“My name’s Dodd. I’m a private detective.”
“Now that’s interesting, isn’t it? Wait till I summon my wife. She’s a great mystery fan. She’s always wanted to meet a real private detective.”
“I’d rather you di—”
“Oh, it’s no trouble at all. We have our living quarters on the second floor. It’s noisy but more convenient. You wouldn’t believe the number of night emergencies I must cope with, more than any obstetrician, I’m sure. When we lived in the city I no sooner arrived home for dinner than out I would have to rush again to treat some little chap in trouble.”
“The chap I came here about,” Dodd said dryly, “is a Scottie.”
“A fine breed. Loyal, courageous, indepen—”
“His name’s Mack. He belongs to Rupert Kellogg. I talked to one of your employees about the dog earlier in the day. He said Mack was ready to be taken home.”
“He was taken home,” the doctor said with a pleased smile. “Oh, it was a joyful reunion, for both man and beast. Scotties are true Scots. They don’t spend freely, they don’t squander their affections on just anyone, no indeed. Fine chaps, Scotties.”
“Kellogg picked the dog up himself?”
“Of course.”
“When?”
“I should say between three and four o’clock. I was treating a Yorkie at the time. The poor lass has distemper, I don’t think she will live. Still, we keep trying, and hoping, and, if you want the truth, praying a bit too. My wife takes care of that end of it. She’s a godly woman.”
“Was Kellogg alone?”
“He came in here alone. His wife waited for him out in the car.”
“His wife’s supposed to be in New York.”
“Really? Now that’s odd, isn’t it? I met Mrs. Kellogg a couple of years ago when I gave Mack a rabies shot. A pretty little woman, quiet but friendly.”
“And you say that the woman in the car was Mrs. Kellogg?”
“Now that you’ve cast some doubt on it, I can’t be sure. I assumed it was Mrs. Kellogg because she was with Mr. Kellogg. Why, I even waved to her... Wait a minute. Come to think of it, she didn’t wave back. There’s another thing I noticed too... Mack didn’t seem too anxious to get into the car. Usually, when I’ve had a dog here for a while, he’s very eager to jump into the family car and go home.”
“I have good reason to believe that Kellogg wasn’t driving the family car and wasn’t traveling with his own wife.”
“Dear me,” Dr. Sidalia said, looking uncomfortable. “He certainly doesn’t give the impression of being that kind of man at all. He’s very fond of animals.”
“So was Dr. Crippen.”
“The English murderer?”
Dodd nodded. “In fact, it was Crippen’s attachment to a dog that led to his capture.”
“I didn’t know that. I wonder what happened to the dog after Crippen was hanged?”
“I have no idea.”
“Well, I hope a good home was found for him, poor chap. It can be quite a blow to a dog, losing his master.” Sidalia spoke as if the Crippen case was recent, the dog still alive, although he must have known that everyone connected with Crippen had long since died. “Why did you bring up the subject of Crippen in connection with Mr. Kellogg?”
“Kellogg’s in the same kind of trouble.”
“You don’t mean he — murdered somebody?”
“It looks that way.”
“Dear me. This is quite a shock. I must sit down.”
Sidalia lowered himself into a plastic-covered chair and began fanning his face with his hand.
“The police will be here to question you,” Dodd said. “Probably in an hour or two. They’ll want to know about the woman and about the car.”
“I never notice cars. People and animals, yes. But cars, I pay no attention to them. All I can remember is that it was dirty. I notice dirt, I’m a very meticulous man.”
“Was the car new?”
“Neither new nor old. Average-looking.”
“Color?”
“Greenish.”
“Coupé Convertible? Sedan?”
“I can’t recall.”
“You said that the dog didn’t seem anxious to enter the car. That means you stood and watched. How did the dog get into the car?”
“Kellogg opened the door, naturally.”
“Which door?”
“The rear.”
“That would make the car a four-door sedan, wouldn’t it?”
“Why yes,” Sidalia said, looking pleasantly surprised. “Yes, I believe it would.”
“How did the woman react to the dog? Did she make a fuss over him? Did she reach back and pet him?”
“No. I don’t think she did anything.”
“Assuming that the woman was Mrs. Kellogg, would you call that normal behavior under the circumstances?”
“Dear me, no! When one of my little patients is released, there’s always a good deal of excitement on the part of the family. It’s one of the joys of my life, to witness these reunions.”
“How was the woman dressed?”
“I only saw her head. She wore a bright red scarf tied under her chin.”
“What color was her hair?”
“I can’t recall that any of it was showing. She was very tanned, I know that. I remember wondering how Mrs. Kellogg could have managed a tan like that with all the fog we’ve had this summer. Of course, we’re fairly sure now that the woman wasn’t Mrs. Kellogg, so perhaps she was not tanned at all but had a naturally dark skin. These days it’s hard to tell the difference, the way women bake themselves like potatoes.”
Dodd thought, a tanned or dark-skinned woman, a greenish sedan, a black dog; that’s not much to go on. “When Kellogg left, in what direction did he turn?”
“I have no idea. I went back inside as soon as he started the car. As I told you, I had a patient on the table at the time, the little Yorkie with distemper. A cruel disease, distemper, inflicted on the poor beasts usually by the carelessness of their masters. Would you care for a pamphlet on the subject of distemper immunization?”
“I don’t own a dog.”
“Cats also can become victims.”
“I don’t own a cat, either.”
“Dear me, you must be a lonely man,” Sidalia said with sympathy.
“I get along.”
“As a matter of interest, I have two little chaps in here right now who are looking for a good home, a beautiful pair of pedigreed cocker spaniels, brothers.”
“I’m afraid I...”
“You have a kind face, Mr. Dodd. I noticed, as soon as I opened the door, that you have a very kind face. I’ll wager you have a way with animals.”
“I live in an apartment,” Dodd lied. “My landlord won’t allow dogs.”
“He must be an unfeeling man. I’d move out of there immediately if I were you.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Mark my words, a man prejudiced against animals is a man not to be trusted.”
Dodd opened the door. “Thanks for the advice. And the information.”
“Must you go so soon? My wife will be very disappointed at missing the chance to meet a real private detective. I’ll buzz her, it won’t take a minute.”
“Some other time.”
“Duty calls, I presume. Well, I hope I’ve been of some assistance. Not that I would like to get Mr. Kellogg in any trouble, he’s a fine, dog-loving man.”
“Whatever trouble he’s in, he got there himself.”
“Such is the way of the world,” Sidalia said with more pity than censure. “Good-bye for now, then. And don’t forget, when you move to a new place, there’s no better company in the world than a pair of cocker spaniels.”
“I won’t forget.”
Dodd realized as he got into his car that if he’d spent ten more minutes with Sidalia the back seat would now contain two cocker spaniels, and a lot of trouble. And a lot of fun. I wonder what Doris would say if I... No, that’s crazy. One dog, maybe. But two, she’d think I’d lost my marbles. Still, not everybody is offered a pair of beautiful pedigreed cocker spaniels. By God, I bet they’re cute...