs. Trevor’s death.”
“She never did,” affirmed Dick. “In fact, it was Peggy’s desire to clear you from suspicion which urged me on in my efforts to find the real murderer.”
“Peggy, dear Peggy; you best of friends.” Beatrice leaned forward and kissed her warmly. “Did you open the box?”
“No, indeed!” indignantly. “The cat’s-eye fell out of the broken end, and I simply thrust it back again without investigating further.”
“I wish you had, dear; you would have understood then the dilemma I was placed in. I put our marriage certificate in the bottom of the box under the cotton, and then dropped the cat’s-eye on top. Father told me, after Don’s arrest, that the police would have great difficulty in proving his guilt because they could find no motive for the crime,” she went on to explain. “He himself was as puzzled as they. I instantly thought of our marriage certificate, and fearing its discovery might injure Don, I made plans to hide it.
“As to the broken pin—I never found it until after Mrs. Trevor’s funeral. When I put on black I decided to send all my dresses to a dear friend in New York. It was Suzanne’s afternoon out, but I was in a great hurry to send the express package, so I took down my dresses myself and laid them on the bed. On folding the ball dress I had worn at the Bachelors’ Cotillion I found the cat’s-eye securely caught by the gold setting in the lace underflounce of the train.