more.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he wouldn’t.”
“Was he always that accommodating?”
“Not always, no. He was that night-I suppose because it was an occasion for him. He’d just bought a valuable French snuff box… you know about that, I’m sure.”
“Yes.”
“Well, that must be why he went out on the cliffs,” she said. “To accomodate me, I mean. To sober up.”
“What did you do after you left him in the hobby room?”
“I don’t remember exactly. It was such a hectic evening-parties are always hectic for the hostess-and I’d had a fair amount to drink myself. Champagne, at least that wears off after a while. I think I went to the kitchen to see how Lina was doing.”
“And after that?”
“Let’s see… That was when Leonard and I talked in the library.”
“Talked privately, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“What did you talk about?”
She reached over to crush out her cigarette in an ashtray that looked like the cross-section of a stomach in the Pepto-Bismol commercial. “It was girl-talk,” she said, and smiled.
“How do you mean, Mrs. Purcell?”
“Well, you know Leonard was gay…”
“Yes.”
“And that he and Tom Washburn had been living together for some time…”
“Yes.”
“Well, they were thinking seriously about getting married. Did you know that?”
“Washburn mentioned it, yes.”
“Leonard wanted my opinion,” she said. “He knew I wouldn’t laugh at him; he knew I would understand. That was what we discussed.”
“You and Leonard were close, then?”
“Close? No, I wouldn’t say that. We only saw each other a few times a year. But we could talk to each other; we had a kind of sisterly rapport. And I don’t mean that to sound facetious.”
I nodded and said nothing.
“I was shocked when I heard he’d been murdered,” she said, “but after Kenneth’s death… well, I couldn’t feel any deep sense of loss. I still can’t. Can you understand that?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Please don’t call me ma’am,” she said. “It makes me feel like an old lady. Do I look like an old lady?”
“Not from where I sit.”
She smiled again and recrossed her legs and tugged the skirt down a little. Not much.
I said, “Do you feel a deep loss at your husband’s death?”
Her eyes moved over my face, as if trying to find a way inside my head so she could read my thoughts. Then she shrugged and smiled self-deprecatingly and said, “To be honest, no. Kenneth and I were no longer in love; we seldom even slept together any more. He led his life and I led mine.”
“Then why did you stay married?”
“He liked having me around, and I like this house.” The self-deprecating smile again. “He was a very wealthy man,” she said. “And if that sounds mercenary, so be it. I would much rather be rich than poor.”
“Did you know you were one of the principal beneficiaries of his will?”
“Of course. Kenneth had no financial secrets from me. Do you think I murdered him? For his money?”
“Money is a primary motive for murder,” I said.
“Not in my case. I never wanted for anything the entire time we were married. And I was here in the house when he fell; others have already vouched for that. Not that I or anyone else needs an alibi. My husband’s death was an accident; I believe that with all my heart.”
I said, “Let’s go back to you and Leonard in the library. How long were you together?”
“Fifteen or twenty minutes.”
“Did you leave at the same time?”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“Someone, I don’t remember who, asked me where Kenneth was. No one had seen him in a while. I thought perhaps he’d passed out in his bedroom-he’d done that more than once at a party-but he wasn’t there. He wasn’t anywhere in the house.”
“What did you do then?”
“I knew he must have gone out on the cliffs,” she said. “He’d done that before, too, even though I warned him not to; it’s dangerous out there at night. I didn’t want to go alone for that reason, so I asked Leonard and one of the other guests, George Collins, to come with me. We took a flashlight and when we reached the edge… there was a moon that night and we could see Kenneth down below-” She broke off, sighed, and lighted another cigarette. “Well, it was an ugly scene and I’d rather not talk about it. I’ve been trying to forget that night for the past six months.”
I watched her do her Marlene Dietrich number with the fresh coffin nail. “I understand he had the Hainelin box on his person,” I said, “and that it was lost when he fell.”
“Yes. It wasn’t among his collection or anywhere else in the house when I looked for it later. And the pocket of his jacket was torn in the fall, the pocket he’d put the box in.”
“Is there any chance he set the box down somewhere before he went outside? That it was picked up by one of the guests?”
“You mean stolen? Good God, no. None of those people is a thief.”
“Uh-huh. They’re all too civilized, right?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“But some of them are also dealers and collectors,” I said. “And the box was worth a lot of money.”
She was shaking her head. “No. Theft is out of the question.”
Not as far as I was concerned, it wasn’t. But I said, “I don’t know much about that type of antique art. Do you mind if I have a look at the rest of your husband’s collection?”
“I don’t mind, but I’m afraid that’s impossible.”
“Oh? Why?”
“I’ve had it unmounted and crated,” she said. “Antiques of that sort mean nothing at all to me; frankly I don’t even find them aesthetic. I intend to sell the entire collection as soon as Kenneth’s will clears probate.”
“I see. Do you have a buyer yet?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“It wouldn’t be Eldon Summerhayes, would it?”
One of her finely penciled eyebrows formed an arch. She said slowly, “You’re quite a detective.”
“I’ve been one a long time.”
“Yes, well, Eldon is an old friend. He is also a dealer in that type of art… but then you already know that, I’m sure.”
“May I ask how much he’s paying you?”
“Really, that is none of your business.”
“No, it isn’t. But I’m curious.”
She ran her eyes over my face again in that same probing way, and then took one last drag off her cigarette and scrubbed out the butt. “It’s no secret,” she said. “Eldon is paying three hundred thousand for the collection.”
“Cash on the barrelhead?”
“We’ve arranged a deal,” she said noncommittally. “He has several buyers.”
“Is Margaret Prine one of them?”
