The Piccadilly Puzzle by Fergus Hume

Flip, having a wonderfully tenacious memory, did not forget the conversation he had overheard between Myles and Miss Penfold; so going to his patron's office, he repeated it in due course to Dowker. The result was that the detective became much exercised in his mind over the whole affair. He could not understand Desmond's refusal to tell the name of the woman he saw on the night of the murder. True, Desmond denied it was Lena Sarschine, but then his denial went for nothing, as he would do so to save himself from suspicion. Mrs. Povy said Lena Sarschine had been there between eleven and twelve, and it was unlikely she would be wrong, seeing how well acquainted she was with the appearance of the dead woman. But then, judging from the drift of Desmond's remarks, his refusal to speak was dictated by a desire to screen the honour of a woman.

If so, it could not have been Lena Sarschine, for she had no honour to lose, and his refusal to speak would be a piece of Quixotism, which he, as a man of the world, would be one of the first to recognize. At this moment, a sudden thought flashed across Dowker's mind -- could it have been Lady Balscombe herself who had the interview with Desmond? Here, indeed, would be a strong motive for Desmond to keep silence, as the visit of a lady to a bachelor's rooms at night would endanger her reputation. Lady Balscombe had, it is true, flung reputation to the winds, but on Monday night it would not have been too late to save her, so if she had seen Desmond, he might have tried to persuade her to give up the elopement, and failed.