"I've waited patiently--" she began, but he stopped her instantly by
saying that her father was with him.

"Please ask him to come to the phone," she said.

Forbes rose at once. He merely assured the girl that he was engaged in
important business and would be home soon after the luncheon hour.
Meanwhile, she was not to go out, and his orders must be obeyed to the
letter.

"Now, Theydon," he said, coming back to the sitting room, "what about
that key?"

The most extraordinary feature of an extraordinary case was the way in
which the mere sound of Evelyn Forbes's voice stilled any qualms of
conscience in Theydon's breast. He knew he was acting foolishly in
conducting a blind inquiry on his own account, an inquiry which might
well arouse the anger and active resentment of the police, but he
offered a sop to his better judgment by consulting Bates.

Then came a veritable surprise.

"The fact is, sir," admitted Bates nervously, "we have Ann Rogers's
key in the kitchen. When she went away on Monday she left it here,
bein' afraid of losin' it. Of course, she took it on Tuesday mornin',
and after goin' from one fit of hysterics into another she gev it to
us again."

Theydon's face was eloquent of the serious view of this avowal.