Latimer sat up and looked at me with slightly bleary eyes. “Don’t argue,” he pleaded. “I want to write this story and how the hell can I write it if I don’t know what it’s all about?”
Reg patted his arm. “You’re drunk,” he said happily. “Forget the story and have another drink.”
Latimer scowled at him. “Go away,” he growled. “A story’s a story to me no matter how drunk I am.” He looked over at me. “Tell me about it. The old dame was nuts, but that don’t explain everything.”
“It does if you think about it,” I said, playing with Audrey’s curls. “I got her case history from Colonel Forsberg. I didn’t like Mrs. E. and I thought it’d pay dividends to check up on her. And it did. She began life in a travelling rodeo show and she could handle a rope as well as any cowpuncher. Her father died in an asylum — he was a homicidal lunatic. So was she. She was put away when she was twenty but her brother got her out. They came East together and she married Esslinger. He didn’t know anything about her past. Her brother kept an eye on her and when she started to slip, he lived with her. That’s why Esslinger had to take him on as his manager. Esslinger knew by then, but he wasn’t man enough to put her away.”
Audrey sat up. “Where did you get all this from?” she demanded.
“That’s one of the great advantages of working for an organization like International Investigations. Forsberg dug it out for me,” I said. “Mrs. Esslinger had one obsession — her son. She was crazily jealous of him, and when he began to run around with girls she became deadly dangerous. Hench was crazy, but in a different way. He didn’t kill... he embalmed. When Mrs. E. started strangling Ted’s girlfriends. Hench had a swell time embalming them. He was smart enough to hide the bodies in the Esslinger family vault. But you know about that.”
Latimer nodded. “Sure,” he said. “Then there was nothing to the Street-Camera Studio?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I returned. “In her crazy way, Mrs. E. was determined that Esslinger should be mayor. She saw a way of getting at Starkey through the Studio and she concentrated on the girls whose photos had appeared in the shop window. You remember I found Mary Drake’s handkerchief in the place? Well, I’ll bet Hench planted that in the hope that either I or Ted would find it. Ted was genuinely convinced that Starkey had something to do with the killings because his mother told him so.”
“And the girls — anything in the fact they were all blondes?”
I pulled Audrey closer to me. “Only that Ted preferred blondes, as I do. You can’t beat a nice blonde.”
“It’s a cinch,” Beyfield said, smiling at me. “Boy! Am I going to be pleased when I see Macey’s face tomorrow? I’ll skin that fat punk alive.”
“I can’t understand why Hench and Mrs. Esslinger should have tried to kill me after they knew we had found the bodies,” Audrey said. “You’d’ve thought they would have waited a while.”
“They were crazy — the pair of them,” I said. “We baited the trap and they couldn’t resist walking into it.”
“But where was Ted all the time?” Audrey asked. “Why didn’t he keep his date with me?”
“Mrs. E. fixed that. He told her he was going out with you and she saw her opportunity. She got Hench to call Ciro’s club and leave the message for you to meet Ted at Maddox Avenue. Then she delayed Ted from reaching you punctually and, of course, when he arrived you’d gone. I bet she pulled the same trick with the other girls.”
“That all?” Latimer asked, stubbing out his cigarette.
“I guess so. That’ll give you a swell story. Don’t forget to give Beyfield all the credit.”
Beyfield beamed.
“If you want a hand in putting that story together,” Reg said, “I’ll help you.”
Latimer got to his feet. “Come on then. We’ll get the story away and then we’ll make a night of it.”
“See you early tomorrow, Reg,” I called after him. “I’m catching the first train out.”
Beyfield finished his drink and stood up. “Well, I won’t keep you folks out of your beds,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m almost sorry you’re going. The next time you come to Cranville, you’ll be surprised at the changes. With Macey and Wolf out of here, things will begin to smell sweet again.” He glanced over his shoulder and-then, lowering his voice, he whispered: “From the way things look I shouldn’t be surprised if McArthur isn’t made mayor. I’ve got a guy who’ll back him and he’s a smart little punk if he’s kept away from his wife,” He closed one eye and wavered unsteadily before us. “Well so long,” he said, beaming at us; “see you in church.”
He began an unsteady journey across the room, leaving us alone together.
“He’s quite nice really, isn’t he?” Audrey said, putting her hand in mine.
“A copper’s always nice if he’s getting something out of you,” I returned.
“Come on, sweetheart, let’s go to bed.”
She looked at me. “I know the joke’s on me,” she said, “but you remember you said Max Esslinger didn’t think I could crack the case — if he did say that, why did he hire me?”
I grinned at her. “Mrs. E. persuaded him against his better judgment,” I said, putting my arm round her, “She thought with you on the case—”
“That’s enough from you,” Audrey broke in hastily, “and don’t you dare laugh.”
I pulled her to me and kissed her.