The Investigators Part 60

"Against her faithful friend?" Matt asked sarcastically.

"Yes."

"Then why do you give a d.a.m.n about her?"

"I do, Matt. I can't help that."

Matt raised a forkful of pot roast toward his mouth, then lowered it.

"You don't know that," he said.

"I don't know what?"

"From everything you've told me, Jennifer is a really weak sister."

"I told you about her, why she's that way," Susan said.

"So she goes along with Chenowith because he's strong, right? Or at least she sees him that way."

Susan nodded.

"What are you driving at?"

"Don't take this as anything but me thinking out loud," he said. "Tell me about the drunken mother. Is she going to spring for a lawyer-a good lawyer-when they arrest Jennifer?"

"I don't know. Probably. But if she doesn't, I will. Do you know one?"

"I know two of the best, but I don't think they'd take her case."

"I thought they were supposed to represent people no matter what they did."

"Let's skip that for the moment," Matt said. "For the sake of argument, Jennifer has a good lawyer. By definition, a lawyer argues. A good lawyer offers strong arguments."

"I don't understand you."

"Little lady, you have a choice. You either stick with your murdering boyfriend, in which case they will take your baby away from you, and you will never see it again, or you go tell the FBI everything you know, and after you do that, you go into that courtroom and convince people you stayed with him out of fear for your life, and that of the baby."

"I don't know, Matt," Susan said.

"We're back to have you got any better ideas?"

"Let me think about it," Susan said.

"Throw this in the equation," Matt said. "Don't do it. Just think about it. You tell her you'll meet her but you want to meet her alone. Set up the meet. I'm there. I arrest her. Then we tell the FBI where to find Chenowith. You tell Jennifer not to say one G.o.dd.a.m.n word until she has a lawyer. Then the lawyer delivers his little speech to her." do it. Just think about it. You tell her you'll meet her but you want to meet her alone. Set up the meet. I'm there. I arrest her. Then we tell the FBI where to find Chenowith. You tell Jennifer not to say one G.o.dd.a.m.n word until she has a lawyer. Then the lawyer delivers his little speech to her."

"I'll think about it. Matt, it doesn't sound credible."

"I'm still thinking out loud. If she had the money-all the money, what you have and what you think she's going to give you-"

"They wouldn't believe that."

"It doesn't matter what they believe, or, for that matter, what they know. They have to convince the jury, and that's not as easy as it looks in the movies. Maybe they'd let her cop a plea. Prosecuting a young mother with a baby in her arms isn't easy. And they want to win this bad."

Susan looked at him intently. He saw that she was beginning to accept the argument.

"What I said Susie, is that I'm thinking out loud, and that's all."

"I understand," she said.

"Changing the subject," Matt said. "You want to go back out to Hershey tonight for our anniversary? Or would you rather have a quiet evening at home with room service in the Penn-Harris? I know the Penn-Harris has oysters."

She blushed, which he found both sweetly touching and somehow erotic.

"At home, unfortunately. My home."

"Christ, no!"

"You've met Mommy. Mommy thinks you should come to dinner, so you're coming to dinner. You know what she's like."

"Yeah, I know what she's like. Penny's mother is just like her. And so is Chad's mother. And Daffy's. Bennington apparently has a required course in how to be a three-star b.i.t.c.h."

"Right now, we can't afford to antagonize her, Matt."

"And afterward?"

"Mommy had a motherly word of advice for me when she telephoned to tell me we're having dinner at the house. After dinner, when you are sure to suggest we go to the club or someplace, I'm to politely turn you down. Leave them wanting more, Mommy said. The worst thing a girl can do when she's really interested in a boy is appear too interested."

"Christ! Why do I have this sickening feeling you're dead serious?"

"Because I am. What do you want me to do?"

Matt shrugged in annoyed helplessness.

"I could get off an hour early," Susan said, her fresh blush telling him he had correctly interpreted what she meant. "If you could."

"I don't know," Matt said doubtfully. "They're pretty strict, at the bank, about people taking off before the books are balanced to the last penny."

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

"How about an hour and a half early? For that matter, how about taking the afternoon off?"

s.h.i.+t, what if she says yes? I've got to see Davis about what box Calhoun went into.

"Maybe a little more than an hour. But not much," Susan said seriously.

"I'll leave a candle burning in the window," Matt said.

"My girl said you wanted to see me, Matt?" Mr. James C. Chase said as he came into Matt's borrowed office two minutes after Matt returned from lunch.

"Yes, sir," Matt said and quickly decided the way to handle Chase was to tell him exactly what he wanted. "At eleven fifty-four this morning, one of the men we're interested in went into the safe-deposit section-"

"You recognized him?"

"Yes, sir. But none of the names on my list of his relatives and acquaintances matches any of the names of your safe-deposit-box holders."

"And you would like me to find out what box he went in, without drawing attention to you?"

"Yes, sir, that's exactly what I hoped you could do for me," Matt said.

"I'll be right back," Mr. Chase said and walked out of the office.

Well, I couldn't ask for anything more than that, could I?

Chase came back into Matt's office a few minutes later, wearing a look of confusion.

"Matt, are you sure of the time?"

"Yes, sir."

"According to Adelaide's records-"

"Adelaide?"

"Adelaide Worner, she's been in charge of the safe-deposit vault for . . . G.o.d, I don't know, at least ten years, and is absolutely reliable; there were only two people who went into their boxes between eleven forty-five and twelve-fifteen. One of them was a man I've known for years, who makes nearly daily visits to his box, and who I don't think could possibly be involved in the sort of thing you're interested in. And the other was a young lady with whom I believe you're acquainted, Susan Reynolds, Tom Reynolds's daughter."

"We had lunch," Matt said.

s.h.i.+t. This smells. I know Calhoun went in there. But I can't tell Chase that Adelaide Worner, his faithful tender of the safe-deposit vault, is either mistaken or-worse!-might be involved with Calhoun.

"I don't know what to tell you, Matt," Chase said.

"When all else fails, tell the truth," Matt said with a smile. " 'Matt, you were obviously wrong.' "

"It looks that way, doesn't it?" Chase said. "Did you have a nice lunch?"

"Susan took me to a Pennsylvania Dutch place a couple of blocks from here."

"Christianson's?"

"They wheel enough food to feed a family of ten to your table."

"Christianson's," Chase confirmed. "I was going to recommend it to you."

"Very nice place. I ate too much."

"That's why people go to Christianson's, to eat too much."

"Yes, sir."

"If there's anything else you need, Matt?"

"No, sir. I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

"Don't be silly."

Matt waited until he saw Chase enter his office across the lobby and then called the number Lieutenant Deitrich had given him. There was no answer. Matt let it ring long enough first to decide that it was Deitrich's private number-otherwise someone would have answered it-and then to have the thought s.h.i.+t, is good old Adelaide Worner going to be suspicious about Chase's interest in her records and ring the warning bell to Calhoun? s.h.i.+t, is good old Adelaide Worner going to be suspicious about Chase's interest in her records and ring the warning bell to Calhoun? and then hung up. and then hung up.

He called Chief Mueller.

"Chief, I really need to talk to Lieutenant Deitrich," Matt said. "And his phone doesn't answer."

"Time important, Payne?"

"Yes, sir."

"Give me your number. I'll get back to you."

Three minutes later, the telephone rang.

"Deitrich will pick you up on the corner-turn right when you leave the bank-in five minutes," Chief Mueller announced, without any preliminary greeting.

"Thank you very much."

"Happy to do it."

Almost exactly five minutes later, a pea-green unmarked Ford with Deitrich at the wheel pulled up at the corner. He signaled Matt to get in.

"You got something?" Deitrich asked.

Matt recited the chain of events as they drove through traffic.

Deitrich nodded his head.

"One of the troubles you have when dealing with banks is that n.o.body in a bank wants to believe that honest somebody could possibly have his, or especially her, hand in the till," he said. "I guess you already learned that."

I have just been complimented.

"I'll check this Adelaide Worner out. Where are you going to be?"

"At the bank. Tonight I'm going out to dinner."

"Eight o'clock at the Penn-Harris too early for you?"

"No, sir. Thank you very much."