Gold Comes in Bricks (22 page)

“But what about this murder?”

“What about it?”

“Apparently Carter is the one who was in that room, but he won’t admit anything, and Mrs. Ashbury rushed to the telephone and got a lawyer for him.”

“Who did she get, Crumweather?”

“Yes.”

“Crumweather,” I said, “should put up rather a good fight. They may have a hard time proving the murder.”

“Don’t you think you should get that cleaned up a little more thoroughly?”

“Why should I?” I asked. “It’s a police job. Why should
we
get interested in it?”

“So we could see justice done.”

“You’d prefer to have your divorce handled very quietly and without any notoriety, wouldn’t you?”

He nodded.

I said, “Under those circumstances, Crumweather is a pretty good lawyer for Carter to have.”

He stood looking at me for a minute, then said, “You’re right as usual, Lam. Come on, Bertha, let’s get out of here.” Bertha said, “I want Elsie back in the office.”

“You can have her in two or three days as soon as I can wind up the business here.”

Bertha looked at Alta, then back at me, then at Henry. She said, “All right, Donald, remember you’re working. This is an office, and these are office hours. Break it up.”

“Break what up?” I asked.

She jerked her head in the direction of Alta.

Alta Ashbury pushed up her chin. “I beg your pardon, Mrs. Cool,” she said, “but as far as I’m concerned, this case isn’t finished. There are some other things I want to talk over.”

“Well, I’ve got a detective agency to run, and I’m employing this boy. You can talk to him after hours.”

Alta said, “I’ll do nothing of the sort. You may not realize it, but we’re paying you a hundred dollars a day, Mrs. Cool.”

“You mean the—” Bertha Cool heaved a sigh. She took quick stock of the situation, and said to me, “I’m going over to the agency office,” and turned to Alta and said, “At that rate, dearie, you can hire him by the month,” and jerked open the door of the private office.

Ashbury said, “See you later, Donald,” and to Bertha, “Just a minute, Mrs. Cool. I want to run down to your office and check up on a few points.”

I heard the sound of Ashbury’s chuckle, heard Bertha Cool slam the door shut so hard she jarred the glass partition, and then Alta Ashbury and I went in the office—alone.