" Innes hung up the receiver.
"Did you follow, Wessex?" he said. "Stokes was on the right
track, but made a bad blunder. You see, his appearance led to the
woman's retreat."
"He explained that to me," returned the inspector, gloomily. "She
got out by another door as he came in. Oh! a pretty mess he has
made of it. If he and Rector had been cooperating, they could
have covered her movements perfectly."
"There is no use crying over spilt milk," returned Innes. He
glanced significantly in the inspector's direction. "Miss
Abingdon has rung up practically every hour all day," he said.
Wessex nodded his head.
"I'm a married man myself," he replied, "and happily married,
too. But if you had seen the look in her eyes when I told her
that Mr. Harley had disappeared, I believe you would have envied
him."
"Yes," murmured Innes. "They haven't known each other long, but I
should say from what little I have seen of them that she cares
too much for her peace of mind." He stared hard at the inspector.
"I think it will break her heart if anything has happened to the
chief. The sound of her voice over the telephone brings a lump
into my throat, Wessex. She rang up an hour ago. She will ring up
again."
"Yet I never thought he was a marrying man," muttered the
inspector.
"Neither did I," returned Innes, smiling sadly. "But even he can
be forgiven for changing his mind in the case of Phil Abingdon.
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