e, never got into any arguments with
you, and never saw you outside the office. She had worked for
Professor Gilmore for five or six months, has excellent references,
and is well liked by her friends. Yet you're asking us to believe
that she coldly and deliberately lied to get you into trouble. Is
that true?

A: All I know is she lied.

* * * * *

The break was there all right, Kirk thought grimly. For if Cordell was
innocent, then he had told the truth during the trial. And if he had
told the truth about his remark to Alma Dakin, then, automatically, Alma
Dakin's testimony was untrue.

Kirk ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture of bafflement. What
possible reason could Gilmore's secretary have for going out of her way
to lie about Cordell's remark? Was it because she was so certain he had
killed her employer that she wanted to make sure he would be punished?

Or was it because she wanted to shield the real killer? Maybe she was a
friend of Naia North's and had known the blonde girl was in Gilmore's
laboratory all along. She might even have deliberately steered everyone
out of her office after Cordell discovered the bodies, making it
possible for Naia to slip out unseen.

It was a slender lead, but the only one large enough to get even a
fingernail grip on. He drew the phone over in front of him and began a
series of calls designated to give him more information about Alma
Dakin.

A call to the University took him through a couple of secretaries before
he reached the right person. Her name was Miss Slife, personnel director
of all non-teaching employees. Miss Dakin? Why, of course! A lovely girl
and very dependable. She had come to the University in search of a
position only a day or two before Miss Collins, Professor Gilmore's
previous secretary, had resigned. Since Miss Dakin's references showed
that she had worked for a short time as secretary to Dr. Karney, one of
the co-discoverers of the atom bomb (according to Miss Slife), she had
been engaged to take Miss Collins' place. Professor Gilmore, poor man,
had been very pleased with the change and everybody was happy: Miss
Collins at inheriting a vary large sum of money from a relative she'd
never even heard of, Miss Dakin at being able to get such a nice
position, and _dear_ Professor Gilmore at finding such a satisfactory
replacement.

When Miss Slife had run down, Kirk said, "This Dr. Kar