Caspar says to Nick, “Good evening, Mr. Charles.”
Nick bows, buttoning up his coat and patting his pockets to see if he’s lost anything.
Caspar goes over to Dancer, puts a hand on his shoulder, and says, “My dear boy — I’m entirely at your service.”
Dancer shakes the hand off his shoulder and snarls, “You ought to be — for the dough you charge me.”
Caspar tries to smile as if he thought Dancer were joking. He asks Lum Kee, “What are these policemen doing now?”
Lum Kee, bland as usual, says, “Trouble, trouble — they want to see us — we go — why not? They police, we innocent, you betcha.”
Abrams growls, “Aw, cut it out. Hold your conferences on your own time. We’ve got work to do. Has anybody here ever been in this apartment before?”
Some of those there say “No,” some shake their heads.
Abrams looks questioningly at Nick. Nick says, “Perhaps Polly could help us if we told her what it’s all about.”
Polly. “What?”
Nick. “You know this place is right over yours?”
Polly. “Yes.”
Nick, indicating the earpieces. “With that dingus you can hear a pin drop in your place.” She stares at the earpieces in surprise. Nick goes on. “And if you’ll go to the window, you’ll see a ladder running down to your window.” She goes to the window, looks at the ladder, then turns back to Nick, still more bewildered. Nick picks up the extra piece of pipe and says, “And nobody’s head would be helped much by being patted with this.”
Polly. “But I don’t understand—”
Nick, looking at Dancer and Lum Kee, says, “Is there anybody here that does understand?”
Dancer looks sullenly at him but doesn’t say anything.
Lum Kee says cheerfully, “We run restaurant — you detective.”
Nick to Polly. “Even if you don’t understand, who can you think of that would have this much interest in you?” hefting the pipe in his hand.
Polly. “Nobody.”
Nick. “Phil had a key to your apartment. Has Dancer?”
Before she can reply, Dancer takes a key out of his pocket and tosses it on the floor, saying “Yes. So what would I need that trick ladder for?”
Nick asks, “Has Lum Kee?”
Polly. “No, of course not.”
Nick. “Who else?”
Polly. “Nobody.”
Nick. “Did Robert have one?”
Polly. “No. What do you think I did, put them around under doors?”
A policeman opens the door and Selma comes in. She and Nora immediately run to each other uttering exclamations of affection.
David exclaims, “Selma,” and he goes over to them asking, “are you all right, dear?”
She exclaims, “David,” and, holding out her hands to him, she starts to ask him a question, “Did you—” and then breaks off, glancing nervously at Lieutenant Abrams. “Oh, it’s been terrible,” she tells Nora and David.
Nora. “I know, dear, but it’ll soon be over. Nick will have everything cleared up in no time. He’s wonderful.”
Nick. “Nice of you to say so, darling.” He goes over to greet Selma.
Selma. “Oh Nick, I’m so grateful to you. Have you really—?”
Nick. “Now don’t start asking us questions. The game is for us to ask you. Have you ever seen any of these people before?” indicating in turn Polly, Dancer, and Lum Kee. To each Selma replies “No.”
Nick asks, “Have you ever been in this building before?”
Selma. “No.”
Nick. “Did you know that Robert and Miss Byrnes were friends?”
Selma. “No.”
Nick. “All right. Now this next question you’ve answered before, but the police weren’t altogether satisfied with the way you answered it. I want you to remember that Robert’s dead, so whatever you say isn’t going to hurt him though it may help us find his murderer and get you out of this mess.”
Selma. “What is it, Nick?”
Nick. “That ten-thousand-dollar check of yours that was deposited in Robert’s account. Did you or didn’t you write it?”
Selma hesitates, looks from Nick to Abrams, then down to the floor, and, in a very low voice, says, “I didn’t.”
Abrams, who has been a very interested listener up to this point, now takes his hat off and throws it angrily on the floor. But when he crosses to confront Selma, his voice and manner are more hurt than angry. He asks, “Why couldn’t you have told us that before? Whatever got into you to—” He breaks off as her lips begin to tremble, and grabs a chair, saying “Now, now, sit down, Mrs. Landis, be comfortable. One of you boys get Mrs. Landis a glass of water.” Then again to her. “Now, now, maybe there’s not a great deal of harm done anyhow.” Then aside to Nick, as she sits down. “If this dame gets hysterical again, I’ll go nuts.”
Selma. “Thank you. I’m quite all right.”
Abrams mumbles in Nick’s ear, “You ask her the rest. She always blows up on me.”
Nick says to Selma, “Since you’ve gone this far, I think you’d better tell the police why you didn’t tell them the truth before.”
Selma. “I started to, but Aunt Katherine wouldn’t let me.”
Abrams growls, “That old battle-axe.”
Nick asks, “Why wouldn’t she?”
Selma. “She said there was enough scandal with Robert being killed that way, without this.”
Nick. “Thanks. That’s fine.” Pats her on the shoulder, turns away.
Abrams. “Maybe that’s fine for you, but it could stand a little more explaining for my part.”
Nick. “The explaining room is out there,” indicating the kitchen. “Shall we try it now?” He and Abrams go into the kitchen. Nick continues, “The gadget is that Aunt Katherine thought Robert forged the check and she was willing to let the ten thousand dollars go to keep people from knowing there had been a forger in the family as well as a murdered man—” Then, as an afterthought, he adds, “Especially since it was Selma’s ten thousand.”
Abrams asks, “Had he ever done anything like that before?”
Nick, earnestly. “That boy had done everything.”
Francis comes to the door and says, “Telephone for you,” to Abrams.
Abrams goes out.
Nick spies a battered cocktail shaker on the shelf and begins to look through the closets for something to put in it. The closets are absolutely bare. He disgustedly throws the cocktail shaker in the garbage can as Abrams comes back.
Abrams. “The laboratory says those red hairs were probably from a wig and that the broken specs were only window glass. Were you kind of expecting something like that?”
Nick. “Kinda.”
Abrams. “And the gun’s not the one those people were killed with. Expect that?”
Nick. “Kinda.”
Abrams. “But what’s really good is, the boys picked up some pretty nice fingerprints of Dancer’s in the joint. Let’s go in and see how he likes that.”
Nick. “All right, but mind if I get in a question first?”
Abrams. “Go ahead, help yourself.”
They return to the room where the others are.
Nick asks Lum Kee, “Did you ever mail to Mrs. Landis a compact that you thought she left in the restaurant about a week ago?”
Lum Kee. “Maybe yes, maybe no. All the time people leave things.”
Nick to Dancer. “I knew he didn’t. You sent it to her pretending you thought it was hers and when she sent it back with a note saying it wasn’t, you traced her signature on the bottom of a ten-thousand-dollar check payable to Robert, and sent it over for deposit in his account because you knew the bank wouldn’t question that and when they eventually found out it was a forgery, he’d be blamed for it because he’d done things like that before. Then you were all set to forge a check on his account for the same ten thousand while Polly kept him busy so that the bank couldn’t reach him to ask him about it if they got suspicious. And so then if he’s killed, who’s going to be able to prove that he didn’t forge his wife’s name to the check to get money to give to this girl he was in love with?”