“Yes,” she replied, with her lips hardly moving, “of course.”
“And you have been with the Marley family a great number of years,” asked the detective, “longer than Mr. Slim even?”
“Yes,” was the reply again.
“And you heard no noise that night, not a sound?”
“Not a sound.”
“And it was a great shock to you the next morning when you were told of the murder?” He snapped out sharply: “Who told you?”
“Betty Yates, one of the parlourmaids. I was in the pantry.” Her black eyes glinted sharply. “Yes, it was a great shock.”
The detective looked round and lowered his voice confidentially. “Now, you have five girls under you, I understand,” he said. “Can you trust them?”
The housekeeper's eyes bored at him like gimlets. “What do you mean?” she asked sharply. “They wouldn't murder any one.”
“N
