I grinned.
“Sometimes,” I said.
“Well,” she said. “This is one of those times. Sit down. Tell me what you need.”
Magnified by the fancy glasses, her dark eyes seemed even bigger than they probably were. She knew they were a good feature. She let them rest steadily on me. She didn’t blink. She sat and looked and waited.
“Okay,” I said. “Right from the beginning, I want there to be no secrets between us.”
She didn’t smile. But something sort of glittered in her eyes.
“I’m not a cop. I’m a private detective.”
“You were adroit at letting me think you were a cop, without actually saying so.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“So who is your client,” she said.
“Nobody,” I said. “I’m the guy who was supposed to protect Ashton Prince when he delivered the, ah, ransom.”
“And you are not satisfied with your performance,” she said.
“No.”
“What I know of the event, I don’t see what you could have done differently,” she said.
I didn’t answer.
“So,” she said, “the, ah, deceased is, in a sense, your client.”
“You could say so, I suppose.”
“What do you need from me?” she said.
“I’d love to know who’s working on it from your end,” I said.
“Me,” she said.
“Bingo,” I said. “First at bat. What can you tell me?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Except there is a lot here you do not understand and cannot find out. You did the best you could. It was not enough. Were I you, I would leave it and move on.”
“Can’t do that,” I said.
She nodded.
“Were you ever a police officer?” she said.
“Yes.”
“Did you clear every case?”
“No,” I said.
“Was that always because there wasn’t enough evidence?”
“No.”
“Occasionally, was it because too many important people did not want the case cleared?”
“Yes.”
She was still leaning back in her chair with her arms folded. She nodded slowly. And kept nodding for a while.
“You ever a cop?” I said.
“I was with the Bureau for a while. Before that I was with the Secret Service.”
“Protection?” I said.
“Yes.”
“Why are you here?”
“I have children,” she said.
“Husband?” I said.
“No,” she said.
I nodded again.
“This job is regular hours,” she said. “Better pay, and good benefits.”
“And fun as hell,” I said.
“When you have children and you are a single parent, fun is not part of the equation.”
“Too bad,” I said. “Can you tell me anything about any important people who might not want this case cleared?”
“No,” she said.
