“I thought one might be able to see into the archery range from here. But I note that the angle cuts off the view entirely.”
“Yes, the range is quite private. There’s even a vacant lot opposite the wall, so that no one can see over it. . . . Were you thinking of a possible witness to Robin’s death?”
“That, and other things.” Vance returned to his chair. “You don’t go in for archery, I take it.”
“It’s a trifle too strenuous for me. Miss Dillard once tried to interest me in the sport, but I was not a very promising acolyte. I’ve been to several tournaments with her, however.”
An unusually soft note had crept into Pardee’s voice, and for some reason which I could not exactly explain I got the feeling that he was fond of Belle Dillard. Vance, too, must have received the same impression, for after a brief pause he said:
“You will realize, I trust, that it is not our intention to pry unnecessarily into any one’s private affairs; but the question of motive in the two murders we are investigating still remains obscure, and as Robin’s death was at first superficially attributed to a rivalry for Miss Dillard’s affections, it might help us to know, in a general way, what the true situation is concerning the young lady’s preference. . . . As a friend of the family you probably know; and we’d appreciate your confidence in the matter.”
Pardee’s gaze travelled out of the window, and the suggestion of a sigh escaped him.
“I’ve always had the feeling that she and Arnesson would some day be married. But that is only conjecture. She once told me quite positively that she was not going to consider matrimony until she was thirty.” (One could easily guess in what connection Belle Dillard had made this pronouncement to Pardee. His emotional, as well as his intellectual life, had apparently met with failure.)
“You do not believe then,” pursued Vance, “that her heart is seriously concerned with young Sperling?”
Pardee shook his head. “However,” he qualified, “martyrdom such as he is undergoing at present has a tremendous sentimental appeal for women.”