"And you won't put her on the stand?"
"No," I answered, and he sank back with a sigh of relief. Then
something in my face seemed to catch his eye, for he leaned forward
again. "You don't mean that she believes I did it!" he demanded
hoarsely.
"Oh, no," I hastened to assure him; "she says such an accusation is
absurd; she was greatly overcome when she learned that you were even
suspected; she said...."
But the coroner rapped for order.
"Have you any other evidence to introduce, Mr. Lester?" he asked.
"No, Your Honour," I answered, and I saw the cloud of disappointment
which fell upon the faces of reporters and photographers. To have been
able to feature Miss Vaughan would have meant an extra column. I could
also see, from the expression on the faces of the jury, that my
failure to put her on the stand made an unfavourable impression. There
was, indeed, only one inference to draw from it.
Goldberger turned aside for a few words with the prosecutor, and I
suspected that he was telling him of Miss Vaughan's discovery of the
blood-stained handkerchief; but there was no way to get the story
before the jury without calling her.
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