Alicia looked at her anxiously as if trying to read what might be in her mind. Indifferently she went on:
"The papers say there was a quarrel about you, that you and Mr.
Underwood were too friendly. They implied that Howard was jealous. Is this true?"
"It"s all talk," cried Annie indignantly--"nothing but scandal--lies!
There"s not a word of truth in it. Howard never had a jealous thought of me--and as for me--why--I"ve always worshiped the ground he walked on.
Didn"t he sacrifice everything for my sake? Didn"t he quarrel with his father for me? Didn"t he marry me? Didn"t he try to educate and make a lady of me? My G.o.d!--do you suppose I"d give a man like that cause for jealousy? What do the newspapers care? They print cruel statements that cut into a woman"s heart, without giving it a thought, without knowing or caring whether it"s true or not, as long as it interests and amuses their readers. You--you don"t really believe I"m the cause of his misfortunes, do you?"
Alicia shook her head as she answered kindly:
"No, I don"t. Believe me, I don"t. You were right when you said that at such a time as this one woman should stand by another. I"m going to stand by you. Let me be your friend, let me help you." Extending her hand, she said: "Will you?"
Annie grasped the proffered hand. It was the first that had been held out to her in her present trouble. A lump rose in her throat. Much affected, she said:
"It"s the first kind word that----" She stopped and looked closely for a moment at Alicia. Then she went on:
"It"s the queerest thing, Mrs. Jeffries, but it keeps coming into my mind. Howard told me that while he was at Underwood"s that dreadful night he thought he heard your voice. It must have been a dream, of course, yet he thought he was sure of it. Your voice--that"s queer, isn"t it? Why--what"s the matter?"
Alicia had grown deathly pale and staggered against a chair. Annie ran to her aid, thinking she was ill.
"It"s nothing--nothing!" stammered Alicia, recovering herself.
Fearing she had said something to hurt her feelings, Annie said sympathetically:
"I haven"t said anything--anything out of the way--have I? If I have I"m sorry--awfully sorry. I"m afraid--I--I"ve been very rude and you"ve been so kind!"
"No, no!" interrupted Alicia quickly. "You"ve said nothing--done nothing--you"ve had a great deal to bear--a great deal to bear. I understand that perfectly." Taking her companion"s hand in hers, she went on, "Tell me, what do they say about the woman who went to see Robert Underwood the night of the tragedy?"
"The police can"t find her--we don"t know who she is." Confidently she went on: "But Judge Brewster will find her. We have a dozen detectives searching for her. Captain Clinton accused me of being the woman--you know he doesn"t like me."
The banker"s wife was far too busy thinking of the number of detectives employed to find the missing witness to pay attention to the concluding sentence. Anxiously she demanded:
"Supposing the woman is found, what can she prove? What difference will it make?"
"All the difference in the world," replied Annie. "She is a most important witness." Firmly she went on: "She must be found. If she didn"t shoot Robert Underwood, she knows who did."
"But how can she know?" argued Alicia. "Howard confessed that he did it himself. If he had not confessed it would be different."
"He did not confess," replied the other calmly. "Mrs. Jeffries--he never confessed. If he did, he didn"t know what he was saying."
Alicia was rapidly losing her self-possession.
"Did he tell you that?" she gasped.
Annie nodded.
"Yes. Dr. Bernstein says the police forced it out of his tired brain. I made Howard go over every second of his life that night from the time he left me to the moment he was arrested. There wasn"t a harsh word between them." She stopped short and looked with alarm at Alicia, who had turned ashen white. "Why, what"s the matter? You"re pale as death--you----"
Alicia could contain herself no longer. Her nerves were on the point of giving way. She felt that if she could not confide her secret to some one she must go mad. Pacing the floor, she cried:
"What am I to do? What am I to do? I believed Howard guilty. Why shouldn"t I? I had no reason to doubt his own confession! Every one believed it--his own father included. Why should I doubt it. But I see it all now! Underwood must have shot himself as he said he would!"
Annie started. What did Mrs. Jeffries mean? Did she realize the tremendous significance of the words she was uttering?
"As he said he would?" she repeated slowly.
"Yes," said Alicia weakly.
Annie bounded forward and grasped her companion"s arm. Her face flushed, almost unable to speak from suppressed emotion, she cried:
"Ah! I begin to understand. You knew Robert Underwood? Howard knows your voice--he heard you--talking to him----Oh, Mrs. Jeffries! Are you the woman who visited his apartment that night?"
The banker"s wife bowed her head and collapsed on a chair.
"Yes," she murmured in a low tone.
Annie looked at her in amazement.
"Why didn"t you come forward at once?" she cried. "Think of the pain which you might have spared us!"
Alicia covered her face with her handkerchief. She was crying now.
"The disgrace--the disgrace!" she moaned.
"Disgrace!" echoed Annie, stupefied. Indignantly, she went on: "Disgrace--to you? But what of me and Howard?"
Alicia looked up.
"Can"t you realize what it means to be a.s.sociated with such a crime?"
she wailed.
"Disgrace!" cried Annie contemptuously. "What is disgrace when a human life is at stake?"
"It seemed so useless," moaned Alicia--"a useless sacrifice in the face of Howard"s confession. Of course--if I"d known--if I"d suspected what you tell me--I"d have come forward and told everything--no matter at what cost." Tearfully she added: "Surely you realize the position it puts me in?"
A new light shone in Annie"s eyes. What was this woman"s misery to her?
Her duty was to the poor fellow who was counting the hours until she could set him free. His stepmother deserved no mercy. Utterly selfish, devoid of a spark of humanity, she would have left them both to perish in order to protect herself from shame and ridicule. Her face was set and determined as she said calmly:
"It must be done now."
"Yes," murmured Alicia in a low tone that sounded like a sob, "it must be done now! Oh, if I"d only done it before--if I"d only told Mr.
Jeffries the whole truth! You speak of Howard"s sufferings. If he didn"t do it, he has at least the consciousness of his own innocence, but I--the constant fear of being found out is worse than any h.e.l.l the imagination can conjure up. I dreaded it--I dread it now--it means disgrace--social ostracism--my husband must know--the whole world will know."
Annie was not listening. Still bewildered, she gazed with the utmost astonishment at her companion. To think that this mysterious woman they had been seeking was Howard"s stepmother.
"So you"re the missing witness we"ve all been hunting for!" she said; "I can"t believe it even now. How did it happen?"
Alicia explained in short, broken sentences: