She was wearing a denim smock that hid her limber body.
But her blond curls were still frizzy, and her manner as perky as before. She chatted easily about her new job and the funny things that happen in a dentist's office.
'Maybe we better order,' he suggested, handing her a menu.
'We can talk while we eat.'
'Sure,' she said.
'What're you having?'
'I'm going for the club sandwich,' he said.
'I'm a sandwich freak. You have whatever looks good to you.'
'Cheeseburger,' she said, 'with a lot of fries. And another strawberry daiquiri. Hey, you know what happened? Doc Simon left me a thousand dollars in his will!'
'I heard that,' Delaney said.
'Very nice of him.'
'He was a sweetheart,' Carol Judd said.
'Just a sweetheart. I don't have the check yet, but I got a letter from the lawyers. When the money comes, me and my boyfriend are going to take a great weekend in Bermuda or the Bahamas or someplace like that. I mean it's found money-right?'
'Right,' Delaney said.
'Enjoy it.'
'How you coming on the investigation? You find the guy who did it yet?'
'Not yet. But I think we're making progress.'
Their food was served. She doused her cheeseburger and French fries with ketchup. Delaney slathered his wedges of club sandwich with mayonnaise.
'Carol,' he said casually, 'you told me you did the billing for Doctor Ellerbee. Is that correct?'
'Sure. I mailed out all the bills.'
'How did you keep track of who owed what?'
'In a ledger. I logged in every patient's visit. We billed monthly.'
'Uh-huh. Did you know the billing ledger is missing?'
She had her mouth open to take a bite of cheeseburger, but stopped.
'You're kidding,' she said.
'First I heard of it. Who would want that 'The killer,' Delaney said.
'Maybe. Where did you keep it?'
'In the top drawer of my desk.'
'Everyone knew that? I mean patients and other people coming in and out of the office?'
'I suppose so. I didn't try to keep it hidden or anything like that. No point, was there?'
'I guess not. Carol, the last time I spoke to you, we talked about Doctor Simon's change of mood in the last year. You said he was up and down, happy one day, depressed the next.'
'That's right. He became, you know, changeable.'
'And also,' Delaney said cheerfully, 'you mentioned that he wore a flower in his buttonhole.'
'Well, it really wasn't in his buttonhole because he didn't have one on his suit. But it was pinned to his lapel, yes.'
'And it was the first time you had seen him wear a flower?'
'That's right. I kidded him about it, and we laughed. He was happy that day.'
'Thank you,' Delaney said gratefully.
'Now let's get back to that billing ledger for a minute. Were there patients who didn't pay or were slow on their payments?'
'Oh, sure. I guess every doctor has his share of slow payers and out-and-out deadbeats.'
'And how did Doctor Ellerbee handle them?'
'I'd mail out second and third notices. You know-very polite reminders.
We had a forrn letter for it.'
'And what if they didn't pay up, even after the notices?
What happened then? Did he drop them?'
'He never did,' she said, laughing and wiping ketchup from her lips with her napkin.
'He was really such a sweet, easygoing guy. He'd say, 'Well, maybe they're a little strapped,' and he'd keep treating them. A soft touch.'
'Sounds like it,' Delaney said. He had finished his club sandwich and the little container of cole slaw. Now he sat back, took a deep breath, and said, 'Do you remember the name of the patient who owed Doctor Ellerbee the most money?'
'Sure,' Carol Judd said promptly, popping the last French fry into her mouth with her fingers.
'Joan Yesell. She owed almost ten thousand dollars.'
'Joan Yesell?' he repeated, not letting his exultation show.
'Ten thousand dollars?'
'About.'
'That was more than any other patient owed?'
'A lot more.'
'Did you send her second and third notices?'
'At first I did, but then the doctor told me to stop dunning her. He said she probably couldn't afford it. So he just carried her.'
'Thank you,' Delaney said.
'Thank you very much. Now, how about some dessert?'
'Well…' Carol.Judd said.
'Maybe.'
He plodded home on a steely-gray afternoon, smoking a Cuesta-Rey 95 and thinking he owned the world. Well, he didn't have it all, but he had most of it. Enough that made sense. The problem was: Where did he go from here?
The brownstone was silent and empty. The women, he supposed, were out exchanging Christmas gifts. He went into the study and got on the horn.
It took almost an hour to locate Boone and Jason and summon them to a meeting at nine o'clock that night. He was ruthless about it: Be here.
But when they arrived and he had them seated, the study door closed against the chatter of the women in the living room, he wondered how he might communicate his own certainty. He knew it might sound thin, but to him it was sturdy enough to run on.
'Listen,' he began.
'I'm convinced Simon Ellerbee was in love, or having an affair, or both, with Joan Yesell. Four women, including his wife, said that his personality changed recently. But they don't agree on how it changed. He was up, he was down, he was this, he was that: a good picture of a guy so mixed up he couldn't see straight. Also, Ellerbee was carrying Yesell on the books. She owed him about ten grand and he was making no effort to collect. I got that from Carol Judd, his receptionist, just-this afternoon.'
The two officers were leaning forward, listening intently.
He saw he would have no problem convincing them; they wanted to believe.
'That would explain his will,' Boone said slowly.
'Canceling his patients' debts. He put that in for Yesell's benefit.
Right, sir?'
'Right. She owed much more than any other patient. Also, I went through his appointment book again. She's down as a late patient eleven times this year, always on Friday nights.
But the interesting thing is that notation of those Friday night visits stopped in April. Only I don't think the sessions stopped. I believe they went on, but he didn't write them down in his book.'
'You think he was screwing her?' Jason asked.
'Had to be,' Delaney said.
