of the riot detail. It’s too much work for an old fat boy.’
Ben turned and headed into the building.
T. G. Hollis met him just outside the bullpen. ‘You got a call a few minutes ago,’ he said. ‘Somebody connected to that case you’re working.’
‘Who?’
‘A guy named Davenport,’ Hollis told him. ‘He said he could see you this morning. I left everything on your desk.’
Ben smiled. ‘Thanks, T.G.’
‘Oh, I’m a good note-taker,’ Hollis said with a laugh. Then he slapped the handle of his nightstick. ‘But I’m even better at busting heads.’
Horace Davenport nodded amiably as his secretary led Ben into his office.
‘Good morning, Mr Wellman,’ he said. He looked at his secretary. ‘That’s fine, Helen. Just close the door on the way out, please.’
The secretary did as she was told, and after she’d left, Davenport’s hand swept out toward an empty chair opposite his desk.
‘Please, sit down,’ he said.
Ben took a seat.
‘I didn’t hear about Doreen until I returned from Atlanta last night,’ Davenport said as he lowered himself into the chair behind his desk. ‘I can’t tell you how shocked I was.’
‘I’m trying to find out where she was the day she died,’ Ben said immediately. ‘I understand she worked at your house all day that Sunday.’
‘Yes, she did.’
‘Did you take her home on Sunday afternoon?’
‘Yes, I did,’ Davenport said. ‘We’d had some trouble with our driver. I think my wife mentioned that?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, of course I couldn’t let Doreen go home by bus,’ Davenport said. ‘I wouldn’t have felt right about that.’
‘So you took her?’
‘Yes.’
‘What time was that?’
‘I suppose we left the house at around five in the evening,’ Davenport told him. ‘I was in quite a hurry. I had to be back at the house for a meeting by six.’
‘And you took her straight home?’
‘I drove her myself.’
‘Did you stop anywhere?’
‘No.’
‘And you took her all the way?’
‘You mean, right to her door?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, now that you mention it, I didn’t take her all the way home.’
‘We’re trying to trace her movements,’ Ben explained. ‘At least for the twenty-four hours before she was killed.’
‘I understand perfectly,’ Davenport said. ‘And I hope you know that I want to be as helpful as I can.’
Ben smiled thinly. ‘So where did you let her out?’
Davenport’s eyes drifted toward the ceiling. ‘Well, it was in her own neighborhood.’
‘Bearmatch?’
‘Well, not just Bearmatch,’ Davenport said, ‘but her own little neighborhood.’
‘Where exactly was that?’
‘I think it was around that little park they have there, that little ballfield.’
‘Where we found her body?’
‘Is that where you found it?’
Ben nodded.
Davenport leaned forward. ‘Are you saying that Doreen never got home that Sunday evening?’
‘No, she didn’t,’ Ben said.
Davenport shook his head mournfully. ‘How awful.’
‘Mr Gilroy usually took her right to her door,’ Ben said.
‘Who?’
‘Your driver.’
‘Oh, yes,’ Davenport said. ‘Of course. Well, that’s true. He was always told to take her right home. I guess that’s what I should have done.’
‘Why did you let Doreen out of the car?’ Ben asked.
‘She wanted out,’ Davenport said.
‘Why?’
‘She saw some other colored children,’ Davenport said. ‘She wanted to go play with them.’ He shrugged. ‘It being summer, night doesn’t come down till late. She wanted to play awhile. A little girl like her, who’d been in the house all day, of course she wanted to scuffle around a little with some other kids.’
‘So you let her out.’
‘That’s right,’ Davenport said. ‘That’s what she wanted.’
‘How did you know that that’s what she wanted?’
‘What was that?’
‘Well, she couldn’t have told you.’
‘Oh no, that’s true,’ Davenport said. ‘But she had a way of making people know things. She’d use signs, you know. She’d point to things. She was a very smart little girl.’
‘And so she pointed to … what?’
‘Another little girl,’ Davenport said. ‘One that looked to be about Doreen’s age.’
‘Where was this other girl?’
‘On the other side of the field,’ Davenport said. ‘She was swinging under a tree.’
‘Alone?’
‘I guess so,’ Davenport said. ‘I didn’t see any other kids around her.’
‘Did you get the idea that Doreen knew this little girl?’ Ben asked.
‘Yes, I did,’ Davenport told him. ‘She seemed very excited about going to play with her.’
Ben nodded quickly. ‘So you just let her out then?’
‘That’s right.’
‘If you saw this little girl again, would you be able to identify her?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Davenport said. ‘She was quite a distance from me.’
‘Do you remember what she was wearing?’
Davenport thought a moment. ‘Something green,’ he said finally. ‘But that’s all I can say for sure. She was swinging, and her legs were together. I couldn’t even tell if she were wearing a skirt or pants.’
Ben nodded. ‘Did Doreen go directly into the field when you let her out?’
‘Yes.’
‘She didn’t go down the street or head in another direction?’
‘No, she went right out to the field, toward that other little girl.’
‘And that’s when you drove away?’
‘She was trotting off toward that other girl,’ Davenport said. He shook his head. ‘Poor little thing.’ His eyes lowered slightly. ‘That was the last I saw of her.’
‘Did you stop anywhere else before you let Doreen out?’
‘No.’
‘Just the ballfield?’
‘That’s all.’
