Heinlein, Robert A – Expanded Universe

customers could have done it. “I won’t say one of them didn’t do it, Eddie my

boy-anybody could have done it who knew the exact second to slip upstairs, grab the

knife, and slide it into her ribs. But the chances are against any of them knowing

just when and how to do it.”

“Anybody inside or outside,” I corrected.

“So?”

“There’s a fire exit at the foot of the stairs.”

“You think I haven’t noticed that?” He turned away and gave Hannegan

instructions to let anybody go who could give satisfactory identification with a

local address. The others would have to go downtown to

have closer ties as material witnesses put on them 1 the night court. Perhaps some

would land in the ta] for further investigation, but in any case-clear ‘e out!

The photographers were busy upstairs and so we the fingerprint boys. The

Assistant Medical Examin showed up, followed by reporters. A few minutes lat after

the house was cleared, Hazel came downstai and joined me. Neither of us said

anything, but I p~ ted her on the back. When they carried down the b2 ket stretcher

a little later, with a blanket-wrapp shape in it, I put my arm around her while she

bun her eyes in my shoulders.

Spade talked to us one at a time. Jack was not ta] ing. “It ain’t smart to

talk without a lawyer,” was Spade could get out of him. I thought to myself that

would be better to talk to Spade now than to sweated and maybe massaged a little

under the ugh My testimony would clear him even though it wou show that there was a

spat between him and Estel Spade would not frame a man. He was an honest cc as cops

go. I’ve known honest cops. Two, I think.

Spade took my story, then he took Hazel’s, a] called me back. “Eddie my

boy,” he said, “help me d into this thing. As I understand it, this girl Ha; should

have had the twelve o’clock show.”

“That’s right.”

He studied one of the Joy Club’s programs. “Ha; says she went upstairs to

undress for the show abc eleven-fifty-five.”

“Exactly that time.”

“Yeah. She was with you, wasn’t she? She says s went up and that Estelle

followed her in with a sor and-dance that the boss said to swap the two shoi around.

“I wouldn’t know about that.”

“Naturally not. She says she beefed a little but ga in and came on

downstairs, where she joined you. C( rect?”

“Correct.”

“Mmmm .. . By the way, your remark about the fire door might lead to

something. Hazel put me onto a boy friend for Estelle. Trumpeter in that rat race

across the street. He could have ducked across and stabbed her. Wouldn’t take long.

Trumpet players can’t be pushing wind all the time; they’d lose their lip.”

“How would he know when to do it? It was supposed to be Hazel’s show.”

“Mmmm.. . Well, maybe he did know. Swapping shows sounds like Estelle had

made a date, and that sounds like a man. In which case he’d know about it. One of

the boys is looking into it. Now about the way these shows worked-do you suppose you

could show me how they were staged? Hannegan tried it but all he got was a shock.”

“I’ll try it,” I said, getting up. “It’s nothing very fancy. Did you ask

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Jack about Hazel’s statement that Estelle had permission from him to swap the

shows?”

“That’s the one thing he cracked on. He states flatly that he didn’t know

that the shows were swapped. He says he expected to see Hazel in the Mirror.”

The controls looked complicated but weren’t. I showed Jones the rheostat and

told him it enabled Jack to turn either set of lights down slowly while the other

set went up. I found a bypass switch back of the rheostat which accounted for the

present condition- all lights burning brightly, house and stage. There was a

blackout switch and there was a switch that cut the hand microphone and the

turntable in through the juke box. Near the latter was the buzzer-a small black case