“Of course. It’s three-oh-six.”
Shayne got up and opened the bedroom door. “Doctor Price, will you step in here a moment?”
The doctor came in and Shayne said, “This man claims he called you from a drugstore immediately after Miss Hamilton’s accident.”
“He lies,” Dr. Price said readily. “The only call I had last night was some practical joker sending me up to six-oh-three.”
“Six-oh-three?” said Randolph, puzzled for a moment, then he exclaimed, “Six-oh-three! Good Lord. Don’t you see what must have happened? In my hurry and excitement I transposed the numbers. Six-oh-three instead of three-oh-six.”
“It’s possible,” Shayne agreed, “and it’s also possible that you did it intentionally-just to give yourself an alibi for going off and leaving Lucy to die. You could always claim you got the numbers transposed.”
“I don’t see how you can believe a thing like that of me,” Randolph said, genuinely hurt. “Every word I’ve told you is the truth.”
“Maybe. I’m not sure there’s a word of truth in any of it,” growled Shayne. “You’ve had plenty of time to fix up a plausible story. If you are telling the truth and didn’t have any reason for feeling guilty about Lucy, why did you deny it so vehemently until she identified you?”
Randolph shuddered and said in a low voice, “Because of Mrs. Dustin. I didn’t know how much of the telephone conversation this girl had overheard. If she knew it was I who went over to meet Mrs. Dustin outside the hotel-” He lost control of his voice for a moment.
Dr. Price returned to the sick room and came back with his bag. “I’ve arranged for a relief for Miss Naylor at noon. Miss Hamilton is going to be all right with rest and the proper attention.”
Shayne thanked him, and he went out. Randolph nervously resumed his story:
“You see, I did keep that appointment with Mrs. Dustin. But it was too late, Mike. Someone else had kept the appointment before me. She was dead. Lying on the sand at the edge of the water right beside the bathing-pier.”
“So you left her like that, too. Without giving an alarm.”
“She was dead. I took time to make sure of that. An alarm wouldn’t do her any good. Look at my position again,” pleaded Randolph. Sweat popped out on his face anew and ran in little rivulets down his chin. “She’d been killed very recently. The blood was still fresh. I supposed the doctor was with Miss Hamilton already. I didn’t know but what she had revived and told her story. The police might already be on their way to the Sunlux to intercept me. And there I was with a corpse at my feet. Would anyone have believed my story?”
“Probably not. No more than I believe it now.”
“There you are. My one thought was to get away from there fast. Put yourself in my place, Mike. It might have been you who kept that appointment with Mrs. Dustin if you’d been here to answer your phone. As I said, I wasn’t sure how much the girl here had heard. I wasn’t sure she got a good enough look to identify me. Don’t you see how I was caught in a net of circumstantial evidence? I couldn’t help Mrs. Dustin any by letting myself be arrested. I hurried home and dug out those papers from my files and spread them around to give the impression that I’d been working on them all evening in case anyone dropped in-as you did.”
Shayne nodded. “Leaving the windows closed so the room would fill up fast with smoke.” He got up and poured himself a drink of cognac. “Now that you’ve got that off your chest, suppose you tell me the truth,” he added casually.
“Don’t you believe me?” Randolph asked in alarm.
“It’s too pat. Everything fits too damned well.”
“I can’t help that. It’s what happened.” Randolph’s tone was flat and final.
“Maybe,” said Shayne unemotionally, “and maybe not. It leaves too many things unanswered. If you didn’t kill her, who in the name of God did?”
“One of the jewel thieves,” suggested Randolph. “They knew she’d called you and was going down to meet you. They got there first to keep her from telling whatever it was she knew.”
Shayne shook his head. “The big trouble with your story is that you have no witness to verify what you claim Mrs. Dustin said over the telephone. So far as we know, she may have said, ‘Mr. Shayne, I’ve found proof that the insurance man was behind that hold-up. I’m afraid to tell my husband because of what he might do in his present condition, but I’ll slip down and give you what proof I have while he’s asleep.’ Something like that would explain your desperate haste to get over there to silence her.”
“Do you seriously suspect me of complicity in those thefts, Shayne?”
“I don’t know. There’s some common denominator tying them all up in one bundle. Can you think of any good reason why I shouldn’t suspect you?”
“I’m afraid I can’t,” Randolph confessed wearily. “I’ve thought about it until I’m going crazy. You can understand now why I was afraid to stay over there with Mrs. Dustin’s corpse and tell my story.”
“If you’d killed her, your reason for keeping your mouth shut is even more apparent.”
“That’s true,” said Randolph hopelessly. Shayne got up and began to pace the floor. Randolph rested his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes against the grim features of the tall figure pacing the floor.
After a long silence, Randolph asked, “What are you going to do, Mike? If you turn me over to the police, I’m sunk. They’ll tie Mrs. Dustin’s murder around my neck in a knot I’ll never get untied.”
“And if I don’t turn you in,” said Shayne harshly, “I’ll be handing you a chance to make a clean getaway.”
“Let me make a deal with you,” begged Randolph.
“I don’t make deals with a murderer-or anyone who may be a murderer.”
“Let me say what I was going to. You’ve indicated that you think you know where to put your hands on the bracelet. That’s damned important to me-and to my company. Do you want to throw away a fat fee?”
“No one ever accused me of not wanting money,” Shayne retorted.
“Here’s your chance to grab some, then. Give me an opportunity to contact my company and get authorization to offer the customary twenty percent. That’ll amount to thirty-six thousand. Pay what you have to for return of the bracelet. I don’t care how much. The rest of the thirty-six grand goes into your pocket. Is that fair enough?”
“What do you want from me if I agree?”
“Your promise not to turn me in. At least not right away. You’re the only one who knows this horrible net of circumstances I got mixed up in. If you have me arrested now, I’ll never be able to fix up a reward deal-not from behind bars while I’m accused of murder.”
The telephone rang. Shayne stalked to it and lifted the receiver, said, “Mike Shayne.”
A voice said, “This is last call for bids on a ruby bracelet.”
Shayne tugged at his earlobe. He glanced aside at Earl Randolph, grimaced, and said, “Twenty grand.”
A chuckle came over the wire. “Get wise, shamus. We know twenty percent is regular.”
“There’s got to be something in it for me.”
“Why not? Say six grand to you. That’s good pocket money.” The voice became harsher. “Thirty grand. In cash on the line. Today.”
“Wait a minute. I’ll check and see-”
“If you can trace this call?” the voice broke in sarcastically. “Don’t waste your time. I’ll call back in fifteen minutes. Have an answer ready then.” There was a click at the other end of the wire.
Shayne hung up and told Randolph flatly, “That was it. We can deal for thirty thousand.”
“That leaves six for you.” Randolph’s voice was trembling. “If you leave me free to make the arrangements. That’s not much, I know, but I’ll add ten grand of my own. Give me a break, Mike. I swear I’m not guilty, but I can’t afford such a charge against me. Even if I do beat the rap, my reputation will be shot to hell.”
Shayne crossed the room and poured himself a small drink. He sipped it reflectively, then went into the bedroom, leaving the door open. Lucy Hamilton was asleep again, and Miss Naylor was playing solitaire with the cards spread out on the empty side of the bed.