Marian Dunton came in, her eyes wide with emotion. “Oh, Donald, I was so afraid you weren’t here, but the landlady downstairs insisted you were. She said you’d been up all night and were sleeping.”
I snapped into wakefulness at the sound of her voice. “Come in, Marian. Sit down. What is it?”
“Something horrible’s happened.”
I made shift to comb my hair with my fingers. “What is it, Marian?”
She came and stood close to me. “I went to see Evaline Harris.”
“Okay,” I said. “I gave you that lead. Try and get another one.”
“Donald, she’s — she’s dead! Murdered!”
I sat down on the bed. “Tell me about it.”
Marian crossed over to sit beside me. Her words poured out in a low, steady monotone. “Listen, Donald, I’ve got to get out. The landlady’s a suspicious busybody. She said I’d have to leave your door open. You must help me.”
I looked at my wrist watch. It was quarter past five.
“What’s happened?”
“I found where she lived. I kept ringing her bell. Nothing happened.”
“She sleeps late,” I said. “Works in a night spot.”
“I know. Well, after a while, I rang the bell marked Manager and asked where I could find Miss Harris.”
“Go ahead.”
“The manager said she didn’t know, that she didn’t try to chaperon her tenants, and seemed very crusty.
“I asked if I might run up to her apartment, and she said I could, that it was 309.
“I went up to the third floor in the elevator. As I started down the hall, a man came out of a room at the far end of the corridor. I don’t know — I think it was 309.”
“That’s probably why she didn’t answer the doorbell.”
“Donald, listen to me. She was dead.”
“How do you know?”
“I went down to 309. The door wasn’t locked. It was closed, but not locked. I knocked on it two or three times, and no one answered. I tried the knob, and the door was unlocked. I opened it, and saw — well, a girl was lying on the bed. I thought — well, you know — I said, ‘Excuse me,’ and went out. I pulled the door shut. I thought I’d better wait for a while, and then come back — you know.”
“Go ahead,”
“Well, I went back downstairs and out of the building. In about half an hour, I went back and rang the bell again.”
“You mean the bell of Evaline Harris’s apartment?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. I rang and rang and didn’t get any answer, but I was sure she hadn’t gone out because I’d been watching the door of the apartment house.
“While I was standing there ringing the bell, a woman came up the stairs and fitted a latch key to the door. She smiled at me, and said, `May I help you?’ and I said, ‘Yes, thanks,’ and walked in right behind her.”
“Did she ask you where you were going?”
“No. She was very nice.”
“Then what?”
“Then I went up to the third floor again and knocked. Nothing happened. I opened the door and peeked in. She was still lying on the bed in the same position, and — well, something in the way she was lying — I walked in, went over and touched her. She was dead. There was a cord drawn tightly around her neck. Her face looked — awful. It was turned away from the door. Oh, Donald, it’s terrible!”
“What did you do?”
“I was in a panic,” she said, “because you see I’d gone in once before, a half an hour earlier. The manager knew it. I was afraid that they might think — you know, that I’d done it.”
“You little fool,” I said. “How long ago was this?”
“Not very long. I’d found out where you lived. I’d telephoned your agency and said I was an old friend, that you’d told me I could locate you there. The girl who answered the telephone told me where I could find you.”
“And you came here?”
“Yes, just as fast as I could drive.”
I said, “Get in your car. Drive like hell to police headquarters. When you get there, tell them you want to report a dead body. Remember, don’t tell them it’s a murder, and remember to tell them that you’re from Oakview.”
“Why the Oakview? I mean why should I tell them about it?”
“Because,” I said, “you’re going to have to take the part of an unsophisticated country girl.”
“But they’ll find out that I was up there before — when I asked the manager.”
“They’ll find that out anyway,” I said. “The best way you can stick your neck into a noose is to try to cover up. Don’t you understand?”
“Y-Yes,” she said dubiously. “Donald, can’t you go with me to the police station?”
“Absolutely not. That would be the worst thing that could happen. Forget all about coming here. Forget all about knowing me. Don’t mention my name. Don’t say anything about the B. L. Cool Bureau of Investigations. Remember now, you’ll have to follow those instructions absolutely. Tell your story just as it happened, only tell them that when you found out the woman was dead, you drove directly to the police station. Don’t let on that you know she was strangled. Say she was dead, that you didn’t touch anything. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t touch anything, did you?”
“No.”
“Who was this man you saw leaving the apartment?”
“I don’t know. I can’t even be certain he left the apartment. It might have been one of the adjoining apartments, but I think it was that one.”
“What did he look like?”
“He was rather slender and very straight. He looked dignified.”
“How old?”
“Middle-aged. He looked nice.”
“How was he dressed?”
“A grey, double-breasted suit.”
“How tall?”
“Fairly tall, slender. He was very dignified. He had a grey moustache.”
“Would you know him if you saw him again?”
“Yes, of course.”
I pushed her towards the door and said, “On your way.”
“When will I see you, Donald?”
“As soon as they get done questioning you, give me a ring. Remember not to tell them anything about me or about the agency— Wait a minute. They’ll ask you what you wanted to see Evaline Harris about.”
“Well, what did I?”
I thought rapidly and said, “You got acquainted with her when she was up in Oakview. She confided in you. She told you she was an entertainer in a night spot here. Remember, you mustn’t say a word about Mrs. Lintig. Don’t mention anything about the girl making an investigation. Don’t let on that you knew she was in Oakview on business. She told you she was up there spending a vacation. You’re a country girl, and the more country atmosphere you can pull in, the better it’ll be for you. Go in for that rural stuff strong. You wanted to leave Oakview. Everybody does. It’s no place for a young woman who has an eye to the future. You wanted to get to the city. You didn’t want to work in a night club, but you thought Evaline Harris might have some connections and could get you in somewhere. Does your uncle know what you’re doing here?”
“No, I’m doing this on my own, Donald. There’s a lot of things — a lot of developments that I can tell you about, suspicious circumstances that—”
“Save them,” I said. “Seconds are precious. If someone else finds that body before you report it, you’re sunk. Remember, you left there and drove to the police station just as fast as you could. You don’t know anything about the time. Do you have a wrist watch?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Let me see it.”
She took it off her wrist. I set the hands back to eleven-fifteen and smacked the watch sharply against the corner of the dresser. It stopped. I said, “Put it back on. Remember, you broke your wrist watch this morning driving down. You dropped it in the rest-room of a service station. Think you can put this stuff across, think you understand it?”