If she and Elsa were in collusion to deny her ownership of the
bag, it would be hard to prove the contrary, for the men-servants
could not be supposed to know, and I had no doubt Mrs. Pierce
would testify as Miss Lloyd did on any matter.

I was sorry not to put more confidence in the truth of the
testimony I was hearing, but I am, perhaps, sceptical by nature.
And, too, if Florence Lloyd were in any way implicated in the
death of her uncle, I felt pretty sure she would not hesitate at
untruth.

Her marvellous magnetism attracted me strongly, but it did not
blind me to the strength of her nature. While I could not, as
yet, believe her in any way implicated in the death of her uncle,
I was fully convinced she knew more concerning it than she had
told and I knew, unless forced to, she would not tell what she
desired to keep secret.

My sympathy, of course, was with her, but my duty was plain. As
a detective, I must investigate fairly, or give up the case.

At this juncture, I knew the point at issue was the presence of
Miss Lloyd in the office last night, and the two yellow rose
petals I had picked up on the floor might prove a clue.

At any rate it was my duty to investigate the point, so taking a
card from my pocket I wrote upon it: "Find out if Miss Lloyd wore
any flowers last evening, and what kind."

I passed this over to Mr. Monroe, and rather enjoyed seeing his