Free The Scandal at 23 Mount Street (An Angela Marchmont Mystery Book 9) by Clara Benson Page B

still remained one thing above all which meant she would never be induced to speak, and that was the fact that her sense of honour would not allow her to break a promise and give Valencourt away. He had told her that he was going to try and give up his old ways, but whether that were true or not did not matter. They had had an understanding, and that being so she could not betray him, even to save herself.
    Still, she could not help but kick herself at her insistence on giving him her gun. She had no idea whether or not her revolver was the weapon which had killed her husband, but had she not given the thing to Valencourt then it might have proved her innocence in one way or another. For example, if the gun could be produced then the bullets inside it could be examined. If they were different from the one which had killed Davie, then that would indicate that some other weapon had been used, and, by implication, that someone else had done the deed. If, on the other hand, it turned out that her gun was the weapon which had been used to kill him, then someone else’s finger-prints would presumably be on it, again pointing to her innocence. But all the vital evidence had now been destroyed, for she had herself taken the gun out of the drawer and given it to him, and now both their finger-prints would be on it. That being so, perhaps it was better that the gun was now safely out of the way, for who knew what conclusions might be drawn if it were produced now?
    Mr Addison was speaking again, and Angela forced her attention back to the present.
    ‘I beg your pardon,’ she said. ‘You said something about Freddy?’
    ‘I said that Mr. Pilkington-Soames has asked me to pass on his regards. We have every reason to be grateful to him, for he has been working tirelessly to find witnesses to support our case.’
    ‘It’s terribly kind of him,’ said Angela dutifully.
    ‘It is. As he said, it is cheaper than employing a private detective, and as a reporter he is in a position to ask questions that others may find difficult to countenance. I am glad, now, that we agreed to let him look into the matter. There is no doubt at this point that we need some help on our side, for the police believe they have a strong enough case and so they are not inclined to look too hard for any other evidence, but there are a few leads we should like to follow. For example, we are trying to find the boys who were presumably letting off fireworks on the night of your husband’s death. If it can be demonstrated that all the explosions which were heard after midnight were in fact made by fireworks, then that may go some way towards strengthening your case, for it will at least imply that the shot was fired before midnight—a time for which, of course, you have an alibi.’
    ‘It doesn’t sound like much,’ said Angela.
    ‘No, but every little helps, as they say, and if we can find enough small pieces of evidence, we may be able to build them into a solid case for the defence. Don’t forget, the jury must find you guilty “beyond reasonable doubt.” Our task is to introduce that doubt into their minds and thus force them to acquit you.’
    ‘I see,’ said Angela.
    Mr. Addison puffed up a little with excitement, for he had been saving a piece of news.
    ‘By the way, I think you will be very pleased when you hear of another witness your friend has found,’ he said.
    ‘Oh?’
    ‘Yes. As a matter of fact, he has spoken to someone who claims he saw a man threatening your husband on the steps of Burkett’s on the very day of the murder.’
    Here he paused to observe the effect of his words. Angela looked duly impressed and invited him to continue.
    ‘Yes,’ he went on. ‘You may remember I told you that a person had come forward and told the police that he had something of importance to say about the case. Scotland Yard took down his story but disregarded it, for they do not consider the man to be a reliable witness, as he is already known to