“Yes.”
“The case went to the jury and they found you innocent?”
“That’s right.”
“Who was your attorney in this matter?”
“A Mr. Steve Winslow.”
Once again it seemed to Amy as if there were some expression behind the cop’s eyes. But he merely said, “And he got you off?”
“Yes.”
“How long was the trial?”
“Just today.”
“Including jury selection?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s a long day. It must have been quite late in the afternoon when you got the verdict.”
“Yes. It was close to five.”
“And where did you go then?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You were downtown at the courthouse at five o’clock. I’d like to trace your movements from then until now.”
“Why?”
“Just routine.”
“I walked down to subway, took the subway home to my apartment.”
“Which is where?”
“A hundred and seventh and Broadway.”
“What did you do then?”
“I had a dinner engagement. I changed my clothes and went out.”
“Where?”
“A restaurant in the neighborhood.”
“Who were you dining with?”
“Does that matter?”
“Anything that confirms your story helps.”
“It’s not a story.”
The cop held up his hand. “That’s a figure of speech. In a murder case, we always ask the witness for corroboration. It’s standard procedure for me to ask. Is there any reason you wouldn’t want to answer?”
“No.”
“Then do yourself a favor. We’ll get through this a lot faster if you just answer my questions instead of trying to figure out why I’m asking. Now, who’d you have dinner with?”
“Larry Cunningham.”
“And who is Larry Cunningham?”
“A friend.”
“Boyfriend?”
Amy straightened slightly, cocked her head. “Is that one of those questions I shouldn’t try to figure out why you’re asking?”
“Anyway, you went out to dinner with Mr. Cunningham?”
“That’s right.”
“What time was that?”
“Around six-thirty.”
“Isn’t that rather early?”
“For a weekday night? No. We often went out that early.”
“Often?”
“We’ve had dinner before. Is that what you’re investigating?”
“No. And how long were you at dinner?”
“Until about seven-thirty.”
“Where did you go then?”
“I went home.”
“Did Mr. Cunningham take you home?”
“Actually, he didn’t. He had work to do and took a cab home from the restaurant.”
“A cab?”
“Yes. He lives on the east side. I live two blocks away.”
“I see. So he left you at seven-thirty and you walked home?”
“That’s right.”
“And what did you do then?”
“Well, I had nothing planned. He and I had talked of going to the movies, but it turned out he had to work.”
“What does he do?”
“He’s an investment counselor.”
“Is that like a stock broker?”
“Somewhat. Only more complicated.”
“Uh huh. Anyway, the fact is you didn’t go to the movies?”
“No. So I had nothing to do. And I’d been wanting to clean out my desk for some time. So it occurred to me now I could.”
“I see. So you did?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Well, this was around seven-thirty. But you didn’t get here till around ten. What did you do in the meantime?”
Amy hesitated. This seemed like the cop’s first attempt to trip her up. She wondered if she should call Steve Winslow.
“Oh, nothing much. Just puttered around the apartment. I thought about going to the movies myself, but I hate going alone.” She shrugged. “I watched TV for a while.”
“What did you watch?”
“Nothing in particular. I was just switching channels, looking for something. But there was nothing on. I got bored, and that’s when I thought about cleaning out my desk.”
“How did you get here?”
“By cab.”
“You took a cab from a hundred and seventh street?”
“That’s right.”
“Isn’t that expensive?”
“A little. But I don’t like taking the subway at night.”
“So you took a cab right to the door?”
“That’s right.” Amy unsnapped her purse. “In fact, I think I have the receipt.”
“You got a receipt?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“The driver gave me one, I shoved it in my purse. Oh, here it is.”
Amy pulled out the receipt, extended it to the cop. He took it, looked at it. If it meant anything to him, she couldn’t tell.
“So,” he said, “according to this, you got here at nine fifty-five.”
“That sounds about right.”
“How’d you get in?”
“Huh?”
“How’d you get in the door?”
“Oh. The downstairs door was unlocked. I turned the knob and it opened. The upstairs door was ajar.”
“You mean open?”
“Just a crack. But it was open. And the lights were on. I pushed it open and went in.”
“I see,” the cop said. He shifted forward in his chair, leaned on the desk. There was something intimidating in the gesture. “That’s how you got in. Because the door was open. But you didn’t know that. You didn’t know it was going to be open. So how were you going to get in?”
“I had a key.”
“Oh?”
“From when I worked here before. When they fired me, they forgot to ask me for the keys.”
“You had the keys all the time?”
“Yes, I did.”
“They never asked for them back?”
“When? It’s not like we parted friends. After they fired me, I never saw them again. I guess they just forgot about it.”
“That seems strange,” the cop said. “If you fire an employee for stealing, you don’t let them walk off with your keys.”
“They were partners. Maybe each partner thought the other one had them.”
“Maybe,” the cop said. He didn’t sound convinced, but he pushed on. “Anyway, you went into the office to clean out your desk?”
“Right.”
“But you didn’t clean out your desk.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I could tell at once something was wrong.”
“How was that?”
“Like I said. The door was open and the lights were on. That didn’t make any sense. Why would anyone be there at that hour?”
“Why indeed? So what did you do?”
“Stuck my head in and listened. But I couldn’t hear anything. So I called out, Hey, anybody here?”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you do that?”
Amy frowned. “What do you mean, why? To see if anybody was here.”
“Yes, but you didn’t want to see those people. After all, they fired you.”
“Yes, but I’d beaten them in court. There was nothing more they could do to me. If one of them was there, I was going to announce my presence and clean out my desk.”
“I see. But no one answered?”
“Right.”
“What did you do then?”
“I went to clean out my desk.”
“Did you do that?”
“No.”
“And why was that?”
“I told you why?”
“Tell me again.”
“Because it had been robbed.”
“Robbed?”
Amy held up her hand. “All right. That’s a conclusion on part. The petty cash drawer was open and the petty cash box inside it was open and the money was gone.”
“You saw that then?”
“That’s right.”
“Before you found the body?”
“Yes. That’s what made me look around.”
“So you looked around, you went in Mr. Fletcher’s office, found him lying there?”
“That’s right.”
“Did you touch the body?”
“No.”
“Or anything else in the office?”
“Not that I recall.”
“What did you do?”
“I went back in the outer office and called the cops.”
“From where?”
“The phone on my desk.”
“I see. Did you sit down at your desk to call?”
“Of course not. I was too upset. I snatched up the phone and called nine one one.”