“That is absurd.”
“That may be, but facts are facts, and appearances are sometimes so strong that men have been hung on them.”
“I know nothing of his murder.”
“I do not suppose for a minute that you do; still, others may think differently.”
“Grant that they do, it does not concern me. They could not prove that I knew anything about the murder.”
“You cannot be so sure of that. Why, if you only knew it, I could offer evidence, based on this interview, that would be most damaging.”
“How so?”
“I might for one thing say that you displayed very little emotion on learning of Mr. Field’s death. It is natural to expect that a daughter would show some emotion on learning of a father’s death.”
“Yes, under ordinary circumstances. But it occurs to me that it would be very unnatural for me to grieve much over the death of a person of whom I have no recollection, and who stands confessed as having treated my mother with cruelty and injustice.”
The detective thought: