“But,” he urged, “do you know who this man is that you are trying to protect, this notorious crook, this⁠—”

She looked at him, eyes wide open in amazement. He stopped abruptly.

“I am not trying to shield any notorious criminal,” she declared.

“You may not know it, but Larry Hughes is one of the most dangerous men in London.”

She looked him straight in the eyes now. “That is the man you mentioned yesterday. When I said I did not know him I was confused. I have met him twice, or perhaps three times. He is no friend of mine⁠—merely an acquaintance.”

“He is the man who engineered the burglary. He is not worth an ache of your little finger.”