too fat to squat.
”When’d he die, Doc?“ Trask had a notebook out and held a yellow Bic Banana pen poised over it to record the answer.
The doctor was strained for breath, kneeling down like that; it didn’t help his temperament. ”Before we got here,“ he said.
Trask got a little redder. ”I know that, goddamn it. What I want to know is how long before we got here?“
”How the hell do I know, George? I don’t even know what killed him, yet. His neck looks broken.“ The doctor picked up Maguire’s head and turned it back and forth. A dark bruise ran along his cheek from the earlobe to the corner of his mouth. ”Yep, neck’s broken.“
”What time you find him, Spenser?“ Trask decided to question me. It wasn’t going well with the doctor.
”Quarter of two.“.
”Exactly?“
”Approximately.“
”Well, goddamn it, can’t you be more exact? You’re supposed to be some kind of hot stuff. I want to know the exact time of the discovery of the deceased. It could be vital.“
”Only in the movies, Trask.“
Trask looked past me and said, ”Hello, Lieutenant.“ I turned and it was Healy. He had on the same straw hat with the big headband that I’d seen him in before. His jacket was gray tweed with a muted red line forming squares in it. Gray slacks, white shirt with a button-down collar, and a narrow black knit tie. Tan suede desert boots. He had his hands in his hip pockets, and his face was without expression as he looked down at the body.
”Worse and worse,“ he said.
Trask said, ”This is Doc Woodson, Lieutenant. He was just saying that Maguire died of a broken neck.“
”No, I didn’t, George. I said his neck was broken. I didn’t say it killed him.“
”Well, it didn’t help him none. That’s for damned certain,“ Trask said.
Healy said, ”When can you give me a report on him, Doctor Woodson?“
”We’ll take him down Union Hospital now, and I can have something for you by, say, suppertime.“ He looked at me. ”Gimme a hand up, young fella; you look strong enough.“ I helped him up. The effort left him red-faced, and there was sweat on his forehead. ”Don’t get the exercise I should,“ he said.
”Who found the body?“ Healy asked.
Trask said, ”Spenser,“ and jerked his head in my direction. I got the feeling he wished I were the body.
”Okay, tell me about it.“ Healy squatted down on his heels beside the corpse and looked at it while I told him.
”Doors locked when you got here?“
”Yep, both of them. Mrs. Bartlett opened the back door with a key, and the front door was locked. I checked it.“
”Let’s check again,“ Healy said. We walked to the front door. Healy opened it, went outside, shut it behind him, and tried the knob. Locked. I opened it for him from the inside.
We went to the back door. Healy did the same thing. Same result. I let him in. We walked around looking at the windows. Most of them were closed and locked. Those that weren’t locked were screened. There was no sign they’d been tampered with. The screens were aluminum, part of screen and storm combinations.
”SOmeone could have gone out, reached back in, released the catches, and lowered the screen,“ I said, ”to make it look like it was inside business.“
Healy nodded absently. ”yeah,“ he said, ”but why would someone do that?“
”Misdirect the cops,“ I said.
”Maybe,“ Healy said.
”’Course with Chief Trask on the track,“ I said, ”you probably don’t need too much misdirection.“
Healy separated a peppermint Life Saver from the roll and popped it into his mouth. He didn’t offer me one.
”Well, he’s just a hick cop. Not a high-powered fast gun in from the city. Couldn’t even solve a simple missing person squeal.“ He sucked on the Life Saver ”You find the kid yet?“
”Nope.“
Healy said, ”Oh.“
We went back to the living room. The photographs had been taken. The measurements made. The corpse was wrapped in a blanket and lying on a stretcher. Trask looked at Healy. Healy nodded and Trask said, ”Okay, let’s get him out of here.“
Two Smithfield cops picked up the stretcher and went out the front door.
”Union Hospital,“ Trask yelled after them. ”And tell ‘em it’s for Doc Woodson when you get there.“
”Anything missing, Trask?“ Healy asked.
”Mrs. Bartlett says no. She don’t see anything gone.
Liquor cabinet was open but nothing missing.“
