"Why do you put it that way?"
"Because I am convinced that the second time was the deliberate action of a man, and that the first was the impulse of a woman."
"Why a woman the first time?"
"That is simply my feeling. A woman would not calculate the chances of detection, would have kept the ring on her person, and would have restored it. What do you think?"
"Possibly," she said, her glance returning to the street.
"But you don't agree with me," he said, leaning a little forward.
"I don't know."
"Miss Charters, will you allow me to ask you a question?"
"What? Yes."
"Don't you know that a woman took it the first time?"