let was probably all she dared take at the time; so she kept it for herself in case of an emergency."[1]
"What I want to know, Mr. Vance," said Heath, "is how she worked this scheme. Was there any one else in on the deal?"
"No, Sergeant. Ada planned and executed every part of it."
"But how, in God's name?"
Vance held up his hand.
"It's all very simple, Sergeant—once you have the key. What misled us was the fiendish cleverness and audacity of the plot. But there's no longer any need to speculate about it. I have a printed and bound explanation of everything that happened. And it's not a fictional or speculative explanation. It's actual criminal history, garnered and recorded by the greatest expert on the subject the world has yet known—Doctor Hans Gross, of Vienna."
He rose and took up his coat.
"I phoned Currie from the hospital, and he has a belated dinner waiting for all of us. When we have eaten, I'll present you with a reconstruction and exposition of the entire case."
- ↑ As I learned later, Doctor Von Blon, who was an ardent amateur photographer, often used half-gramme tablets of cyanide of potassium; and there had been three of them in his dark-room when Ada had called. Several days later, when preparing to redevelop a plate, he could find only two, but had thought little of the loss until questioned by Vance.
