tenseness as she waited for what I had to say.
'Was your husband acquainted with any of these business executives?' I asked, feeling somewhat like the serpent in the garden. I read her the list of five names given to me by Alison.
Mrs. Manners continued to work the shears for a while before answering. Then she lowered them to her side and faced me. 'Craig Blount. I don't think they were acquainted, but I remember the morning Robert and I were having breakfast and he read about this Blount's death in the newspaper. It seemed to disturb him, so much so that he couldn't finish his breakfast.'
'Did he say what it was about Blount's death that upset him?'
'No, he tried to pretend that he wasn't upset, but I could see that he'd been thoroughly shaken. After he'd left for the office, I picked up the newspaper and read the piece on Craig Blount, but I couldn't find anything that warranted Robert's reaction.'
'How long before his death was this?'
She laid the shears on the cement bench, as if they'd suddenly taken on weight. 'Only about a week,' she said. 'That's why I remembered. Many things seemed to upset Robert during that period, but that newspaper story did particularly.'
'May I use your telephone?' I asked her.
'Certainly. The door's unlocked.' She bent gracefully to pick up the shears, to displace her grief again in the garden.
I phoned Alice Kramer, Manners' secretary, at Wit-low Cable and asked her if she'd heard of Craig Blount. She hadn't, and she couldn't remember Manners' mentioning even a similar name in her presence.
I left Elizabeth Manners' home with an idea, about which I had more than a few doubts. But it was the only idea I had, so I clung to it.
At a large drugstore that sold everything from cough syrup to furniture, I got a handful of change from a schoolgirlish blonde cashier behind one of the registers and made my way to the phone booths.
The booths were in a secluded spot behind men's outerwear, and I was glad for the privacy. I fed change to the hungry telephone until it was glutted, then managed to get in touch with Dale Carlon.
'What have you learned?' Carlon asked immediately in his crisp business voice.
'I've got a connection between Talbert and Gratuity and the Robert Manners who killed himself, Manners and Gratuity and somebody named Craig Blount, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Seattle a few weeks ago.'
'There is no Gratuity Insurance, Nudger. I checked.'
'So did I. That's what interests me.'
'Whoever or whatever they are, do you think my daughter is mixed up with them?'
'I'm reasonably sure of it.'
Carlon's exasperated outlet of breath was amplified to a drawn-out rasping in the receiver. 'You're keeping things quiet, aren't you, Nudger?'
'Too quiet. The police should know what I know, Mr. Carlon. If they did, you might see an extensive and effective investigation.'
'We'll decide when and what to tell the police, Nudger.'
What he meant by that was he would decide, and he had fifty thousand good arguments in his favor.
'Ever heard of Business View?' I asked him. 'It's a magazine.'
'I have. Used to subscribe to it.'
'Then I take it it's a reputable publication.'
'Very much so. I think it's published in Chicago. It's one of those financial monthlies that reports on the stock market and analyzes and predicts trends.'
'There's a female reporter here who works for the magazine, gathering information about Manners' death. Her name's Alison Day.'
'Alison?' He sounded surprised. 'I know her well, Nudger. She's dedicated and, despite her comparative youth, widely respected in her profession. I've known Alison both professionally and as a friend of the family, for years. She recommended Joan to her college sorority.'
'Then you vouch for her?'
'Completely. She's a thorough professional in her field. That's not to say, Nudger, that you should confide in her. She is a reporter.'
'She doesn't know who I'm working for or why,' I assured Carlon.
'I think you should go to Seattle,' Carlon said after a pause.
'I don't think it's necessary at this point,' I told him. 'If I decide to, I'll let you know.'
Gently I replaced the receiver, before he could insist. I had worked for Dale Carlons before; their egos demanded that they be better than everyone at everything.
On the way out of the drugstore, I stopped at the pharmaceutical counter and bought a fresh roll of antacid tablets. My next stop was going to be the Clairbank Hotel.
20
Alison's room at the Clairbank was large and comfortable. It lacked the careful color and style coordination of chain hotel rooms. The long triple dresser didn't quite match the smaller dresser on the opposite wall, two overstuffed wing chairs looked more like they belonged in an English men's club than a hotel room, and the flowered spread on the double bed matched neither beige carpet nor heavy drapes. The overall effect was one almost of hominess.
I could see a gleam in Alison's shrewd eyes as I told her what Craig Blount's name has evoked from Elizabeth Manners. Alison began to realize then, I think, that I was holding back a great deal from her.
'You're right about Gratuity Insurance,' she said. 'No such company is listed with-'
'I know,' I told her, 'it's been checked and double-checked.'
She was wearing a tailored pinstriped outfit that couldn't subdue the curves of her lean body, and I found myself wondering if she would approach sex with her usual brisk and cool efficiency. The feline something in her eyes and the generous arc of her lower lip told me that wasn't likely.
'Where did you get the name of a fictitious insurance company?' she asked, pausing before the window in fetching silhouette.
'It's cropped up throughout my investigation. Now it's a link between Manners and Blount, two men who don't seem to be linked in any other way.'
'Nudger,' she said, 'could you tell me what, precisely, you're investigating?'
I smiled and shook my head. 'We agreed from the beginning there'd be some things I wouldn't tell you.'
She narrowed an eye but didn't argue. 'What do we do now?' she asked.
I was glad she said 'we,' because right now I needed her. 'Can you draw up a list of the business establishment's top executives, nationwide?'
The suggestion didn't throw her. 'How many names?'
'How about the top fifty? Not the obvious multimillionaires-the corporation men.'
Alison walked to the writing desk, drummed long-nailed fingers on smooth polished wood. 'What do you intend to do with the list?'
'I want you to use your professional status to contact the secretaries or other satellite personalities who surround these men. Let them know that you want to be notified immediately if they hear of a Gratuity Insurance appointment. Can you do it?'
'Not as easily as you make it sound.' She caressed her chin in thought. 'How about my drawing up a list of the top people with whom I have connections, or with whose satellite personalities I have connections? I can't guarantee they'll be in the top fifty, but I feel safe to say they could all make the top hundred or two.'
'That should help.'
'And I can talk to the heads of some secretarial organizations,' Alison said, picking up enthusiasm. They can get the word out to their members to phone if they hear anything about Gratuity.'
