Read A Coffin From Hong Kong for Free Online

find me.
    I took them into my office and told them I had spent the day at police headquarters. I said I knew no more about the murder than they did, probably less. No, I had no idea why the Chinese woman had come to my office at such an hour nor how she had got into the building. They spent half an hour shooting questions at me, but it was a waste of their time. Finally, disgruntled, they went off.
    I looked through my mail and dropped most of it into the trash-basket. There was a letter from a woman living on Palma Mountain who wanted me to find the person who had poisoned her dog.
    I was typing her a polite letter telling her I was too busy to help her when there came a knock on my door. I said to come in.
    Jay Wayde, my next-door neighbour, came in. He looked slightly embarrassed as he came to rest a few feet from my desk.
    "Am I disturbing you?" he asked. "It's not my business really, but I wondered if they had found out who killed her."
    His curiosity didn't surprise me. He was one of those brainy types who can't resist mixing themselves up with crime. "No," I said.
    "I don't suppose it helps," he said apologetically, "but thinking about this, I remember hearing your telephone bell ring around seven o'clock. It rang for some time. That was after you had left."
    "My telephone is always ringing," I said, "but thanks. Maybe it might help. I'll tell Lieutenant Retnick." He ran his hand over his close-cropped hair.
    "I just thought ... I mean in a murder investigation every little thing can be important until it is proved otherwise." He moved restlessly. "It's an odd thing the way she got into your office, isn't it? I guess it has been a bit difficult for you."
    "She got into my office because the killer let her in," I said, "and it hasn't been difficult for me."
    "Well, that's good. Did they find out who she was?"
    "Her name is Jo-An Jefferson and she's from Hong Kong."
    "Jefferson?" He became alert. "I know a friend named Herman Jefferson who went out to Hong Kong: an old school friend."
    I tilted back my chair so I could put my feet on the desk.
    "Sit down," I said. "Tell me about Herman Jefferson. The Chinese woman was his wife."
    That really shook him. He sat down and gaped at me.
    "Herman's wife? He married a Chinese?"
    "So it seems."
    "Well, I'll be damned!"
    I waited, watching him.
    He thought for a moment, then said, "Not that it shocks me. I've heard Chinese girls can be attractive, but I can't imagine his father would be pleased." He frowned, shaking his head.
    "What was she doing here?"
    "She brought her husband's body back for burial."
    He stiffened. "You mean Herman's dead?"
    "Last week ... a car accident."
    He seemed completely thrown off balance. He sat there, staring blankly as if he couldn't believe what he had heard.
    "Herman . . . dead! I'm sorry," he said at last. "This will be a shock to his father." "I guess so. Did you know him well?"
    "Well, no. We were at school together. He was a reckless fella. He was always getting into trouble: fooling around with girls, driving like a madman, but I admired him. You know how kids are. I looked on him as a bit of a hero. Then later, after I had gone through college, I changed my views about him. He didn't seem to grow up. He was always drinking and getting into fights and raising general hell. I dropped him. Finally, his father got tired of him and shipped him out East. That would be some five years ago. His father has interests out there." He crossed one leg over the other. "So he married a Chinese girl. That certainly is surprising." "It happens," I said.
    "He died in a car accident? He was always getting into car smashes. I wonder he lasted as he did." He looked at me. "You know to me this is damned intriguing. Why was she murdered?"
    "That's what the police are trying to find out."
    "It's a problem, isn't it? I mean, why did she come here to see you? It really is a mystery, isn't it?"
    I was getting a little bored with his enthusiasm.
    "Yeah," I said.