“Now, what kind of a lie could have been told to her to take her to that house in the company of a man at the dead of night? What man could tell her such a lie, and make her believe it? What man, who could tell her such a lie and make her believe it, would yet be closely enough related to the family to make that house the object of the night call? And why did she hesitate so long in the automobile before she consented to enter the house, after she arrived there?�
“You answer those questions yourself, Patsy,� said the detective.
“I’ll answer it like this: My present belief is that Edythe Lynne went to Pleasantglades with her own father, and that when she got inside the house and found that she had been lured there by a lie, and that it was her father who had lied to her, she killed herself.�
“No, Patsy, no,� said the detective sharply.
“Wait. That after she had done so, her father realized the terrible predicament he was in; the impossibility of explaining it satisfactorily; the talk and the scandal that the whole affair would make, and, in short, that he then prepared the evidence we found to point to a deliberate suicide.�
“Patsy, part of your theory sounds good; the rest of it is not to be thought of,â€� said Nick. “I am now of the opinion, myself, that she went there with her father, and that—— No, I can’t say it yet. But all this, lads, leads us to just one thing, and that is what I asked you to this room to listen to.â€�
Both assistants looked eagerly at their chief, and he continued:
“Is J. Cephas Lynne, as we know him, her father? Was he her father?�
Chick and Patsy looked at each other, then back again at the detective.
“I am going out there in the car with the man to study him,� the detective continued. “I want you both to start out at once, wherever you please, to get for me all the information, that is obtainable regarding both, the father and the daughter. I want you to dig up every scrap of information you can find about both of them. Was he her father? Find that out for me beyond the shadow of a doubt either way, before I return. That is all.�