Blow Hot, Blow Cold

8

“You know,” said Nancy, “he looks like one, and sometimes he acts like one, but I noticed that he doesn’t talk like one. And in my opinion he isn’t.”

Lying beside David, she spoke in darkness. Her words gave the impression of round eyes. David had been breathing deeply, but he was not asleep. He remained quiet as he tried to follow Nancy’s train of thought. It was, he decided, hopeless.

“Who?” he said.

“Lieutenant Masters. I’ve been thinking about him.”

“Acts like what?”

“A kind of clown. A simpleton. I think it’s his nose and the way his pants sag in the seat.”

“Well, he’s a lieutenant of detectives. That means he’s supposed to be able to weigh evidence and make deductions and things like that. It would be fair to assume that he’s not a complete fool.”

“He’s slimy, though. You’ll have to admit that. Didn’t you get the impression that he wasn’t convinced that Larry killed Lila, in spite of everything?”

“No, I didn’t. I got the impression that the conclusion was just waiting for evidence to support it. As soon as he finds Larry, he’ll have it.”

“You think so? I suppose you’re right. It does seem pretty obvious. I guess I’m just hoping that Larry didn’t.”

“Sure. Poor Larry. He must have been driven hard to make him go off the deep end that way. I wish I’d understood. I might have been able to help him.”

“You think it’s all true, then? What Larry told me last night?”

“It must be. A guy like Larry doesn’t go crazy over nothing.”

This remark seemed conclusive, and Nancy lay quietly while David began to breathe deeply again. But she was so unhappy about so much that she wondered if she would ever feel like sleeping again.

“For all anyone knows,” she said, “I might have killed her myself.”

There was sudden violent movement beside her. David had shot up to a sitting position.

“What? What, for God’s sake?”

“I said I might have killed her myself. For all anyone knows.”

“That’s what I thought you said, and why the hell did you?”

“It’s possible.”

“It’s absolute crud.”

“It’s entirely possible. There I was, I mean outside and all, while you were asleep, and I saw Larry leave. I could have gone in right then and killed Lila, or I could have come back and done it after talking with Stanley in the alley.”

“Oh, sure,” sneered David. “You had a real motive, didn’t you? Lila cheating at bridge, I think?”

“I don’t play bridge. You know that.”

“Then stop fantasizing and get the hell to sleep.”

“Maybe I had a real thing for Larry and hated Lila’s guts for what she was doing to him.”

“Of course! And I never once suspected. Listen, Cleopatra, you couldn’t think adultery without my knowing it.”

Oh, no? thought Nancy. “Well, anyway, I had the opportunity, and I’ll bet Lieutenant Masters latches on to it. He won’t reject the idea, even if you do.”

“I love you, damn it!” yelled David. “You’re my wife!”

“Now, David, you know that has nothing to do with anything.”

David was tensely silent, whereby Nancy knew he was counting to ten. “How long were you down in the alley with Stanley, did you say?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Quite a while. We smoked and talked.”

“You see what I’m getting at? I wasn’t asleep at all. While you and Stanley were in the alley, I sneaked over and killed Lila myself. It only took a few minutes.”

“You didn’t even know Larry was gone.”

“I saw him leave from the window.”

“You did not, David Howell! You were snoring your silly head off. I wish you wouldn’t make up such stories.”

“It’s no use,” said David hollowly. “I’m making a full confession tomorrow.”

Nancy lay down and rolled over on her side, and the feel of her rump made it clear that she wanted nothing more said about anything. David contentedly fell asleep.

“I think I’ll go up to bed,” Dr. Jack Richmond said.

“Let’s have a nightcap first,” his wife said. “I want to talk to you.”

“Talk? Do you think that’s wise, Vera?”

“It will probably be futile, but I’d like to try. It all depends on how honest you’re prepared to be.”

“All right. But I think you’re making a mistake.”

“I’ll have a bourbon and water, please.”

He left the living room and came back with two highballs. He handed one to Vera and carried the other to the chair he had been occupying.

“Did Larry kill Lila?” Vera said.

“It looks like it.”

“Where do you think Larry is?”

“I think he’s exactly where you think he is. Or was. He’s certainly been found, and probably removed, by this time.”

“In his office?”

“Yes.”

“Dead?”

“Of course. What other escape did he have?”

“You mean you think he committed suicide, Jack?”

“I’d bet on it.”

“If you thought Larry was a suicide in his office, why didn’t you say so to Lieutenant Masters?”

“Why should I? Let Masters find Larry himself.”

“Do you think that policeman has enough intelligence to understand what happened?”

“Don’t underestimate him. He’s not the fool he looks like. As a matter of fact, I have the feeling he’s a lot more capable than he wants people to believe. Don’t worry about his seeing what’s under his nose.”

“You talk as if you know that Larry’s killed himself.”

“It’s a logical assumption. The office was locked, his car was parked in back. Given Lila’s murder, Larry’s suicide fits.”

“Well, that should pretty well close the affair, shouldn’t it?”

“I hope so.”

Vera sipped thoughtfully. “Still, you say Masters is bright. Suppose he’s bright enough to keep on poking?”

“What about it?” asked Dr. Jack Richmond.

“I’m thinking about you.”

“Me? I appreciate your concern, dear, but I can’t see why that should bother me.”

“Can’t you? If that detective keeps on with his investigation, he may find out about your affair with Lila.”

“We agreed not to discuss that again.”

“I know, but all this rather changes matters, doesn’t it?”

“It doesn’t make me a murderer, Vera. The affair was over. I was completely candid with you about it, and you agreed to stay with me.”

“Because you wanted me to.”

“Yes, and I still want you to. I always will. Lila was a malicious bitch. She would have ruined me in time, the way she was ruining Larry. Or rather, she would have made me ruin myself. But I put an end to it, and Larry never knew, and I’m glad for that.”

“Are you sure it was over?” Vera asked, frowning.

“Are you starting to doubt me?”

“I don’t mean you. Was it over for her?”

“She had no choice.”

“Didn’t she? Can a man scorn a woman like Lila and get away with it? She would have destroyed you if she could. As a doctor you’re particularly vulnerable.”

“Are you suggesting, Vera, that I might have killed Lila because she threatened my position in this town? I’m not such a fool or coward. There are all sorts of things I could do besides practice medicine. It would be tough, but it would be a lot tougher for me to commit murder.”

“I wonder, darling,” murmured his wife. “Anyway, I’m merely trying to read the evidence as a detective might.”

“What evidence?”

“Stop and think. You were called to the hospital last night. You were gone over two hours. Where were you all that time?”

“I drove to the hospital, stayed there until I was finished, and came home.”

“I know. You even called me and told me you’d be delayed. But can you prove that you were actually there all the time?”

“See here, Vera—” Jack began angrily.

“To make matters worse, you knew Larry had left home. Our windows were open and we heard him leave.”

“What is this? Do you suspect me of having killed Larry, too?”

“There you go again, saying positively that Larry is dead.”

“It’s a logical assumption.”

“Don’t be angry with me, Jack,” she said quietly. “I’m frightened. What would you do if you were accused? What would I do?”

Her distress dissipated his anger. He set his glass down and went to her and put his hand on her head as if she were a child. “You’re a rare gal, darling. You’re worth all the others put together.”

“I love you, that’s all. I shouldn’t, but I do.”

He grinned. “Thanks! Now let’s go up. I’ll give you something to help you sleep.”

“You go ahead, dear. I’d like another drink.”

“I’ll fix it for you.”

“No, you need your rest. I’ll do it myself.”

He went upstairs, and Vera Richmond went into the kitchen and fixed the drink. She began to think after a while that she would like to move. She and Jack could well afford a better house in a more exclusive neighborhood. It had been difficult living here, with Lila just next door. Now that Lila was dead, it ought to be better, but somehow Vera doubted it.

Stanley Walters sat down on the edge of the bed and bent over his pot with a grunt to remove his socks.

“I don’t see why we have to keep going over and over it,” he said.

Mae’s voice responded from the bathroom, its strained quality advising her husband that she was in the act of struggling out of her girdle.

“I’m sure you don’t,” she said. “I’m sure you think it was perfectly proper for you to be down in the alley at midnight with Nancy Howell — in your pajamas. As for me, I have more decency than that, and David Howell would think so, too, if he had any sense.”

“Well, you heard what David said. He didn’t see anything wrong in it.”

“I heard him, all right. I also heard what Nancy said.”

“Oh, nuts. She was just breaking it off in you for making such a fool of yourself about it.”

“Is that so? Maybe I’m not such a fool as she thinks. Nancy Howell is tricky, and I’m on to her if no one else around here is. She’s just the kind who’d deliberately tell the truth in a way to make everyone think it was a lie.”

“Mae. All Nancy did was call me over to the alley to borrow a cigaret, that’s absolutely all.”

“Was it?”

“I’ve said so until I’m sick of saying it!”

“I’m not thinking of what you may have done with Nancy. I’m thinking of what you may have done after Nancy left.”

“I didn’t do anything. Damn it, I came back to the house and went to bed!”

“That’s what you say. I’m not so sure. I’ll bet Lieutenant Masters won’t be, either, when he gets around to thinking about it.”

Mae emerged from the bathroom in her nightgown, and Stanley looked at her impressive approach with alarm.

“What’s that? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just what I said.”

“Why should Masters doubt it?”

“If you can’t convince your wife, Stanley Walters, how can you expect to convince a detective? Everyone around here knows that Lila Connor made advances to you every chance she got, and that you lapped it up like a — like a fish out of water. Nancy told you Larry had left home for the night. You’ve admitted that. I had taken a sleeping pill, which you also knew. So what was to prevent your paying a little social call on Lila while you had the chance?”

“Lila was dead. Larry killed her before he left. We know that now.”

“Do we? It seems to me it remains to be proved. You haven’t heard about Larry confessing or anything yet, have you?”

“Are you for God’s sake suggesting that I may have killed Lila because she repulsed my advances or something?” asked Stanley excitedly.

“I didn’t say that. You said it. I only say that your Don Juan tendencies have made you a suspect in a nasty murder case.”

“By God, I like that! First I’m accused of making love to Nancy in the alley, then of sneaking over for a fling with Lila! You make me feel like a darned tomcat!”

“If I were you, Stanley, I’d just feel frightened.”

Which, as a matter of fact, was exactly what Stanley was feeling.