embarrassment.”
“She saved more than that for me,” Emily Crandall broke in. “I’d never have seen my jewels again if she hadn’t found them for me.”
“Did you finally recover them all?” Mrs. Potter questioned, with interest. “I thought part of them had been pawned.”
“Nancy got them all back for me,” Emily declared proudly. “That is, all but about three hundred dollars’ worth, and I can afford to lose that much. You see, she traced them to a pawnbroker in Winchester and had him arrested for accepting stolen goods. He was forced to give everything back.”
“It really wasn’t hard to trace the jewels,” Nancy observed quietly.
“I guess nothing is very hard for you,” Mrs. Willoughby laughed. “Really you seem to have a genius for solving mysteries.”
“Speaking of mysteries,” Carson Drew broke in. “ Mrs. Willoughby has never explained to us why she went to the bank vault on the day before she planned to deliver the jewels.”
“It was silly of me, wasn’t it? And it made the police so suspicious! Well, to tell the truth, I was worried about Emily’s jewels, and I wanted to make certain that they were safe in the vault. Of course I knew they would be there but, well, I guess I’m the nervous sort. The police wouldn’t believe me when I told them. Under the circumstance, I suppose it was natural for them to suspect me.”
“The fact that you were known to be in hard circumstance made the case look worse, too,” Mr. Drew remarked.
“Yes, at that time I thought I might have to borrow money, but fortunately an investment has turned out much better than I expected, so I’m still a woman of means.”