Read Online Tenth Commandment by Lawrence Sanders - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lawrence Sanders
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menagerie, and his daughter wasn't interested. That's why he was as nice as pie as far as I was concerned. And he paid a good dollar, I'll say that.'
'All this on a professor's salary?'
64
'Oh no. No no no. He comes from old money. His grandfather and father were in shipping. He inherited a pile.'
'What was he so sore about?' I asked her. 'He seems to have hated the world.'
She shrugged her thick shoulders.
'Who can tell a thing like that? I know he had some disappointments in his life, but who hasn't? I know he got passed over for promotion at the University — that's why he resigned — and once, when he was younger, he got jilted.
But nothing important enough that I know of that would turn him into the kind of man he was. To tell you the truth, I think he just enjoyed being mean. More tea?'
'Please.'
I watched her pour and dilute with hot water. 'They've been looking for the Professor's will,' I said. 'It's missing.
Did you know that?'
'Did I? They tore my kitchen apart looking for it. Even the flour bin. Took me hours to get it tidy again.'
'Glynis told me her father cleaned his study himself.
Wouldn't let anyone in there. Is that right?'
'Recently,' she said. 'In the month before he disappeared.
Before that, he let me in to dust and straighten up. We have a cleaning crew that comes in once a week to give the place a good going-over, vacuum the rugs and wash down the bathrooms — things like that. He'd let them in his study if I was there. Then, about a month before he vanished, he wouldn't let anyone in. Said he'd clean the place himself.'
'Did he give any reason for this change?'
'Said he was working on this book, had valuable papers in there and didn't want them disturbed.'
'Uh-huh,' I said. 'Mrs Stonehouse and her daughter told me that just before he walked out on the evening of January 10th, he went into his study for a few minutes. Did you see him?'
65
'I did. I was in the dining room. It was Olga's night off, so I was cleaning up after dinner. He came in from the living room, went into the study, and came out a few minutes later. That was the last time I saw him.'
'Did he close the study door after he went in?'
'Yes.'
'Did you hear anything in there?'
'Like what?' she asked.
'Anything. Anything that might give me an idea of what he was doing. Thumping around? Moving furniture?'
She was silent, trying to remember. I waited patiently.
'I don't k n o w . . . ' she said. 'It was a month ago. Maybe I heard him slam a desk drawer. But I couldn't swear to it.'
'That's another thing,' I said. 'The desk drawers. Did he keep them locked?'
'Yes,' she said definitely. 'He did keep them locked when he wasn't there. I remember because once he lost his keys and we had to have a locksmith come in and open the desk.'
'No one else had a key to his desk?'
'Not that I know of.'
'Effie, what happened between the Professor and his son?'
'The poor lamb,' she mourned. 'Powell got kicked out of the house.'
'Why?'
'He wouldn't get a job, and he wouldn't go back to the University to get his degree, and he was running with a wild bunch in Greenwich Village. Then the Professor caught Powell smoking pot in his bedroom, and that did it.'
'Does Powell have a job now?'
'Not that I know of.'
'How does he live?'
'I think he has a little money of his own that his grandmother left him. Also, I think Mrs Stonehouse and 66
Glynis help him out now and then, unbeknownst to the Professor.'
'When did this happen?'
'Powell getting kicked out? More than a year ago.'
'But he still comes here for dinner?'
'Only in the last two or three months. Mrs Stonehouse cried and carried on so and said Powell was starving, and Glynis worked on her father, too, and eventually he said it would be all right for Powell to have dinner here if he wanted to, but he couldn't move back in.'
'All right,' I said. 'Now what about Glynis? Does she work?'
'Not anymore. She did for a year or two, but she quit.'
'Where did she work?'
'I
'All this on a professor's salary?'
64
'Oh no. No no no. He comes from old money. His grandfather and father were in shipping. He inherited a pile.'
'What was he so sore about?' I asked her. 'He seems to have hated the world.'
She shrugged her thick shoulders.
'Who can tell a thing like that? I know he had some disappointments in his life, but who hasn't? I know he got passed over for promotion at the University — that's why he resigned — and once, when he was younger, he got jilted.
But nothing important enough that I know of that would turn him into the kind of man he was. To tell you the truth, I think he just enjoyed being mean. More tea?'
'Please.'
I watched her pour and dilute with hot water. 'They've been looking for the Professor's will,' I said. 'It's missing.
Did you know that?'
'Did I? They tore my kitchen apart looking for it. Even the flour bin. Took me hours to get it tidy again.'
'Glynis told me her father cleaned his study himself.
Wouldn't let anyone in there. Is that right?'
'Recently,' she said. 'In the month before he disappeared.
Before that, he let me in to dust and straighten up. We have a cleaning crew that comes in once a week to give the place a good going-over, vacuum the rugs and wash down the bathrooms — things like that. He'd let them in his study if I was there. Then, about a month before he vanished, he wouldn't let anyone in. Said he'd clean the place himself.'
'Did he give any reason for this change?'
'Said he was working on this book, had valuable papers in there and didn't want them disturbed.'
'Uh-huh,' I said. 'Mrs Stonehouse and her daughter told me that just before he walked out on the evening of January 10th, he went into his study for a few minutes. Did you see him?'
65
'I did. I was in the dining room. It was Olga's night off, so I was cleaning up after dinner. He came in from the living room, went into the study, and came out a few minutes later. That was the last time I saw him.'
'Did he close the study door after he went in?'
'Yes.'
'Did you hear anything in there?'
'Like what?' she asked.
'Anything. Anything that might give me an idea of what he was doing. Thumping around? Moving furniture?'
She was silent, trying to remember. I waited patiently.
'I don't k n o w . . . ' she said. 'It was a month ago. Maybe I heard him slam a desk drawer. But I couldn't swear to it.'
'That's another thing,' I said. 'The desk drawers. Did he keep them locked?'
'Yes,' she said definitely. 'He did keep them locked when he wasn't there. I remember because once he lost his keys and we had to have a locksmith come in and open the desk.'
'No one else had a key to his desk?'
'Not that I know of.'
'Effie, what happened between the Professor and his son?'
'The poor lamb,' she mourned. 'Powell got kicked out of the house.'
'Why?'
'He wouldn't get a job, and he wouldn't go back to the University to get his degree, and he was running with a wild bunch in Greenwich Village. Then the Professor caught Powell smoking pot in his bedroom, and that did it.'
'Does Powell have a job now?'
'Not that I know of.'
'How does he live?'
'I think he has a little money of his own that his grandmother left him. Also, I think Mrs Stonehouse and 66
Glynis help him out now and then, unbeknownst to the Professor.'
'When did this happen?'
'Powell getting kicked out? More than a year ago.'
'But he still comes here for dinner?'
'Only in the last two or three months. Mrs Stonehouse cried and carried on so and said Powell was starving, and Glynis worked on her father, too, and eventually he said it would be all right for Powell to have dinner here if he wanted to, but he couldn't move back in.'
'All right,' I said. 'Now what about Glynis? Does she work?'
'Not anymore. She did for a year or two, but she quit.'
'Where did she work?'
'I
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