What's more, she acted so dumb Tracey had to tell her twice what he
wanted.... And then she said Nita didn't have any of those bitters
anyway."
"An open-and-shut case against poor Lydia!" Penny Crain broke in
derisively. "Go pluck daisies, Janet! You'd be of a lot more help!"
"Here's your maid, Bonnie," Captain Strawn announced lazily, as one of
his plainclothesmen appeared in the arch between dining and living room,
dragging by the hand a woman who was resisting strangely, her apron
pressed to her face.
"You are Lydia?" Dundee asked, his voice kinder than it had been for
many minutes. "Oh, it's Lydia Carr, Captain Strawn? Thank you.... Don't
be afraid. And I'm sorry about the tooth.... Come along in. I'll not
keep you long."
The woman's knees seemed about to fail her, but with a sudden effort she
released the detective's grip on her wrist. Very tall she was, very bony
in her black cotton dress. Pathetic, too, with her thin, iron-grey hair,
and that apron concealing the left half of her face. It was odd, Dundee
thought, that it was not the swollen jaw she chose to cover.
Mrs. Dunlap sprang to her feet and hurried across the room.
"Don't mind, Lydia, please. You must not be so sensitive," she said
gently, and even more gently pulled down the concealing apron.
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