The muscles of Professor Dillard’s cheeks worked angrily.
“Is it any concern of the District Attorney’s office if I speak to a neighbor in my garden?”
“Certainly not, sir. But I am in the midst of an investigation which seriously concerns your house, and I assumed that I had the privilege of seeking help from you.”
The old man spluttered a moment.
“Very well,” he acquiesced irritably. “I saw no one except Mrs. Drukker—if that’s what you’re after.”
Vance projected himself into the conversation.
“That’s not what we came to you for, Professor Dillard. We wanted merely to ask you if Mrs. Drukker gave you the impression this morning that she suspected what had taken place earlier in Riverside Park.”
The professor was about to make a sharp retort, but checked himself. After a moment he said simply:
“No, she gave me no such impression.”
“Did she appear in any way uneasy or, let us say, excited?”