it’s my bet the killer took the weapon with him. One of the occupiers of a cabin three away from the murder cabin says she heard a car arrive around one o’clock. It drove away again some twenty minutes later… could have been the killer.’
Terrell tapped the address book.?‘Lots of work here,’ he said. ‘Looks like this woman was a prostitute. The names of over two hundred men with their telephone numbers are listed in here. The only woman listed could be her sister or her mother: Joan Parnell. She lives on Le Jeune Road, near the airport. We’d better see her right away.’ He tossed the address book to Beigler. ‘I guess anyone of the men listed in there could be the boy we want. It’s going to be some job, but we’ll have to check everyone of them. Let’s go see Joan Parnell. She might give us a quick lead.’
Beigler put the address book in his pocket, then followed Terrell out of the cabin. Terrell had a brief word with Hess.
‘See if you can get anything more out of Henekey.’ he said. ‘Keep the boys searching for the knife. Check all gas stations to see if any car stopped between one and three this morning for gas. It’s pretty hopeless, but we might have a little luck. At that time, there isn’t much traffic. Talk to everyone here. Get their names and addresses. We’ll have to check them all… could be a sex killer is among them, but I doubt it. I’ll be back at headquarters in a couple of hours. Call me if you get anything. Take your time. This one isn’t going to be cracked in five minutes.’
Joining Beigler, Terrell got into the police car, letting Beigler drive.
They reached Le Jeune road just after half-past two, having stopped for a few minutes at a cafe for a sandwich and a cup of coffee.
Joan Parnell had a neat brick and plaster bungalow that stood in a row of similar bungalows. There was a tiny garden full of roses, a path that led to the front door over which climbed a flourishing Paul’s Scarlet.
Leaving the car, the two men walked up the path and Beigler dug his thumb into the bell push. There was a brief delay while Terrell looked uneasily up and down the long, empty road. This distressing business of breaking the news of violent death always worried him, but it was something he never pushed on to any of his men.
The door opened abruptly and a woman regarded them. She was dark, slim, around forty with a mannish haircut and her gaunt features revealed a strength of character Terrell had seldom seen in a woman’s face. She wore an open neck sports shirt and blue slacks. A cigarette dangled from her thin lips and a faint aroma of gin hung over her.
‘Mrs. Parnell?’ Terrell asked, lifting his hat.?‘Miss Parnell,’ the woman said and looked sharply at him. ‘You’re the police, aren’t you? ‘What is it?’
‘Terrell, Chief of Police,’ Terrell said. ‘Sergeant Beigler. Could we come in?’
She gave both men another searching stare, then turned and led the way into a small lounge, comfortably furnished, but well-used. There were books everywhere, and on the table stood a bottle of Gordon’s gin, a jug full of iced water and a used glass.
The woman went over to the table, poured a big shot of gin into a glass, added a little water before saying, ‘Well? What it is?’
‘You are a relation of Sue Parnell?’ Terrell asked.
She took a long thirsty drink, then hunched her shoulders. ‘So that’s it… I might have guessed. Yes, she’s my sister.’ She looked hard at Terrell, then her mouth tightened. ‘Is she dead?’
Terrell drew in a breath of relief.?‘I’m afraid she is, Miss Parnell.’
To his surprise, she asked, ‘Murdered?’?‘Yes.’
Joan Parnell stubbed out her cigarette. She covered her eyes with her hand for a brief moment, then she stiffened, reached for the glass and finished the drink. She lit another cigarette and then walked across to a big lounging chair and sank into it.
‘Sit down,’ she said. ‘Where did it happen?’?‘The Park Motel at Ojus,’ Terrell said, sitting down near her. Beigler took a seat at the table and opened his notebook.
‘I’ve continually warned her,’ the woman said in a cold, flat voice, ‘but that doesn’t help, does it. Do you know who did it?’
‘Not yet,’ Terrell said. ‘I’m hoping you could help me.’?‘It could be anyone. My sister led the kind of life that must eventually end in violence.’ Joan Parnell made an angry gesture. ‘People have got to work out their own destinies. She wouldn’t listen to me. Well, now she’s dead.’
‘Will you tell me about her?’ Terrell asked.
‘You’ve guessed, haven’t you? She was a harlot. That’s all there is to it.’?‘We found an address book among her possessions,’ Terrell said. ‘It contains some two hundred names. I take it, these men were her clients?’
Joan Parnell shrugged.?‘How do I know? All I do know is she made a lot of money and spent a lot of money. We didn’t meet very often.’
‘It’s just possible,’ Terrell said, ‘that the dead woman might not be your sister. I’d be glad if you’d come with us and identify her.’
Joan Parnell grimaced.?‘I hate the sight of death. Oh, well, I’ll come.’
It was while they were driving to the City morgue that Terrell asked, ‘Did your sister have any particular boy friend?’ He was watching Joan and saw her hesitate.
‘If you mean did she have a pimp, then she didn’t,’ she said finally. ‘There was a man she lived with for a couple of years. She was crazy about him until he walked out on her. I had warned her about him, she wouldn’t listen…she never listened to me. I knew he would drop her in time.’
‘Who is he?’?‘Lee Hardy; he’s some kind of bookmaker.’
Terrell and Beigler exchanged glances.
Terrell asked, ‘How long ago was it since he dropped her?’?‘About three months. He got himself another woman. Sue went on a bender when he threw her out.
She didn’t sober up for three weeks.’?‘Would he have any reason to murder her?’?‘Not unless she made a nuisance of herself. He is a man who could do anything… anything rotten.’
Terrell absorbed this. He was still thinking about it when the car arrived at the morgue. Minutes later, they were standing behind the sheet- covered body. Beigler hovered in the background.
Carefully, Terrell turned down the sheet to reveal Sue Parnell’s dead face. He looked questioningly at Joan who had lost colour.
‘That’s my sister,’ she said, her voice suddenly harsh. Before Terrell could prevent her, she caught hold of the sheet and flicked it off the naked and mutilated body. She stood as if turned to stone as Beigler hurried forward to help Terrell recover the body.
‘So that’s it!’ she exclaimed. ‘I had an idea you were keeping something from me!’ She turned to Terrell, her eyes blazing with fury that startled him. ‘You listen to me! You find this killer! If you don’t, then I will! No man is going to get away with doing that to my sister! All right, she wasn’t much, but you don’t do that to any woman and get away with it no matter how low she is!’ She turned and ran with unsteady steps out of the morgue.
‘Go after her and take her home,’ Terrell said. ‘We’ll talk to her again later.’
Beigler hurried after Joan. He was in time to see her get into a passing taxi. As the cab moved away, he caught a glimpse of her white gaunt face and her glittering eyes.
He went thankfully back to Terrell who was locking the door of the morgue. ‘She’s gone… took a taxi,’ Beigler said.?‘Let’s see if Hess has anything to report, then we’ll talk to Hardy.’
The two men walked over to where the police car was parked.?*****
Val and her father drove back to the Spanish Bay hotel. She was tense and unhappy. She felt her father’s sympathy had switched away from her while she had been with Chris and she braced herself, knowing what was coming.
It wasn’t until they were back in the hotel suite that Travers said in a quietly modulated voice, ‘Val… I think you should pack right away and come back with me. I have to catch the five o’clock plane. Will you hurry? We can talk on the plane.’
‘I’m staying here, Daddy. What should I do in New York with Chris out here?’
Her father restrained an impatient gesture.?‘I’ve talked to Gustave,’ he said. ‘He says there is a chance of Chris eventually recovering, and I want you to grasp this as it is very important—in the meantime this odd blackout Chris has had makes it necessary for him to be under restraint. As he is willing to be a voluntary patient, he need not be certified, but if he shows signs of wanting to leave the sanatorium, he would have to be.’
