Read Online The Sixth Commandment by Lawrence Sanders - Free Book Online

heard those words before.
    “And the son?” I asked. “Edward?”
    “No secret about him,” she said. “He’s been bounced from a couple of prep schools. Lousy grades, I understand. Now he’s living at home with a private tutor to get him ready for Yale or Harvard or wherever. I met him a few times. Nice kid. Very handsome. Like his pa. But shy, I thought. Doesn’t say much.”
    “But generally, you’d say the Thorndeckers are a close, loving American family?”
    She looked at me suspiciously, wondering if I was putting her on. I was, of course, but she’d never see it in my expression.
    “Well … sure,” she said. “I suppose they’ve got their problems like everyone else, but there’s never been any gossip or scandal, if that’s what you mean.”
    “Julie Thorndecker,” I said, “the wife … she’s a good friend of Constable Ronnie Goodfellow?”
    The combat boots came off the desk onto the floor with a crash. Agatha Binder jerked toward me. Her mouth was open wide enough so I could see a chunk of half-chewed meatball.
    “Where the hell did you hear that?” she demanded.
    “Around,” I shrugged.
    “Shit,” she said, “that’s just vicious gossip.”
    “You just said there’s never been any gossip about the Thorndeckers.”
    She sat back, finished chewing and swallowing.
    “You’re a smartass, aren’t you, Todd?”
    I didn’t answer.
    She pushed the remnants of her sandwich aside. She leaned across the desk to me, ham-hands clasped. Her manner was very earnest, very sincere. Apparently she was staring directly into my eyes. But it’s difficult to look steadily into someone else’s eyes, even when you’re telling the truth. The trick is to stare at the bridge of the nose, between the eyes. The effect is the same. I figured that’s what she was doing.
    “Look, buster,” she said in a basso profundo rumble, “you’re going to hear a lot of nasty remarks about the Thorndeckers. They’re not the richest people hereabouts, but they ain’t hurting. Anytime there’s money, you’ll hear mean, jealous gossip. Take it for what it’s worth.”
    “All right,” I said agreeably, “I will. Now how about Thorndecker’s staff? I mean the top people. Know any of them?”
    “I know Stella Beecham. She’s an RN, supervisor of nurses and aides in Crittenden Hall. She practically runs the place. A good friend of mine. And I’ve met Dr. Draper. He’s Thorndecker’s Chief of Staff or Executive Assistant or whatever, in the research lab. I’ve met some of the others, but their names didn’t register.”
    “Competent people?”
    “Beecham certainly is. She’s a jewel. Draper is the studious, scientific type. I’ve got nothing in common with him, but he’s supposed to be a whiz. I guess the others in the lab are just as smart. Listen, I told you Thorndecker is a genius. He’s a good administrator, too. He wouldn’t hire dingbats. And the staff in the nursing home, mostly locals, do their jobs. They work hard.”
    “So Thorndecker’s got no labor problems?”
    “No way! Jobs are scarce around here, and he pays top dollar. Sick leave, pensions, paid vacation … the works. I’d like to work there myself.”
    “The hell you would,” I said.
    “Yeah,” she said, grinning weakly. “The hell I would.”
    “You know Al Coburn?”
    “That old fart?” she burst out. “He’s been crazy as a loon since his wife died. Don’t listen to anything he says.”
    “Well, I’ve got to listen to someone,” I said. “Preferably someone who knows Thorndecker. Where does he bank?”
    “Locally?” she said. “That would have to be the First Farmers & Merchants. The only bank in town. Around the corner on River Street. Next to the post office. The man to see is Arthur Merchant. He’s president. That really is his name—Merchant. But the ‘Merchants’ in the bank’s name has nothing to do with his. That means the bank was—”
    “I get it, I get it,” I assured her. “Just a