Read Online Love for Sale by Jill Churchill - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jill Churchill
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dramatically and said, “Lily, you really shouldn’t believe everything you read. You’re sounding like a thirteen-year-old instead of a grown woman.”
Lily said, “I’ll lend you Police at the Funeral. I still have it in my room. You’ll see what I mean. It’s not due back at the library for another week.“
“I think I better finish reading up on croquet first,“ Robert said, leaving her watching the truck disappear with its own collection of stupid idiots. And probably at least one real murderer.
Chapter 10
Howard Walker knew this crime wasn’t going to be solved very soon. Too much waiting on the people in Albany working over the paperwork. Too much investigation to complete. He’d have to question everyone he’d just sent away in the truck to the asylum much more thoroughly. And he had only three days to do it before most of them would be let out to go their own ways. Reverend Nobby Hazard was the only one loony enough likely to be kept there. Now that the Institute had lost its kingpin, they’d all scatter as fast as they could. He didn’t have the staff or the budget or a location to put the suspects under house arrest.
He had to interview Mrs. Rennie about the evening of the murder. He needed to wait for the fingerprint information on the knife and the suspects’ belongings and get all the suspects questioned intensively as well. Not that there was much hope of any of them telling the truth.
And he wasn’t at all sure he even had all the suspects locked up. How could he guess how many other people were employed at the Institute of Divine Intervention? And there were outsiders to consider as well.
A man like Pottinger probably had lots of enemies. All fanatics did. And most fanatics hated other fanatics.
The first thing to do was to search all their rooms. They hadn’t been allowed to take away their belongings. All of the rooms and their contents were now gray with f ingerprinting dust.
He released Harry Harbinger to get back to his life and kept Ralph Summer and Officer Lawrence to help with the search of the rooms. Detective Williams had taken his evidence to Colling’s office to examine and compare his data. Jack Summer, the nosy editor, had gone home to change his clothes and come back to snoop around and ask a lot of questions. Most of which Walker refused to answer.
“Jack, I only know there was a murder so far. You can print that and give the name of the victim. That’s all. Leave me alone to learn more about it before you nag me.“
“I have a newspaper to get out this week,“ Jack objected. “This is too big a story to ignore. Brother Goodheart is a national celebrity. I’ll sell a ton of papers by getting the first shot at this story, and other papers clear across the country will want permission to reprint.“
“I’ll tell you whatever I’m allowed to when I know more,“ Walker said. “Now, get out of here and let me get on with my job.“
“Can’t I just watch you search the rooms?”
“No. Go away.”
Detective Williams had been the first to have information, and it was negative.
“No prints on the bathtub. Not even Pottinger’s. There’s a towel on the floor somebody used to wipe them all off. Towels don’t take prints,“ he said as if Walker needed to be told this. “I’ll call your office when I know more.”
Walker started the search in Pottinger’s suite. The man had made very few notes. His small suitcase contained only his cheap wig and a couple of changes of underwear. His toothbrush and tooth powder can was on the edge of the sink with his shaving materials. There was also another five hundred dollars in the suitcase with a gold clip holding the bills and a note saying “for the end of the meeting.”
That money would have to be sorted out eventually. Presumably Pottinger had meant to use it to pay the Brewsters at the end of their visit, but possibly it was meant to pay off the other men he was conspiring with.
There were no other
Lily said, “I’ll lend you Police at the Funeral. I still have it in my room. You’ll see what I mean. It’s not due back at the library for another week.“
“I think I better finish reading up on croquet first,“ Robert said, leaving her watching the truck disappear with its own collection of stupid idiots. And probably at least one real murderer.
Chapter 10
Howard Walker knew this crime wasn’t going to be solved very soon. Too much waiting on the people in Albany working over the paperwork. Too much investigation to complete. He’d have to question everyone he’d just sent away in the truck to the asylum much more thoroughly. And he had only three days to do it before most of them would be let out to go their own ways. Reverend Nobby Hazard was the only one loony enough likely to be kept there. Now that the Institute had lost its kingpin, they’d all scatter as fast as they could. He didn’t have the staff or the budget or a location to put the suspects under house arrest.
He had to interview Mrs. Rennie about the evening of the murder. He needed to wait for the fingerprint information on the knife and the suspects’ belongings and get all the suspects questioned intensively as well. Not that there was much hope of any of them telling the truth.
And he wasn’t at all sure he even had all the suspects locked up. How could he guess how many other people were employed at the Institute of Divine Intervention? And there were outsiders to consider as well.
A man like Pottinger probably had lots of enemies. All fanatics did. And most fanatics hated other fanatics.
The first thing to do was to search all their rooms. They hadn’t been allowed to take away their belongings. All of the rooms and their contents were now gray with f ingerprinting dust.
He released Harry Harbinger to get back to his life and kept Ralph Summer and Officer Lawrence to help with the search of the rooms. Detective Williams had taken his evidence to Colling’s office to examine and compare his data. Jack Summer, the nosy editor, had gone home to change his clothes and come back to snoop around and ask a lot of questions. Most of which Walker refused to answer.
“Jack, I only know there was a murder so far. You can print that and give the name of the victim. That’s all. Leave me alone to learn more about it before you nag me.“
“I have a newspaper to get out this week,“ Jack objected. “This is too big a story to ignore. Brother Goodheart is a national celebrity. I’ll sell a ton of papers by getting the first shot at this story, and other papers clear across the country will want permission to reprint.“
“I’ll tell you whatever I’m allowed to when I know more,“ Walker said. “Now, get out of here and let me get on with my job.“
“Can’t I just watch you search the rooms?”
“No. Go away.”
Detective Williams had been the first to have information, and it was negative.
“No prints on the bathtub. Not even Pottinger’s. There’s a towel on the floor somebody used to wipe them all off. Towels don’t take prints,“ he said as if Walker needed to be told this. “I’ll call your office when I know more.”
Walker started the search in Pottinger’s suite. The man had made very few notes. His small suitcase contained only his cheap wig and a couple of changes of underwear. His toothbrush and tooth powder can was on the edge of the sink with his shaving materials. There was also another five hundred dollars in the suitcase with a gold clip holding the bills and a note saying “for the end of the meeting.”
That money would have to be sorted out eventually. Presumably Pottinger had meant to use it to pay the Brewsters at the end of their visit, but possibly it was meant to pay off the other men he was conspiring with.
There were no other
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