“Did you put it on before leaving the flat?”
“No. I put it on after reaching the street. I merely took my disguise from the pocket and put that on while in the vestibule,” Gordon thoughtfully explained. “I then hurried out to the street. I may have walked half a block before putting on my overcoat, for I was feeling a bit warm and resentful. It irritated me that the woman thought me capable of such beastly business.”
“She sized you up from her own standpoint,” Nick remarked. “Can you in any way account for spots of blood on your suit, your overcoat, and in one of the pockets of the latter?”
“No, Nick, most emphatically,” Gordon declared. “I am entirely in the dark.”
“Am I to understand, then, that you now have told me all that you know about the crime, or any circumstances that might have a bearing on it?” Nick inquired.
“Yes, absolutely all,” said Gordon. “I know nothing whatever about the crime itself, Nick, nor have I the slightest suspicion as to who committed it.”
“How did you return home?”
“I took a subway train.”
“Were you then in disguise?”
“No. I removed it before arriving at the subway station, and thrust it into my pocket.”