“I told her to stay in her room,” I said. “So I expect she thought she’d get into trouble.”
“Why is your bridegroom not at your side?” Ryan asked, coming up to us with a glass of champagne in either hand. “Doesn’t he realize that you are in danger of being carried off by all the jealous males at this party?”
“Ryan, you still haven’t lost your Irish blarney,” I replied, laughing. “I’m in no danger of being carried off by you or anyone else and Daniel has to work, I’m afraid.”
“Then you’ll need one of these to cheer you up.” He handed me a champagne glass. “Foolish man to put work before love. I’ve never done that in my life. Love always comes first.”
Monty looked at him with distaste. “So your fiance has to work on a Sunday evening?” he asked.
“Policemen have to work whenever there is a case to be worked on,” I said. “It’s something I’m going to have to get used to, I suppose.”
“And he’s on a big case now, is he?” Monty asked. “Something exciting?”
“I don’t really know,” I said. “He’s not allowed to discuss his work with me.”
“I find detective work quite fascinating,” Monty said. “I rather feel I should have been a good detective if I’d put my mind to it. A gifted amateur like Sherlock Holmes. But I should have been careful not to have let my enemy throw me over the Reichenbach Falls.” And he gave a self-congratulatory chuckle.
At that moment there was a knock at the front door and Sid appeared, beaming. “Look who has just arrived,” she said and ushered in Daniel. “Look everyone, the bridegroom cometh!”
There were suitable murmurs of excitement as Daniel, looking distinctly uncomfortable, was surrounded by outlandishly costumed figures who patted him on the back and attempted to shake his hand.
“How clever,” Ryan said, appearing at his side. “You’ve come disguised as a policeman. Very novel.”
“Ryan, you are being wicked again.” I went over to rescue Daniel. “I didn’t think you’d be able to come,” I said as I extracted him from the crush. “It was really good of you. I know how busy you are.”
“My conscience got the better of me,” he said. “I realized that this party was important to you and I should make some effort to get along with your friends, just as I hope you’ll get along with mine.”
“They don’t always look as strange as this,” I muttered as I slipped my hand through his. “And most them are really Sid and Gus’s friends. But you’re a good man.”
He smiled. “How much of a hardship is it to exchange a hasty sandwich at police headquarters for champagne and good food,” he said. “I haven’t had a good meal in days.”
“Come through to the conservatory and you shall eat your fill,” I said. “And take a look at that table in the hallway. Wedding presents, I believe.”
“For us?” Daniel looked surprised.
“It is our wedding party,” I said.
“Good God. We’ll need a bigger house to put them in.”
“We won’t. But we’ll be able to entertain more elegantly, which is what you want, isn’t it?”
We reached the conservatory and Daniel helped himself liberally to the fare on the tables. “I must say your friends have really pulled out all the stops, haven’t they?” he exclaimed. “What an incredible array of food.”
“You know Sid and Gus. When they do something, they throw themselves into it wholeheartedly.”
“I rather fear it will make our wedding breakfast seem pale in comparison,” he said. He piled a plate. As I was about to go back to the living room he said, “Can’t we find a quiet corner? I’d enjoy this food so much more if I didn’t have that O’Hare person commenting on the way I eat.”
“You have to understand that Ryan enjoys getting a rise out of other people,” I said. “Especially members of the establishment like you. Come on, let’s sit out here for a while.”
We found two chairs in a corner of the conservatory and I let him eat in silence while rain drummed on the glass roof. After a few bites he put down his fork. “I’m afraid I can’t stay long,” he said. “This Chinese business has just added to my workload.”
“Daniel, I really am sorry,” I said. “I didn’t intend to get involved in anything difficult or dangerous.”
“You never do, do you?” he said. “You just seem to stumble into trouble, and then miraculously to stumble out of it again. At least you didn’t need rescuing this time and at least you’re not in any way involved in the machinations of Chinatown. And believe me, you’re well to be out of it, Molly. That Lee fellow was a nasty piece of work. I’m not at all surprised that somebody finished him off. I just hope we can find out who that was before the tongs start hurling accusations at each other.”
“So you’re going to take over the case, are you?”
“I can’t really step on Kear’s toes. He’s the same rank as I and it’s in his precinct, so I should let him handle it.”
“But he’s got it all worked out in his mind,” I said. “He wants it to be Frederick Lee, so he’s not going to look any farther. And who knows what kind of methods he might use to make Frederick confess to something he didn’t do.”
Daniel looked at me strangely. “You sound as if you care about what happens to this Frederick fellow.”
“I’ve only met him a couple of times,” I said carefully. “But he seemed such a nice, polite young man. Not one who would murder anybody, especially not someone from his own clan.”
“I must say I’m inclined to think it wasn’t he,” Daniel said. “I went back and took a look at the Lee apartment with the fingerprint expert. Somebody definitely went through that cabinet in a big hurry. Papers were literally stuffed back in all the drawers.”
“And did you find any interesting fingerprints?”
