Rawson’s manner was friendly and reassuring. [Pg 174]They wanted to get all possible information on the movements of the company the evening before. Last night the examinations had been cursory and fuller ones were necessary. They would like to know just what he had done from the time he entered the house to change his clothes to the time when he had heard the shot. [Pg 174] He answered promptly with businesslike directness. Went to his room, changed his clothes, laid on the bed resting for a while, then sat on the balcony reading the paper. While he was sitting there Miss Saunders must have passed the end of the balcony by the path that led to the Point. She must have, but he had not seen her, being occupied with his paper. Had he while in the house seen Miss Saunders or heard her voice? He had not. He had no idea she had come in. Had he seen his wife? “My wife? Yes, I saw her for a moment. In the hall when I came out of our room after dressing.” [Pg 175] [Pg 175] “Did she tell you she was going to take a walk round the island?” “Well, I hardly remember.” He tilted his head sidewise with an air of careful consideration. “Yes, I believe she did say something about it—it’s very vague in my mind. It made no impression on me. We exchanged a few words and parted.” “She said nothing to you about Miss Saunders being in the house?” “Why no, she didn’t know it. We didn’t mention Miss Saunders at all.” “But she was—she had been—a frequent subject of conversation between you?” His eyes, looking at Rawson, seemed to harden and grow more fixed: “We had talked of her—naturally being in the same company.”
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