Read Online The Drowning Pool by Jacqueline Seewald - Free Book Online

woman wanted to support me.”
    “Be quiet, Martin! You’re making an ass out of yourself. The police didn’t come here to discuss our personal lives.” She turned to Gardner. “You’ll have to excuse Martin. He tends to ramble on aimlessly. He also exaggerates everything. That’s the way salesmen are. They love to talk and tell stories. He suffers from diarrhea of the mouth and constipation of the brain.” She glared at her husband, but he chose to ignore her.
    “All that complaining about me being in debt,” he continued. “I guess I figured I’d needle you a little in return. Anybody who’s been soaked for child support the way I have deserves some sympathy. My ex-wife was a rotten bitch. She really took me to the cleaners. We only had one kid and he’s seven. She can work while he’s in school, but will she? Hell, no! Rather drive the nails into my hide.”
    There was an uneasy silence and Gardner looked uncomfortable. Bert wasn’t too thrilled herself. Walling made her feel like puking.
    “Mrs. Walling, what kind of work are you engaged in?” Gardner turned his steady gray eyes in her direction.
    “I’m a systems analyst.”
    Bert studied the woman. She was unexceptional in height and build, maybe five-five with a medium frame. The plainness of her face was underscored by a sharp chin. Her lips were thin and her nostrils seemed pinched. There was no sparkle to her hazel eyes. If she wasn’t homely, then she was close to it. The fact that she was reticent to speak made Bert think she had an introverted personality. Then again, she seemed to be weighing every response as if making certain she wasn’t giving anything away, in direct contrast to her husband, who was too blunt with his comments. Bert found herself neither liking nor trusting either of them. Then again, in police work, it was best to be short on trust. She’d learned long ago that lying and distortion come as easily to people as eating and drinking.
    “You have a responsible job,” Gardner said.
    “Joan’s a very responsible person,” Martin interjected, digging into his wife again with mockery in his voice.
    “One of us has to be responsible, dear,” she returned, dripping acid.
    Bert shot a significant look in Gardner’s direction. The Wallings were clearly past the honeymoon stage.
    “It would help us if you could get back to discussing Richard Bradshaw.”
    “Sure, Lieutenant, what do you want to know?”
    “You worked with Bradshaw. Tell us about that.”
    “Martin worked for him, not with him,” Mrs. Walling said.
    Walling threw his wife a killing look. “We worked for the same outfit. In fact, it was me who suggested these apartments to him. See, we hit it off right away. Our relationship was always as much social as it was business.”
    “Why was that?”
    “Well, he was just a great guy to work with, really nice and easy-going. Nobody had a sharper mind.”
    “In what capacity did the two of you work together? Did he supervise you closely?”
    “He was my boss in theory, but he wasn’t standing over me. I’m a district sales manager. I’m on the road a lot, working with different salesmen, checking over accounts. Rick was put in charge of the entire east coast operation, all the managers. That meant that he was out on the road a lot too. But he had an office in New York at company headquarters.”
    “What kind of company are we talking about?”
    “Pharmaceutical. You know, drugs.”
    Bert raised her brows with interest but said nothing. Big money, deep pockets.
    “Could we have the name of your company and the address of the main office?”
    “Sure. I’ll get you guys a business card.” Walling checked a desk drawer and came back with a white card that had Marcom elaborately embossed on it.
    “Who was Bradshaw’s boss?”
    “Fella named Briscoe. He’s the regional sales manager.”
    “I thought that was Bradshaw’s job.”
    Walling seemed momentarily flustered. Bert picked up on it and noticed