Joe considered then said, 'Mrs. Mattison, how much does she have to do with the actual legal work of the firm?'
Pollinger gave him an old-fashioned glance then sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers like some ancient actor playing the family solicitor in one of those British black and white movies on TV.
'I would say that Mrs. Mattison is privy to all our intimate secrets,' he said. 'And probably capable of dealing in a proper legal manner with anything that might come up in regard to them. Certainly I have never known her mis field any query or problem that has come her way.'
'She said she doesn't like messing with things that ain't her business,' objected Joe.
'And so she doesn't. But I assure you, if a client came to see me in a tizz, and I was in bed with flu, and the other partners were on vacation, or in court, Mrs. Mattison would be able to display a detailed knowledge of their case and offer reassuringly sound advice till such time as I was back in the saddle. She has proved this on many an occasion. But it is not her job, she always protests. And so it isn't, though I think she gets some private satisfaction from being in many ways more expert than our official legal executives.'
'Yeah, she didn't seem to rate them,' said Joe. 'That's what Mrs. Naysmith was, right?'
'Lucy? Yes, indeed. Mrs. Mattison mentioned her?'
'I think maybe I did. Got the impression there was maybe something a bit more personal there?'
'Very astute, though totally irrelevant. Only fair to put you in the picture, I suppose, so you don't let yourself be distracted by red herrings. Felix, that's Mr. Naysmith, is what used to be called a bit of a ladies' man. Basically a rather simple soul, he has the great attraction of complete sincerity. He always believes himself deeply in love. How a man should be able to maintain this belief during a succession of liaisons, some of which cannot have lasted more than a fortnight, I do not know. His passage through our secretarial staff when he first joined us was a kind of erotic blitzkrieg.'
'How did you feel about that? Office romances, I mean.'
'I held a watching brief, not in any voyeuristic sense, you understand, but merely to make sure the smooth running of the firm was never compromised.'
'You didn't worry about the girls then?' said Joe.
'I assure you, Mr. Sixsmith, that as a lawyer I am fully aware of the implications of sexual harassment,' said Pollinger rather acidly. 'Felix's attentions were never of that kind. His technique, if technique it can be called, is to show a shy and respectful admiration till the female concerned understands that if she wishes to encourage his attentions, she must herself offer a signal to advance. Happily, on the whole Felix showed he was as adept at disentangling himself as he was at getting entangled in the first place. I think you will find across the range of Luton's legal practices and their support industries a sorority of Felix's exes exists without bitterness or recrimination, freely sharing their experience and comparing their trophies. He is a most generous man.'
'But Lucy pinned him down?'
'Indeed. She got pregnant. I do not suggest she did it deliberately, but Felix is a sucker for children. Lucy too was genuinely keen to have a large family. They were devastated when she miscarried. Then she got pregnant again. Perhaps too soon. I do not understand these things. This time there were serious complications which resulted in Lucy learning she could never have children. Hard to come to terms with, but they seem to be coping. Anyway, this is all irrelevant except insofar as sometime before his fancy lit upon Lucy, he had actually added Mrs. Mattison to his conquests.'
'Shoot,' said Joe. Isn't there a Mr. Mattison?'
'She was divorced some years back. We acted for her, of course. Got a first-rate settlement. I thought after that she was far too sensible to get involved with someone whose imperfections were continually under her gaze. But women are unpredictable creatures, aren't they? Even the most down to earth of them. She fell. I was seriously worried. A flighty eighteen-year-old secretary is neither here nor there. The job centres are full of them. But someone like Mrs. Mattison ... For the first time I spoke.'
'To her?'
To him. I said that, were his intentions honourable, I would be happy to give the match my blessing, though of course there could be no question of Mrs. Mattison remaining in the firm if she became Mrs. Naysmith. On the other hand, if anything occurred which meant we lost her services without her becoming Mrs. Naysmith, I would be most distressed. Upon which hint he acted. I think he was ready to act in any case, but this time he was even gentler than usual in his disentanglement manoeuvres, and all was well.'
He spoke with some complacency. Joe shook his head internally. Mr. Pollinger might be hell on wheels as a lawyer, but when it came to women, he was an also-ran. OK, your eighteen-year-old in a world of shifting relationships might be happy to swop experiences of Felix with her friends, but no way would someone like Mrs. Mattison fit into that scene.
Still, it wasn't relevant. Which implied he could recognize what was. In his dreams maybe!
'So what progress have you actually made in your investigation, apart from cross-questioning me, of course,' added Pollinger now.
'Well, there hasn't been a lot of progress. I mean, it was only yesterday
'Yes. Yesterday. And now it's today. And I presume that you will be charging me for the hours between, so presumably you have been doing something pertinent in that time?'
This was a bit rich coming from a guy who almost certainly charged hourly even when he was having his after- lunch snooze. But he had paid cash money up front
'Well, I went to see Mr. Naysmith in hospital.'
'And what did he have to say?'
'Nothing. I mean, I didn't actually get to see him. Still a bit groggy.'
'Really? Seemed quite OK when I called in.'
'Well, I spoke to Mrs. Naysmith and she seemed to think it was better if he rested a bit longer.'
