“Hate Nan? No; I love her. But she has had nothing to do with this——” she stopped; and again the detective looked at her and smiled. Then, in a low tone, he spoke to her again.
“Do you believe that Nan stole your necklace?” he asked, so that the others, who were now examining it, could not hear.
“No; I don’t.”
“You would never believe that of your friend Nan, would you?”
“Indeed I would not.”
“But somebody did steal the necklace. Now, who do you suppose it was?”
“I should sooner think that you did it than that he did,” she retorted.
At that point they were interrupted by Mrs. Remsen, and as that lady spoke, all the others in the room turned and looked squarely at Nick Carter.
“Mr. Carter,” she said, “I would like you to tell me, if you please, how you knew that the necklace was inside that vase?”