“Well?”
“You may call me Miss Clayton when not consulting me professionally, Detective Carter,” she explained, with a fascinating little laugh. “Like persons in other fields of art, I practise under an assumed name. If you ever meet my sister, Mrs. Badger, or her husband, they will probably refer to me by my real name. So I take this occasion to tell it to you. It is only here, or when discussing my professional work, that I make use of my business name.”
Nick wondered if all this had been thrown at him to convey an impression that she had not been informed of his call upon Badger and his wife, and a gleam of new suspicion showed briefly in the eyes of the great detective. Yet he said quietly, with a nod, that he understood her.
“It matters little to me what name you use, providing you answer my questions,” he added.
“I shall gladly do so, Detective Carter.”
“I have here a snap-shot photograph said to have been taken by you at the time of the robbery.”
“Yes, that is true. I had my kodak with me, and it so happened that I could——”
“I have been told by Chief Weston how you obtained the photograph,” interposed Nick, wishing to expedite matters.
“Ah, I see.”