us?â
âNo,â Sal said.
âI sure have,â Harold said. âYou guys are nationwide.â
âThatâs right!â Duke seemed buoyed about Harold knowing that. âWhat we cover stays covered. Iâm a sales rep. Reps and other Glow View employees are here from all over theââ
âWhere are you from?â Sal interrupted.
âSt. Louis.â
âEast?â
âWest. Missouri.â
âAbout last night,â Sal said. âHow did you happen to be looking out your door and seeâmost likely the killerâenter Andria Bellâs suite?â
âIâve been reading all about that in the papers,â Duke said. He seemed suddenly ill at ease. A paint salesman from Missouri caught up in murder in New York.
âThat doesnât exactly answer the question,â Harold said.
âWell, I heard this knocking and thought it was on my door.â Duke looked off to the right, the way people are supposed to be doing when theyâre lying. Harold didnât think that common belief was true. Or is it to their left?
âAnd . . . ?â Sal asked, looking straight ahead.
âI mean, I thought . . .â
âYou can speak freely, Mr. Craig,â Harold said.
âWhy shouldnât I be able to?â Duke asked. âAnd itâs not Mr. Craig, itâs Mr. Duke.â
âMr. Duke,â Sal said, âyouâre not in any way a suspect in this.â But even as he spoke, Sal wondered. Duke was a male in the same age group as D.O.A., and like a lot of other men, he fit D.O.A.âs general description.
Sal told himself he was way off base, but he should keep an open mind. The way you had to do with Harold around.
âOf course Iâm not a suspect,â Duke said. âI didnât mean that.â
Harold flashed him a reassuring smile. He pretended to check his notes. Fishes. âWhat kind of knocking was it? I mean, hard and loud? Knocks close together? In a pattern? Like somebody had something important to relate to you?â
âNothing like that. Just knocking. Thatâs why I went to the door and looked out in the hall. But there was nobody at my door.â
âYou sound as if you were disappointed, Mr. Craig.â
âItâs Duke. I was, slightly. I was hoping it was one of the Glow View color people. If it wasnât, I was gonna go down to the bar and look for somebody to talk with. Nothing else to do, I guess. I was waiting for the drying competition. You know, how long it takes different brands to set up in various temperatures and humidity.â
âSoundâs interesting,â Sal said, stifling a yawn.
âLike watching paint dry,â Harold said, perfectly deadpan.
âSo you saw a man and a woman at the door across the hall?â Sal asked, hoping to keep Duke on track.
âYeah. I got a good look at the woman when she let him in.â He swallowed. âI found out later she was one of the victims. Andria Bell. She was the guide or chaperone for those young girls.â Duke looked slightly nauseated and absently touched his stomach. Swallowed hard enough that Sal and Harold heard phlegm crack. âJeez, what a shame!â
âWhat did the man look like?â Sal asked.
âWell, he was kinda facing away from me. He looked pretty average. I think he had brown hair, but Iâm not sure. He had on dark slacks and a gray or pale blue sport coat, I think.â
âHow tall would you say?â Sal asked.
âThink in terms of the door,â Harold said. He drew a fish.
Duke looked at him.
âThe doorâs height is standard,â Harold said, âso you can use it as a guide to height.â
âYeah, I guess you can,â Duke said. âIâd say he was right around six feet. Maybe a little taller, maybe a little shorter.â
Good work, Harold. âWhat about eye color?â Sal asked.
âOh, I never got that good
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