detective over here?”
Judith didn’t comment.
“All right,” Cairo went on, “when did you find the
stiff?”
Judith glanced at Joe. “Around one-fifteen, maybe
later?”
Joe gave a faint nod.
“When and where,” Cairo queried, “did you last see
this Zepf character alive?”
Judith tried to focus on the question, though her
brain was fogging over. “He was on one of the living-
room sofas by the fireplace. That must have been about
a quarter to one, when Joe and I began to clean up
everything and take some of the perishable items down
to the freezer in the basement.”
Cairo flung out his hands. “So where’s the basement?”
Joe sneered. “Under the house.”
Herself burst out laughing; her bust almost burst the
seams of her emerald-green robe. “Oh, Joe-Joe! You’re
such a scream!”
Stone Cold Sam Cairo did not look amused. “You
know what I mean,” he snarled. “How do you get to the
damned basement?”
Judith spoke before Joe could further enrage Cairo.
“Through the kitchen, the hallway, and down the stairs
on the left.”
Cairo looked thoughtful. “So it’s quite a distance
from where Zepf was in the living room. Who was
with him?”
The fog enclosed Judith’s brain. “I don’t remember.” She glanced at Joe for assistance, but none was
forthcoming. “He may have been alone.” She paused,
straining in an effort to concentrate. “The cat—I think
Sweetums was sitting on Mr. Zepf’s lap.”
Cairo scowled, but Herself laughed again, though
this time the sound was soft and purring. “That lovely
cat! Oh, Sam, you’ve never seen such a beautiful
pussy. Not lately, anyway.”
Cairo ignored Herself. His attitude seemed to indicate
that perhaps he was getting tired, too. Maybe frustrated
as well, Judith thought in her exhausted haze. Before the
detective could pose another question, Dilys returned to
the parlor.
“They won’t come down,” she announced. “They
won’t even open their doors. The woman in Room One
says we have no probable cause or any evidence of a
crime having been committed.” Dilys didn’t bother to
