“It did.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How did you get out?”
“If I had had keys to the cabinets I would have accepted her offer. I would have unlocked them and left her in there. When she was ready to go I would have arrested her and taken her to be searched, and we would have known what she had taken from the cabinet. That would have broken the case. But I had no keys to the cabinets.”
“Uh-huh. If you had had keys and had unlocked the cabinets and left her in there, and she had taken something from a cabinet and burned it up, you would have collected the ashes and sent them to the laboratory for examination by modern scientific methods.”
Roca swallowed. “I admit I didn’t think about burning. But if I had had keys I would have thought harder.”
“I bet you would. Did you take her money for evidence?”
“No, sir. I thought that might be instigation. I took her into custody. I phoned in. When a relief came, I brought her here to you. I am staying here to face her.”
“You’ve faced her enough for tonight. Plenty. We’ll have a talk later. Go and tell Burger to bring her in.”