He sat absolutely motionless for some moments before saying in a hard, tight voice, ‘Did the Lieutenant think anything of that?’
‘I haven’t told him yet. It’s just a theory of mine.’
‘Yeah?’ He shifted around in his seat to glare at me. ‘Look, take my tip and don’t let your imagination run away with you. These folks have plenty of influence. You start a rumour like that without proof and you’ll land yourself in plenty of trouble.’
‘I know that,’ I said. ‘I was just coasting. How do you like the idea yourself?’
‘It stinks,’ he said, a savage note in his voice. ‘Mrs. Malroux would never do such a thing.’
‘Is that right? Well, I’ll take your word for it. You know her better than I do.’
I swung the car into the police yard before he could come back on that. I pulled up and got out.
We walked together to the morgue. I stood aside to let him go in first.
Renick and Barty were sitting on one of the tables, talking together. Away in a corner on another table was a sheet-covered body.
O’Reilly shook hands with Renick and nodded to Barty.
‘So you found her,’ he said.
I was watching him. He was as unmoved and as tough-looking as any cop could be.
I watched him cross the room with Renick, then I turned away as Renick flicked back the sheet. I was sweating again.
I heard Renick say, ‘Is that her?’
‘Sure is — poor kid. So she was strangled. Any angles yet, Lieutenant?’
‘Not yet. How did the old man take the news?’
‘He’s pretty bad.’ O’Reilly shook his head. ‘The doctor’s with him now.’
‘Tough.’
They came back to where Barty and I were standing.
‘Okay, O’Reilly,’ Renick said. ‘Thanks for coming. I don’t need to keep you. I’ve got to get on.’
‘Anything to oblige, Lieutenant,’ O’Reilly said. He shook hands, nodded to Barty, gave me a hard stare and went out.
Renick said to a plain clothes man who was lounging against the walclass="underline"
‘Tell the doc he can have her now.’
Jerking his head at me, he left the morgue and crossed the yard. Barty and I followed him.
‘What did she say about the dress, Harry?’ Renick asked as we all went down the long corridor to the office that had been put at Renick’s disposal.
‘She knew about it. She bought it herself. It’s a beach dress the girl kept in her car. When she went down on the beach she put it on to save a better dress she happened to be wearing.’
Renick pushed open the door to the office and we crowded in.
‘I wonder why she changed,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘Something there that doesn’t add up.’ He sat down behind the desk and put up his feet.
Barty and I found chairs.
‘Why was that briefcase full of newspapers?’ Barty asked. ‘That puzzles me.’
‘And where’s the ransom?’ Renick picked up a letter opener and started to dig holes in the blotter.
‘You know I keep coming back to the idea she was kidnapped by someone who knew her. The fact this guy used Jerry Williams’s name points to it. We’d better check all her men friends and find out what they were doing at the time she was at the Pirates’ Cabin. Will you see to that?’
Barty got to his feet.
‘Right away.’
When he had gone, Renick said to me, ‘As soon as the doc is through, we’ll get that dress photographed. Someone may have noticed her wearing it.’
There came a tap on the door and a police officer looked in.
‘There’s a guy out here, waiting to see you,’ he said. ‘His name is Chris Keller. It’s to do with the photograph in the newspaper this morning.’
‘Shoot him in,’ Renick said, removing his feet from the desk.
I was immediately alert and worried. I looked towards the door as a man of about my build came in.
He paused to look from Renick to me. I watched his reaction as he and I exchanged glances, but there was no sign of recognition. I had never seen him before, and I relaxed.
‘Mr. Keller?’ Renick said, getting to his feet. He held out his hand.
‘That’s right.’ Keller shook hands. ‘Lieutenant, I saw this picture in the paper.’ He held up the newspaper containing the picture of myself with the blocked out face. ‘I think I’ve seen this guy.’
‘Sit down. Let’s have your address, Mr. Keller.’
Keller sat down. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his sun-tanned, pleasantly ugly face. He said he lived on Western Avenue and gave the number of his apartment.
‘Where do you think you saw this man?’
‘At the airport.’
My heart started to thump. I picked up a pencil and began to doodle on the blotter lying on the desk at which I was sitting.
‘When was this?’
‘Saturday night.’
I saw Renick begin to show interest.
‘What time?’
‘Around eleven o’clock.’
‘What makes you so sure he is the man we’re looking for, Mr. Keller?’
Keller moved uneasily.
‘I’m not sure he is the man, Lieutenant. It was the suit that caught my attention. You see I planned to buy a suit like that myself. I was in the airport lobby waiting for a friend of mine off the L.A. plane and I saw this guy come in. The suit attracted my attention. I thought how well it looked, then seeing this photograph in the paper today, I thought maybe I should come in and tell you.’
‘You did right. Would you recognise this guy again?’
Keller shook his head.
‘To tell the honest truth, Lieutenant, I didn’t look at his face. I was looking at the suit.’
Renick drew in a long, slow breath of exasperation. Then he asked the question I had been silently willing him not to ask.
‘Was he alone?’
‘He had a girl with him.’
Renick got slowly to his feet. He could scarcely control his excitement.
‘Did you happen to notice the girl, Mr. Keller?’
Keller grinned widely.
‘Oh, sure. There aren’t many pretty girls that I don’t notice.’
‘How was she dressed?’
‘She had on a blue and white cotton dress. She wore big sun goggles and she had red hair — my favourite colouring for a girl.’
‘Red hair?’ Renick paused in his pacing to stare at Keller. ‘You are sure about that?’
‘I’m sure.’
I took out my handkerchief and surreptitiously wiped my face.
Renick snatched up the telephone.
‘Taylor, get that dress the girl was wearing up here right away.’
As he replaced the receiver, Keller said in a puzzled voice, ‘I thought you were interested in the guy, Lieutenant, not the girl.’
‘What did these two do?’ Renick asked, ignoring Keller’s remark.
Seeing the hard, seriousness in his eyes, Keller stiffened to attention.
‘They came into the lobby. The man was carrying a suitcase. The girl got her ticket checked and the man handed over the suitcase. Then he went away and the girl went through the barrier.’
‘Did they speak at all to each other?’
Keller shook his head.
‘Come to think of it, I don’t think they did. The guy just handed over the suitcase and left.’
A police officer came in carrying a blue and white dress. Renick took it from him and held it up so Keller could see it.
‘That’s the one,’ Keller said confidently. ‘She looked real cute in it.’
‘You’re sure?’