"The more thought I give it, the
more impossible it seems to see through it. Was Sir Horace killed before
dusk--before the lights were turned on? If he was killed after dark, who
turned out the lights?"
"He was killed between 10 and 10.30 at night," said Crewe. "The lights
were turned out by the woman Birchill saw leaving the house about 10.30.
But she was not the murderer, and she was not present in the room, or
even in the house, when Sir Horace was shot. She arrived a few minutes
too late to prevent the tragedy. Turning out the lights was an
instinctive act due to her desire to hide the crime, or rather to hide
the murderer."
"How do you know all this?" asked Rolfe, who had been staring at Crewe
with open-mouthed astonishment.
"That woman was not Mrs. Holymead," continued Crewe. "I had a visit
to-day from the woman who did these things, and as evidence of the truth
of her story she brought me the revolver and the handkerchief."
"What did she come to you for?" asked Rolfe, with breathless interest.
"What did she want?"
"She came to me to make a full confession," said Crewe, in even tones.
"A confession!" exclaimed Rolfe. "She ought to have come to the police.
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