hour very much, and both were in a rather disgruntled state.
â You were here at the time,â he greeted me accusingly.
âNot at the time, no,â I disclaimed heartily. âI arrived afterwards. He was dead when we found him.â
âDo you know when he died?â
âNo.â
âThen how do you know you arrived afterwards?â
It was a question I would rather not think about. In fact, I knew from past experience, he wasnât going to ask me many questions I would be happy to think about. It was unfortunate that our past experience wasnât farther back in the past. He obviously hadnât had time to take a philosophical view of it.
âYou donât need me right now, do you?â Endicott Zayle asked. âI have patients waiting.â He backed hopefully toward the door, without waiting for a reply.
âIâll want to see you later. As soon as my sergeant gets the car parked, weâll want to go over a few points from yesterday.â
âYesterday ...?â Endicott Zayle said weakly, giving the impression that yesterday was more remote to him than the distant world his father lived in. I couldnât blame him. Iâd be just as glad to forget yesterday myself.
âMeanwhile, I believe you said your wife was returning from a holiday last night. Iâd like to speak to her now, if I might. That is,â he added, as Endicott looked stricken, âif sheâs here.â
âOh, oh, yes, sheâs here. But I donât know â I mean, sheâs not feeling very well â I donât think ââ Considering that his wife was the guilty party, Endicott was putting on a performance that would have made lesser mortals than a policeman immediately suspicious. âSheâs unavailable,â he ended up, with sudden firmness.
âPerhaps, if we wait awhile, sheâll become available. We have plenty of time.â Time enough to dig up the cellar, if necessary, his tone implied. For a detective, he ran as nasty a line in innuendos as an undertipped headwaiter.
âOh. Yes. No. Yes.â Endicott jittered, catching some of the drift. âIâll call her.â He glanced toward the door and his nerve faltered. âYou call her,â he said to me.
I wasnât any too pleased at the thought of encountering that redheaded temper again myself. Everyone was looking at me, however â Gerry with more sympathy than the others â and I decided to get out of sight before the inspector remembered he had been asking me questions when he got sidetracked. Iâd do practically anything to keep him sidetracked, and fetching Adele ought to take care of it.
The tea tray, which had been standing outside the door, was gone. Taken inside while the coast was clear, I presumed.
âMrs Zayle.â I tapped lightly on the door. âMrs. Zayle?â
I hadnât really expected anything but silence on the first few attempts. After about five minutes of steady effort, she responded.
âGo away!â
I would have loved to. âMrs. Zayle,â I said. âThe police are here.â
âPolice?â
âAbout Tyler Meredith,â I said. âThey want to speak to you.â
The door opened abruptly. âAnd I want to speak to them !â She swept past me. I noted that, although she was dressed in black, she had taken enough time at some point in the day to apply full makeup.
I followed her, arriving in the doorway just behind her. I saw that the sergeant was there now, having evidently parked the car successfully, but that Endicott Zayle hadnât yet succeeded in getting away to his waiting patients.
âDear, are you ... feeling better?â Zayle inquired tentatively. âThis is Detective Chief Inspector Rennolds. Heâd like to talk to you for a minute, ask you a few questions. I told him you werenât really up to it, but he insisted. Inspector, my wife,
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