“Oh, no!” Penny gasped. “You didn’t—-?”
“Murder her? No. What good would she be to me dead? Not that I’d be able to tell the difference, I suppose,” Vito mused. “No, I didn’t kill her. I merely swung the hammer at the lock of that damned chastity belt. If she wouldn’t give me the key, then I intended to take her by force. I smashed that lock with the hammer with all the strength in my body.”
“Did it break it?”
“No. Didn’t even make a dent. Those old-time craftsmen really built to last. Not like the jerrybuilt locks the opportunists turn out today. I tell you, there was none of this building a lock for obsolescence then. They really made them to hold!”
“But what has that to do with why Marie stayed out today?” Penny wanted to know.
“I’m afraid I did hurt her a little with the hammer.” Vito hung his head.
“Badly?”
“No. At first I thought I cracked her pelvis. But the doctor came this morning and examined her and said it was only bruised. She unlocked the belt for him,” he added bitterly. “Only me, her husband, does she deny access!”
“You have to get hold of yourself.” Penny patted his hand sympathetically.
“I know. I know. Say, look, if you won’t talk to Marie, maybe you can help me.”
“I’ll do anything I can.”
“Do you mean that?”
“Of course,” Penny assured him warmly.
“Thank you. Thank you.” He moved very close to Penny.
Suddenly she felt his hand moving up her thigh under her dress. She tried to close her legs, but he was most insistent in forcing them apart. Penny was about to object more strenuously when she looked into his eyes and saw the tears welling up there. Suddenly she felt so sorry for him that she decided to give in to his need.
But then something ice-cold against the warm flesh of her thigh made her reconsider. “What’s that?” She jumped back, pulling away from him.
“What?”
“That cold, metallic object against my leg.”
“Oh. That’s a key,” Vito explained.
“A key? What for?”
“What for?”
“Yes. What for?”
“I don’t know.” Vito was confused. “I always use a key. I mean, it’s been so long since I did it without a key . . .”
“But you don’t need it.”
“Yes. Well. It’s just that I don’t think I’d remember how to without a key . . .”
“I see.”
“Yes.” Vito moved the key higher and then poked with it suddenly.
“Ouch!” Penny jumped again. “Hey, that hurts.”
“You’re as bad as Marie!” Vito scowled.
“Well, I’m not going to let you stick that key in me! A girl could get tetanus that way!” Penny got firmly to her feet. “I think we’d better forget the whole thing,” she told him, turning on her heel and starting for the door.
“It’s always that way.” Vito buried his head in his hands and sobbed. “A decent locksmith can never find a keyhole worthy of his craftsmanship. Women! They are ever the downfall of the artisan! But somewhere—somewhere!— there must be a female whose passion I can unlock!”
“If you ask me,” Penny called back over her shoulder, “your trouble is that you’re playing the wrong key!”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BACK IN HER office once more, Penny was really concerned. What Vito had told her about Marie D’Chastidi seemed only to complicate the problem of selecting a temporary replacement. A modern girl, married no less, who insisted on wearing a chastity girdle, was surely no better a bet to minister to the problems of the lovelorn than a nymphomaniac like Sappho or one driven to homosexuality like Annie. There were reasons why Penny should disqualify all three of her assistants. But she had to choose one of them; she had to make a choice; and she couldn’t delay making it too long.
She was still mulling it over when the phone rang. It was Balzac Hosenpfeffer. “I thought we might get together for a cocktail later,” he said blithely.
“You certainly are persistent.”
“If at first you don’t succeed—”
“Check your deodorant.” Penny sarcastically finished the sentence for him.
“Ouch! You’re kidding, I hope.”
“Yes. Don’t have a sniff-fit. I’m kidding. But I really don’t think I can—”
“Ah, come on. How can I show my gratitude to you if you keep giving me the cold shoulder?”
“You don’t have to show your gratitude. You thanked me. I accepted your thanks. That’s enough.”
“I can’t help feeling that it isn’t enough.”
“Have you got another bet with your friend, Mr. Hosenpfeffer?” Penny asked sweetly. “Is that it?”
“No. Really. I’d honestly just like to show my appreciation.”
“Well, it isn’t-—-” Penny stopped abruptly. The light bulb of an idea had flashed in her brain. “Wait a minute!” she exclaimed. “Would you really like to return the favor?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, then. Are you free this evening?”
“Absolutely. We could have a drink, and then dinner, and then go dancing or something—”
“Forget that ’or something’! As a matter of fact, forget that whole itinerary. If you have the evening free, there is something you can do for me that I’d really appreciate.”
“Just name it.”
“All right. Let’s meet for cocktails at five-thirty, and I’ll explain what it is.”
“Check.” Balzac suggested an intimate cocktail lounge in the neighborhood.
“Fine,” Penny agreed. “I’ll see you there at five-thirty, then.”
They said their good-byes and hung up. Penny sat a few moments, drumming her fingers on her desk, letting the sudden idea which had struck her during the conversation develop, allowing it to germinate and spread through her mind. Yes, it might prove just the thing to help her reach a decision. With Balzac’s help, she would arrange a test for the three candidates that should reveal which one was best qualified to fill her shoes. Yes, all she had to do now was to arrange for the conditions of the test.
Penny set about doing just that. First she buzzed Annie Fitz-Manley on the intercom and asked her to come into the office. A moment later she was standing in front of Penny’s desk.
“What’s up?” Annie asked.
“I wonder if you can do me a favor,” Penny began.
“Sure. Shoot.”
“I have a cocktail date right after work. But I’m expecting some proofs from the linotype shop. They have to be checked. Do you think you could stay a little late and wait for them for me?”
“I guess so. How late?”
“No later than eight. Actually, they should be here by seven,” Penny told her.
“Okay. Do you want me to check them?”
“You can start on them, but I won’t impose on you to do the whole job. I’ll come back around eight to finish them up, so you can leave then.”
“All right, Penny. Will do.”
“Thanks, Annie. I knew I could depend on you.”
After Annie left, Penny waited a while and then summoned Sappho Kuntzentookis into her office. “Have you got anything special on tonight?” she asked Sappho.
“Nothing in particular. Why?”
“I wonder if you could come back here after dinner and give me a hand. I’m expecting some proofs in around eight-fifteen or so and I need someone to help me read them.”
“Okay. I’ll be your sounding board,” Sappho agreed.
“Thanks. And don’t bother coming early,” Penny told her. “I won’t be ready until eight-fifteen. I’ll be waiting for you then.”
“See you then.” Sappho left the office.