"But if she has gone abroad, how could Sorrell be able to harm her?"
"She hadn't gone abroad when I killed Bert Sorrell."
"Then — " began Barker. But Grant interrupted him.
"Mrs. Wallis," he said slowly, "is Ray Marcable your daughter?"
The woman was on her feet with a swiftness amazing in a person of her bulk. Her tight mouth was suddenly slack, and inarticulate sounds came from her throat.
"Sit down," said Grant gently, and pushed her back into her chair — "sit down and tell us all about it. Take your time."
"'Ow did you know?" she asked, when she had recovered herself. "'Ow could you know?"
Grant ignored the question. "What made you think that Sorrell intended harm to your daughter?"
"Because I met 'im one day in the street. I 'adn't seen 'im for years, and I said some-thing about Rosie going to America. And 'e said, 'So am I. And I didn't like that, be-cause I knew 'e was a nuisance to Rosie. And then 'e smiled kind of queer at me and said, 'At least, it isn't certain. Either we're both going or neither of us is going. An' I said, 'What do you mean? Rosie's going for sure. She's got a contract and she can't break it. And he said, 'She has a previous contract with me. Do you think she'll keep to that too? And I said not to be foolish. Boy-and-girl affairs were best forgotten, I said. And 'e just smiled again, that horrid queer way, and said, 'Well, wherever she's goin' we're goin' together. And 'e went away."
"When was that?" Grant asked.