The finding of the gold purse established the fact that part, anyway, of
the Doctor's story was true--the woman who had gone down to the junction
and then disappeared _had_ disappeared in his auto. Was she Sylvia
Hesketh?
The general verdict was yes--Sylvia Hesketh, for some unknown reason,
running away from her lover and her home. All the world knew now that
she was wild and unstable, a girl that might take any whim into her head
and act on the spur of the moment. There were theories to burn why she
should have thrown down Reddy and slipped away alone, but those that
knew her said she was a law unto herself and let it go at that.
The morning after that supper in the Gilt Edge, Anne came in to do the
marketing and stopped at the Exchange. The room was empty but even so I
had to whisper:
"Are they going to arrest the Doctor?"
"He's waiting," she whispered back.
"What do you make of it?"
"What I always have. I think the woman was Virginie. I think she took
Sylvia's things and lit out on her own account."
"What does Mrs. Fowler say?"
"She's going to offer a reward for the murderer. That's her way of
answering. This last seems to have roused her. She knows now it's going
to be a fight for her husband's liberty, perhaps his life. She's
employing Mills and some other detectives and she keeps in close touch
with them."
The next day the reward was made public. It was in all the papers and
nailed up at the depot and in the post office, the words printed in
black, staring letters: