"
"You say you walked with Mr. Penny--where?... How long did you remain at
the river? No way of knowing. Seemed surprisingly short, I'll venture."
Why didn't Stephen put an end to such ill-timed jocularity? "And Mr.
Penny had spoken to you of his--his relations with Mrs. Scofield, the
woman in whose house Culser was killed. Did he refer to her on this
particular evening, standing by the river's brink?" Susan replied in the
negative. "Did he seem ill at ease, worried about anything? Was he
hurried in manner?"
To all of this Susan Brundon answered no, in a voice that constantly
grew lower, but which never faltered, hesitated. The Mayor turned aside
for a whispered consultation with the High Constable. The former nodded.
"Have you any--shall we say--proprietary interest in Mr. Penny's
affairs?" Her reply was hardly audible in the room stilled for what
might be revealed. "No," she breathed, her gloved fingers interlacing.
Jasper Penny's lips were drawn in a hard line; Stephen gazed fixedly at
the floor. The Mayor gesticulated affably toward the lawyer. "That'll
do," he declared. "Pleasure, Mr. Penny, to have you so completely
cleared. I shall have to demand your assistance further,
though--knowledge of Mrs. Scofield.
Pages:
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274