“Maybe you’ve got something,” I said. My voice sounded a little funny because my throat was dry. I took a swallow from my drink but it didn’t help the dryness any.
Harrigan had the whole thing doped out, except for one thing. He was figuring someone had tried to get rid of Lesser. Once he ran that down and got nowhere he might start looking at it from another angle.
“It’s worth checking,” he said. “Do you know anybody who might want Lesser out of the way?”
“I didn’t know him that well.”
“When did you have lunch with him?”
“Last Friday.”
“I see. Now what time did you get downtown Sunday night?”
That stopped me for a minute. I knew the answer to that, but I didn’t like the way he hopped around from one thing to another. There didn’t seem to be any sense in it, but I knew there was a reason.
“Around eight-thirty, I guess,” I said.
“You left him at eight-twenty at sixty hundred north. You made good time if you got here at eight-thirty,”
“I guess I drove pretty fast,” I said. I grinned. “Are you going to give me a ticket?”
“I might shake you down for a few bucks some time when I’m hard up,” he grinned. He kept grinning and said, “Have you got any way to prove you got down here at eight-thirty, Johnny?”
I kept my smile but my mouth felt stretched and tight.
“Are you kidding?” I said.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “I just want some way to check the time table.”
“Well, I’m telling you I got here at eight-thirty. Isn’t that good enough?”
“Not for a murder case, Johnny.”
“That’s great,” I said. “If you think I’m lying why don’t you come right out and say so. I can prove what time I got here but you can go to hell.”
He gave me a puzzled look which was what I wanted. I wanted to bring in my alibi now but I wanted to do it my way. “That’s just fine,” I said. I got up and walked up and down the room a couple of times.
“I don’t know why you’re blowing your top,” he said. “I just want one thing. If you can prove you were here at eight-thirty you must have left him by eight-twenty. That’s all I want.”
“Won’t you take my word for it?”
“That’s no good, Johnny, and you know it.”
“So you’ll subpeona me and make me talk. Sure you will. You don’t care how it’s going to embarrass someone else if I talk.”
“Johnny, I never knew you got embarrassed so easy,” he said.
“I’m not talking about me,” I said. I went over and picked up the phone and called the restaurant. “You’ll get your proof,” I said.
When the manager answered I asked for the blonde. She got on the phone about a minute later.
“Honey, this is Johnny. Can you come up here for a minute?”
“What? Johnny, I’m working. I got three tables waiting for me.”
“It’s important.”
“Well... all right.”
I hung up and Harrigan was watching me with a puzzled look.
“I don’t get all this,” he said.
“Maybe you’ll see in a minute.”
He shrugged and lit a cigarette. We didn’t say anything. I tried to keep up the act but I was scared. She was pretty drunk that night and if she didn’t remember that telephone call and the business about the time it could cause trouble.
Finally there was a light knock on the door. I opened up and she was standing there with a coat on over the uniform and I noticed she was wearing the ring. That was good.
“What is it, Johnny?” she said. She looked nervous and a little scared.
“Come on in. I want you to talk to a guy here.”
She came in and I shut the door. Harrigan stood up and she looked at him uncertainly. I said, “Honey, this is a guy named Harrigan. He’s a copper. He wants to ask you a few questions. Take a seat. He won’t bite.” I looked at Harrigan. “This is Marie Walonski.”
He nodded at her and she sort of jerked her head in his direction and she sat down and began smoothing the skirt over her knees.
Harrigan sat down and picked up his glass again and said, “Marie, this isn’t official. There’s nothing to be worried about. I’m not sure myself why Johnny asked you to come here, but I gather you were with him Sunday night. Is that right?”
She looked quickly at me, but I kept my eyes down on my drink. She had to do this on her own or it wouldn’t mean a damn thing.
She looked back at him and nodded slowly. “Yes, that’s right.”
“What time?”
“I... I don’t know for sure.” She looked at me helplessly. “What time was it, Johnny?”
My throat felt choked and dry. I felt like hitting her. Stupid, drunken half-wit.
“How about a guess,” Harrigan said. “Was it after nine o’clock?”
She frowned and looked down at the floor. Harrigan was squinting at her through the smoke of his cigarette. I took a long slow breath and the room was very quiet.
Suddenly her face cleared and she looked at him with a relieved smile. “Wait a minute. I remember now. We had an argument about the time when he got back. I guess I was mad because he’d been gone so long. He called the switchboard and asked the girl the time. She said it was eight-thirty.”
“You heard her say that?”
“Yes.”
“I thought Johnny made the call.”
“He did, but he held the phone over so I could hear it, too.”
“I see,” Harrigan said. He was quiet a little while, looking at his drink, and then he sighed and pushed the hair back from his forehead. “That clears up a couple of angles.” He smiled at her. “That’s all I wanted to know, Marie. Thanks.”
She looked at me. “I got to get back to work, Johnny.”
I went to the door with her. “Thanks, honey. I’ll pick you up tonight about eight o’clock. I’ll explain all this to you then.”
“Okay, Johnny.”
She went out and I got busy fixing two more drinks. I felt fine. The tightness was gone.
Harrigan said, “What were you so excited about bringing her up here for, Johnny?”
I grinned. “Didn’t you notice that rock she was wearing?”
“Oh. That way, eh? She seems like a nice kid. Congratulations.”
“Thanks. She is a nice kid. I didn’t want her to think I was mixed up with the cops. And I didn’t like the idea of anybody knowing she was up here in my room at night.”
He grinned. “You have changed. But I still can’t see you as the pipe smoking husband. How long have you been engaged?”
“I got her the ring just a few days ago. But I’ve known her for a long time.”
He finished his drink in one long swallow and got to his feet. “Well, I hope it works out all right.” He went to the door, then turned back. “Johnny, you knew Olsen’s wife and you knew Lesser. She insists they were just friends. What do you think?”
I shrugged. “How would I know. They were grown people, just like you see walking around the streets every day. He was up in her apartment. They were having a couple of drinks. Do you think they were getting ready to play rummy?”
“I guess not. Well, take it easy, Johnny.”
He waved at me and went out the door.
Chapter XI
After he left I went down to the bar in the lobby and had a drink or two. The alibi had worked swell. Marie was set now to clear me if anything broke.