. How does Mrs. Wright appear when Hale sees her?

Sometime after eight o'clock, Hale knocked on the door and, upon hearing what he thought was an invitation to enter, he opened the door to find Mrs. Wright rocking in confusion on the rocking chair and nervously pleating her apron. She did not look at Hale or ask him to sit down, and when he asked about John, she informed him that he could not see her husband because he was dead from strangulation by rope. Hale called for Harry, and they went upstairs to see the body. When they returned, Mrs. Wright told them that she had not notified anyone and that she did not know the culprit because she had been asleep. After Harry went to find the coroner, Mrs. Wright moved to a different chair and stared at the floor. Hale tried to talk to her, but when he mentioned the telephone, she began to laugh before stopping and looking scared. At this point, Henderson looks around the kitchen and finds the fruit preserves making a mess in the cupboard because the jars broke from the cold. Mrs. Peters explains that Mrs. Wright had been worried, and Hale dismissively says, "Well, women are used to worrying over trifles," which causes Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale to draw closer together. Henderson also criticizes Mrs. Wright's dirty towels, but Mrs. Hale defends her, although she has not visited the Wright farmhouse for over a year because it was not cheerful. Henderson blames it on Mrs. Wright's homemaking abilities, but Mrs. Hale hints that Wright was the real cause.