“Can’t you learn the truth from the young lady herself—if she is your fiancee?” asked Stone.
“Oh, she says she didn’t do it, of course. But there’s such an overwhelming mass of evidence—or, apparent evidence against her, that it’s the deepest sort of a mystery.”
“Main facts first. Where was the body found?”
“In that desk chair, seated at his desk, as he often was evenings. Reading in a Latin book, so you see, he wasn’t looking for trouble.”
“Found dead in the morning? Been dead all night?”
“Yes, to both those questions. And locked in his room. Had to break in.”
“It does and it doesn’t. You may as well say the locked up room cuts out all idea of a murder.”
“But it must be one or the other. And isn’t it more plausible to look for some way that the murderer could have gone away and left the room locked, than to think up a way that the suicide could have disposed of this weapon?”
“Yes, that’s so, but I want you to investigate both possibilities. You see, if you could prove a suicide, that would free Miss Austin at once. And—if things go against her—I want you to—oh, hang it, it’s hard to put into words—”
“I’ll do that,” said Fibsy, “if things go against Miss Austin, you want Mr. Stone to frame up suicide, and declare it the truth.”
“Exactly that,” and Trask looked relieved at the thought all his cards were on the table. “I don’t want Miss Austin suspected, but I do want to know if she’s innocent.”
“Not definite ones. There’s the Japanese who absconded that same night, and of course, there’s the secretary, Gordon Lockwood. I’d like to suspect him, all right, and he has a round silver penholder that just fits the wound that killed Waring. But it doesn’t look like he did it, he never would have left the penholder in evidence, and he would have arranged matters to look more like a suicide. Then, too, how could he lock the door behind him?”
“That question must be answered first of all,” said Stone. “I’ll examine the room, of course, but after the local police and detectives have done that, I doubt if I find anything enlightening. So far as I can see, this whole affair is unique, and I think we will find some surprising evidence and soon. Tell me more of this Miss Austin. Who is she?”