Finally a voice at the other end of the wire said: "This is Mrs.Collins!" Britz pressed the receiver tightly to his ear, as if afraid that some word of hers might escape his hearing.
"Mr.Luckstone wishes me to say that Mr.Whitmore's will has been found," said the detective.
If the woman realized the significance of the information, her voice did not betray it.
"Well ?" she exclaimed, as if the subject held but a mild interest for her.
"Mr.Whitmore has named you as the chief beneficiary," Britz continued in even tones.

"You have inherited practically his entire estate." The news provoked no cry of elation, no exclamation of surprise, no revealing remark of any kind.

Simply a non-committal "Yes!" It might have been the indifferent acceptance of information which she knew must eventually come to her; it might have been the meaningless affirmation of stunned surprise.
Britz decided he had accomplished his purpose, so he hung up the receiver without engaging in further parley.
"Setting one of your famous traps--eh ?" beamed Manning.
"Yes--for the guilty one," admitted Britz.
"You have no doubt that she did the trick ?" interjected Greig.
"I have no opinion in the matter," Britz informed him curtly.

"I may have a most decided one, however, in an hour or so." "Well, what do you think is going to happen now ?" drawled Manning.

While he guessed that Britz was setting the stage for a grand climax, he had not the remotest idea of its nature.
"She knows now that she has inherited Whitmore's fortune," said Britz with slow emphasis.