movie.â
âAnd howâs that?â
âI donât know,â he said. âYouâll have to ask him that yourself.â
âI wish Frank was getting here before him,â I said. âIâd like to talk to him first.â
âYou could call him, but I donât know where he is. Just that heâll be here tomorrow. Look, about this ⦠thing with Helen.â
âThis thing?â
âMurder, suicide, whatever it is.â
âWhat about it?â
âJust what I said,â he answered. âMurder or suicide. I want to know which it is.â
âAnd if itâs murder?â
âThen I want the sonofabitch caught!â
âThatâs the policeâs job â¦â
âYeah, you told me that, already,â Entratter growled.
âLook,â I said, âwhy donât we wait and hear what Dick Tracy comes up with? Then you can blow up all you want.â
He pointed at me. âIf he says itâs suicide, Iâm gonna want you to look into it.â
âMe? Iâll be busy with Edward G. Robinson. Besides, Iâm not a detective.â
âYouâre as good as,â Entratter said. âThatâs what they tell me.â
âThey? Who are they?â
âFrank, Dino. Even your buddy, Bardini, says so, doesnât he? Put his life in your hands a few months ago, didnât he? In fact, heâs done it more than once.â
âJackââ
âThereâs no point in arguinâ about it now,â he said. âLetâs wait and see what Hargrove says.â
âThatâs what I said.â
âAnd itâs a good idea,â he said.
âGood, then we can stop arguing about it,â I said. âHow about a drink?â
âDonât mind if I do.â
He had poured two scotches and handed me one when Hargrove and Martin came into the office.
âWeâre movinâ the body now,â he said. âIs there family to be notified?â
âI donât know,â Jack said. âIâll have to check with personnel.â
âWell, let me know as soon as you can.â
âSo whatâs the call?â Entratter asked.
âThe call?â
âWas she ⦠murdered?â
âOh, I doubt it,â Hargrove said. âLooks like she strung herself up.â
âWhat did she stand on?â I asked.
âWhat?â
âWhat did she stand on to get the job done?â I asked again, without turning in my seat.
âProbably the sink,â Hargrove said.
âYou said looks like she did it herself,â Entratter said. âYouâre not callinâ it that yet?â
âNot yet,â Hargrove said. âNot til the ME does his thing.â
âWeâve talked to the other people on this floor, gotten all their names and addresses,â Martin said. âYou can open the elevators up again.â
âThank you.â
âDonât leave town,â Hargrove said. âEither of you. Just in case we need you.â
âWeâre not goinâ anywhere,â Entratter said.
âSo long, Eddie,â Hargrove said to my back. âSee you in jail.â
As they left I looked at Entratter and said, âFunny man.â
THIRTEEN
I left Entratterâs office and walked toward the elevators. All of the offices on the floor along the way were empty. Jack had said he was allowing anyone who was upset by the incident to go home. That appeared to be everyone. No doubt somebody had used it as an excuse to simply go home, but I hoped most of them had left because they were unnerved.
I know I was.
But I wasnât going home.
I stopped at the elevator, turned and walked back. The personnel office was empty. I went to the file cabinets and looked for Helenâs file. The problem was I didnât know her name, but since she was Jack Entratterâs secretary, I thought the file would be prominent.
Nancy Holder, Karen Chance, P. N. Elrod, Rachel Vincent, Rachel Caine, Jeanne C. Stein, Susan Krinard, Lilith Saintcrow, Cheyenne McCray, Carole Nelson Douglas, Jenna Black, L. A. Banks, Elizabeth A. Vaughan