“Would to Heaven I could tell you,” Miss Farley fervently exclaimed. “Don’t ask me, Mr. Carter. That is what I want you to find out—and what has become of him.”
“You mean—— Stop a moment!” Nick abruptly digressed. “Who is this jealous woman, who evidently feels that she has been wronged by Mr. Maybrick?”
“Her name is Kate Crandall.”
“A resident in your town?”
“Yes.”
“What do you know about her? Is she young and attractive, of good character and habits, or——”
Miss Farley checked him with a gesture.
“I know nothing about her morals,” she replied. “She is quite a handsome woman, about thirty years old. She is not a person of means. She is in business as a public stenographer, and has been frequently employed by the day in that capacity by Mr. Maybrick. She took his sermons in shorthand, and prepared a typewritten copy for him. She has been accustomed to doing that work at the rectory. I do not feel it necessary to look deeper into their relations, Mr. Carter, for I have absolute faith in Mr. Maybrick’s honor and integrity. After what now has occurred, moreover——”
“Let’s drop everything else and come to that,” Nick interposed. “What can you tell me about it? You say that Mr. Maybrick was at home last evening?”
“Yes. He left the rectory about half past eight, as near as Mrs. Soule, his housekeeper, can inform me. She is the only servant employed by Mr. Maybrick, who has no near relatives. He is a man still under thirty, Mr. Carter.”