“I agree with you that the villain ought to be punished, but the cost has got to be reckoned.”
Ackroyd rose and walked up and down. Presently he sank into the chair again.
“Look here, Sheppard, suppose we leave it like this. If no word comes from her, we’ll let the dead things lie.”
“What do you mean by word coming from her?” I asked curiously.
“I have the strongest impression that somewhere or somehow she must have left a message for me—before she went. I can’t argue about it, but there it is.”
I shook my head. “She left no letter or word of any kind. I asked.”
“Sheppard, I’m convinced that she did. And more, I’ve a feeling that by deliberately choosing death, she wanted the whole thing to come out, if only to