'And he made the diagnosis?'
'Yes.'
'Would you say that he was a competent diagnostician?'
'Not really,' said Mr. Green. 'But why is this important?'
'Jerry apparently had an attack of scarlet fever or something similar shortly before he was killed.' I turned to Mrs. Green. 'Do you remember the details? How the illness started?'
Why, yes. It was a Thursday and he had taken a ride with an English governess we had them. When he got back he was shivering and feverish and he had a rash. I thought it was measles and called Doctor Greenbaum. He said it wasn't a measles rash, that it was probably a light case of scarlet fever. He prescribed Aureomycin and the fever went away in a few days.'
'Was Jerry delirious at any time during this illness?'
'Yes, as a matter of fact he was. He seemed quite frightened and talked about 'animals in the wall.''
'Do you remember what animals, Mrs. Green?'
'He mentioned a giraffe and a kangaroo.'
'Do you remember anything else?'
'... Yes,' she said after a pause. 'There was a strange smell in the room ... sort of a musky smell ... like a
'Did Doctor Greenbaum comment on this odor?'
'No, I think he had a cold at the time.'
'Did you notice it, Mr. Green?'
'Well, yes, it was on the sheets and blankets when we sent them to the cleaners.... Exactly how was Jerry killed, Mr. Snide?'
'A massive overdose of heroin.'
'He wasn't—'
'No, he wasn't an addict, and the Greek police are convinced the heroin was not self-administered.'
'Do you have any idea why he would have been murdered?'
'I'm not at all sure, Mr. Green. It could have been a case of mistaken identity.'
When I got to the office the next day my assistant, Jim Brady, was already there, having come straight from the airport. He is very slim, six feet, 135 pounds, black Irish. Actually he is twenty-eight but he looks eighteen, and often has to show his I.D. card to be served in a bar. He handed me a packet from Athens: a photograph, and a message from Dimitri typed on yellow paper in telegraph style:
HAVE FOUND VILLA WHERE JERRY GREEN WAS KILLED STOP ON MAINLAND FORTY MILES FROM ATHENS STOP HEAD STILL MISSING STOP VILLA RENTED THROUGH LONDON TRAVEL AGENCY STOP FALSE NAMES STOP
DIMITRI
The photo showed a bare high-ceiling room with exposed beams. There was a heavy iron lantern-hook in one beam. Dimitri had circled this hook in white ink and had written under it: 'Traces of rope fiber.'
'A Mr. Everson called,' said Jim. 'His son is missing. I made an appointment.'
'Where is he missing?'
'In Mexico. A Mayan archeologist. Missing six weeks. I sent Mr. Everson the questionnaire and asked him for pictures of the boy.'
'Good.' I had no special feeling about this case, but it was taking me in the
