“That’s true,” Chick admitted. “In proof of it, assuming this Gordon letter to be genuine, it shows plainly that she has involved him in some kind of a desperate situation, so desperate that he evidently consented to elope with her, despite that he closes by intimating that he might attempt to kill her.”
“Obviously,” Nick agreed.
“Has he done it?” Chick glanced at the bloodstained[Pg 21] hat, jacket and handkerchief. “Did he really go the limit and execute his threat? These things certainly point to that. Combined with all of the other circumstances, Nick, it establishes an almost sure case of murder.”
“One that, in case Gordon cannot be found, would convince a court and jury?”
“Surely.”
“Suppose the body should not be found?” suggested Nick.
“I think the case still would stand,” Chick replied. “A jury would surely convict on such circumstantial evidence as this.”
Nick smiled again.
“That’s why I have dug into it for all I am worth,” he said dryly. “I will show you a few points that you fail to detect.”
“You mean?”