"Sure,'' said Fred. "And I betcha." He squashed his cigarette on the step with his heel. "How'd they take it? The news, I mean."
Alice looked back in time. "They asked me when."
"Uh huh. See?"
"Yes, but how do they know they'll ever get anything? Why should Innes die? He's younger than they are.''
"Maybe they're going to fix that," Fred said carelessly.
"So that's what we're afraid of?" Alice smiled.
"Must be, I guess."
Alice looked at his face m the dim light. "You think they want him to die quick, before I get hold of the money?"
''They wouldn't mind."
"Maybe they wouldn't mind, but look, Fred, it's sUly, because they haven't done anything. Innes is nervous. Well, he's had a tough time. But what makes you think they did anything at all? God knows I don't like them, I can't stand them, but you're talking about murder."
"Yeah, I guess so. The thing is, I been having a litde chat with Josephine," he said easily. "In the first place, they know damn well he can't eat veal. They know that. Tliey must. Say, even I know it, and I'm only the hired help. Also, they must have known there was veal in that meat loaf. That's right, isn't it?"
"I should thmk so."
"Well, let me tell you it's right, because Josephine knew it and she even told them."
"Oh?''
"She called it to their attention, see?"
"What did they say?"
"They kinda brushed the whole thing off. Except Maud. Of course, she didn't hear what Josephine said. Now, it looks to me as if they wanted Innes to get sick. Why would they want that?"
"I don't know. He wouldn't die from eating veal."
"No, but he'd have to stick around this house, maybe. Where they could get at him."
"Oh, lord . . . Fred!"
"They wanted him to stay, didn't they?"
"Well, of course, but . . ."
"I was just trying to figure . . . Another thing, Josephine was down the road tonight. She went down into town, right after dinner, a few minutes before eight, she says. She went around by the pit road. Where we were, you know?"
"When?"
"Must have been close to eight o'clock. Well, I asked her if she saw anybody monkeying around that sawhorse. She says no, she couldn't see, wasn't specially looking, anyhow. But she heard something. She heard somebody cough. She couldn't describe it very well. Kind of a cough, she said. It made her nervous. Said she ran."
"Ran?"
"Yeah. When the doc went by about seven forty-five, the thing was O.K. Just where it ought to be. Josephine heard that. . . sound down there. By the time we got there, about nine fifteen, it had been moved."
"Sound," said Alice. "Kind of a cough? I wonder . . ."
"Yeah, so do I."
"Because I heard something, Fred."
"You did? I asked you and you said you didn't."
"What?"
"Right after the lamp fell. I asked you if you heard anything."
"But it wasn't then. It was later. After we got back here and had put Innes to bed. You were gone on that errand for the doctor. I was just coming downstairs to get the bag."
"That's funny. When I heard it was right after the lamp fell. It wasn't exactly a cough, though."
"No," Alice said, "it was a chuckle but not really a chuckle."
"A noise . . . like in the throat.''
"Yes. That's it."
"Damn funny."
"Josephine says it was a cough?"
"That's what she said."
"It must have been a funny cough," said Alice, "if she ran." The house creaked. She knew that if she heard that little sound again now, she'd scream in spite of herself.
"Be that as it may," Fred went on, "how come the lamp fell? Answer me that. It's been standing there on that table for years. Tonight it falls off. Falls off and over the railing and nearly beans Brother Innes."
"Did you see anyone?"
"Nobody. I ran up here, remember? Well, I knocked on Maud's door. She's down at the end of the hall you're on. Other side of the stairs. Nobody answered. Naturally. She can't hear knocks. So I Ihought Fd better not open the door because she might be in there in her underwear or something and I dunno if I could stand it"—Alice bit her lip—"so I came around here and knocked on Isabel's door. No answer. So I opened that one. There was nobody in there."
"Then it couldn't have been Isabel."
"Sure it could, " said Fred. "Why not? Doesn't prove anything. Not with these stairs so handy."
Alice was drawn into wondering. "Had they come upstairs? Yes, Isabel pushed Maud up when the doctor came. But it couldn't have been Gertrude."
"Why not? She could have sneaked around and up these stairs if she wanted to. Or go up the front, for that matter."
"But... I was there in the hall nearly the whole time."
"Not the whole time. You were in the sitting room with limes and the doctor and his mother. Mrs. Innes, I mean."
"Yes, that's right. She could have been listening. The curtains were drawn across the parlor. Who drew those curtains, Fred?"
"She did, I guess."
"We don't know where they were." Alice shrugged. "They might have been running up and down stairs, all three of them. But anyhow, it wasn't Susan and ii wasn't the doctor."
"Why should it be Susan?"
"I don't know."
"She's all right," said Fred. "Innes don't like her much. He's ashamed of her. And she don't get mad at him for it and that makes him more ashamed than ever. Of himself' I mean." '
Alice looked at him curiously. "Is that if?" "Sure."
Alice said. "You're quite a psychologist"
"Nuts," Fred said.
"Well, then, how are we doing? If anyone tipped over the lamp on purpose, it was one of the sisters or . . . Josephine?
"No, it wasn't either Josephine. She was out then She got back nght after it fell. She told me. You saw her didn't you?" '
"Yes, I saw her, but if you believe what everybody says..."
"That's where we are," said Fred with sudden grimness. If somebody s trying to murder the boss, we don't want to beheve what people say."
"Fred, we aren't talking about murder. Not really."
"No? Well, say we're kidding. Anyhow, we know it wasn't you and it wasn't me."
"I'm glad," said Alice solemnly.
"So am I."
They sat silent for a few minutes. It was oddly companionable.
Then Alice said, "Fred, couldn't you see in any windows? I mean, you were out at the car, just before the lamp fell. Was there a light in the rooms upstairs?"
"Sure. The whole house, I think. I did see somebody in the parlor."
"Who? One of the girls?"
"I dunno. Her face was hidden."
Alice sighed. "Another funny thing," Fred said, "they were all gone somewhere just before that, remember? When they were talking about calling the doctor. Where were they?"
"I don't know. But outdoors."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, I think so. Isabel was. She went down to get Mrs. Innes." Alice bit her finger. "Fred, why did she have to go to get her? Mrs. Iiines has a telephone. I know, because I called her myself."
"Funny," drawled Fred.
"And Gertrude had been outdoors. I could tell. And Maud came in with her cloak on."
"Come into the garden, Maud," Fred said. "Now, where'd they all go to? Not down the road a piece to move that sawhorse, do you suppose?"
"But Fred, how could they plan such a thing? How could they know it would do us any harm?"
"Well, for one thing, I asked Mr. Johnson which route to take right in front of all three of them," Fred said. "And that pit road's not the main road. The main road out of Ogaunee is number ten, that goes by along the railroad tracks. Traffic light's over the pit. Also, probably everybody else around here knows the place where the pit road goes off better than I do. The sawhorse wasn't right across the right road, you know. A driver who was familiar with it would go by without thinking, if he were going from this end, keeping to the right. Only a guy like me, who isn't too sure of his way, especially at night . . . That pit sure yawned," said Fred.