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entirely out of money.
 I m not trying to be funny when I say, how about Travelers Aid? Really. You
do have the look of someone who s some distance from home, and they ll help
you wire someplace for money. Or I ll advance you a loan myself.
But it ll have to be small.
 I m afraid  Carol s voice cracked suddenly in the middle, and she had to
start it over.  I m afraid sending out wires isn t going to do me any good.
Thanks for the offer of the small loan. I may just accept. Could we start out
with a coffee someplace?
 Joe s Coffee Shop and Breakfast Bar is open. That s my place, which is not
terribly far. Or we can go public if you like.
 Joe s place sounds fine. It s got to be a lot nicer than the one I just got
out of.
He turned west for two blocks, then back north.  I m a little out of the high
rent district, as they say.
There was a legitimate parking spot open only half a block from his front
door, so he didn t have to drive through the alley to his rented garage. While
they were climbing the stairs to the second floor of his building, he could
hear the muffled sound of his phone ringing, and ran ahead to answer.
 Joe? This s Charley Snider.
 What s up, Charley?
 Just wanted to bring you up to date. Nothing new on the mystery at the
morgue. But, we finally did get a make on the thumbprint on the mirror in
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Kate s car. Now don t get your hopes up. You said you wanted to know anything
that happens, and so I m calling to tell you.
Joe didn t feel in any danger of getting too much hope up about anything.
 What about the print?
 Well, the name the FBI files come up with is Leroy Poach.
Pee-oh-ay-cee-aitch, as in egg. And now, get this man, I m not makin this up.
Murder, armed robbery, kidnapping. Charley paused, as before a climax.
 Yeah?
 The thing is, this Poach was hanged in Oklahoma in 1934.
 Oh, Jesus. Are they crazy in Washington? By now Carol had come into the
apartment, and was standing by in the next room, politely not listening. Joe
caught her eye and made gestures toward the kitchen alcove. She brightened a
little, and moved in that direction.
 Well, said Charley s phone-voice,  there obviously some mistake. If it
turned out somehow that he wasn t hanged, he d still be about eighty-five by
now.
 Well. I did ask you to tell me everything.
 Hey, now, don t quit on us. We re tryin .
 I know. I m sorry. Sounds from outside the bedroom indicated Carol was
filling the coffeepot.  Charley? What does running water mean?
 Huh?
 Why was that fellow out at the house running down there into the woods along
the creek?
 I dunno. Oh, by the way, we got his name now. Max Gruner. Has a minor record,
sex offenses, larceny. We don t know what he s been up to the last six months
or so, but it looks like it wasn t anything good. And the house, you know,
where the kid was being held? It belongs to some people who moved away last
fall. They re down south now, and they ve been paying a couple to come round
and look at the place every day. Only the caretakers have just up and
disappeared. Sweet setup for a kidnapping hideout.
Joe asked:  Anything on Corday yet?
 Seems to have left his things in the motel room and just departed. His bill
was paid in advance. We ve checked with London, and they don t know him.
Hasn t been practicing medicine in London, not under that name anyway, not
legitimately. Might have been living there, of course. His name was listed on
a BOAC flight into O Hare from
London a few days back.
 I bet you don t find him, Charley.
 Any ideas where he might be, Joe?
 I don t have any sane ideas about any of this right now. If any come to me
I ll pass them along.
They said goodbye and he hung up and went out into the dining alcove. Carol
had set out a couple of paper plates and was scrambling some eggs.
She looked at him.  I couldn t help hearing. The name Corday and all, that s
been in the news. I think I just had a lot of the air let out of my own
troubles, because it just hit me, who this girl is, that you told Walworth you
were going to marry. God. Craig knew her too?
He went to pour boiling water in to the two cups where she had spooned in
instant coffee.  Slightly, anyway. Tell me about last Friday night up there at
Walworth s.
 Oh. That s when I met him. I was there most of the evening, but I don t
recall any girl who fits my picture of
Kate Southerland. Describe her to me?
When he had done so, Carol shook her head.  No. Unless she could have been
there earlier, six o clock or so.
 She was still home then.
The eggs and some toast were ready, and they were just sitting down when the
phone sounded again. He went to the bedroom, sat down heavily on the bed,
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picked it up.  Joe Keogh.
 Joe? It was Granny Clare s voice, sounding tremulous.  Are you is everything
all right?
 Yeah. Why not? No new disasters, anyway. Why? Is everything all right there?
There was a small delay before Clarissa answered, but when she did she sounded
definite.  Yes. I . . . oh, I
shouldn t have bothered you. I m sorry. Goodbye. And she hung up.
Some of the modest portion of food on Carol s plate was gone when he came
back. She had already set down her fork.  I think what I mainly am is tired.
I ve just been through a night you wouldn t believe.
 I might. Joe sat down opposite, took a bite of toast, discovered he was
mildly hungry.  I ve recently been through an unreal thing or two myself.
She sat with arms folded, looking over his shoulder.  I m sorry if you don t
want to hear this, but I don t think I
can keep from talking about it after all.
 Go ahead. He tried to sound no more than willing.
 I was up there at Walworth s for a long time Friday night. There was some sex
going on, okay? Too kinky to interest me. Somehow Craig gave me the impression
then that it wasn t really his thing either. Then, last night, I
went up with him, thinking we were going to be alone. All right, I was
planning to spend the night. But what he had in mind was . . . well, nothing
I d consider ordinary, and I don t think my life has been especially
sheltered.
 How old are you, Carol? he asked her, almost without meaning to.
 Old enough, in the legal sense. But he had brought her story-telling to a
halt.
 All right, go on, sorry I interrupted.
 Well. He turned out to be kinkier than I had thought, that s all. And if
wasn t until after my clothes were off and had been misplaced somewhere that
this was fully explained to me. Hell, why am I telling you all this?
 Because it bothers you.
 That s for sure. Then there were arguments. There were some other people
around, by that time . . . not Kate, no one as nice as Kate, I m sure. Oh, I m
dead. I don t know if I m going to fall asleep first or start to cry.
 You can do either one. Or both. But eventually I think you ought to tell me
where you live, really live, so I can see that you get home.
 I don t think so. Oh, damn. Every time I shut my eyes some tears come
squeezing out.
 I think so. Really. Is home that bad?
do
 No, she said, surprising him a bit.  My parents live right in Chicago,
actually. All right, let me give them a call.
 Help yourself to the phone.
She went into the bedroom, and he could hear her dialing. Now soon she would
be gone. He didn t quite know exactly what he thought of that. He drank some
coffee. He thought he heard her once say
Daddy on the phone he couldn t make out what else she might be saying, but at
least it didn t sound like a fight.
In a couple of minutes she hung up and came out again, looking more relaxed
than he had seen her yet.  Joe, can you give me one more ride? It s only about
ten minutes away. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]