opera. What about you?"
"Do I like opera? I went to a performance of Aida years ago. But my knowledge of operatic music is pretty much confined to the well-known arias and what I hear of it on programs with Luciano Pavarotti on television. When I go out I take in a movie."
"Action pictures, I'll bet."
"Actually, I prefer little movies with real people in them. Ones with good stories. I see enough violence on the job."
"Books?"
"The chief is always after me to read more detective novels. I prefer biography and history. American. What do you read?"
"Legal briefs mostly. But when I have time, John Grisham. Marian Pickering Henry. Agatha Christie. Rex Stout, of course."
"Surely you've read all the Nero Wolfe there is by now."
"You can never get tired of rereading Nero Wolfe. Your boss is right about reading mysteries. You can learn a lot. When I was starting out in law, my boss insisted I read up on all the famous trials in American history. As usual, Theodore R. Janus's counsel was right on point. I learned so much from him. Still learning. He's the best there is."
"That's pretty darn forgiving of you, considering what he did to undermine your case against that wife killer," he said, his eyes on Janus draining his martini glass. "Watching that guy on television, I felt like putting a fist through the screen. I was stunned when I heard you were giving Janus an award."
"Why shouldn't I? We're old friends. And he deserves it."
Again, Wiggins's voice cut through the clamor. "The rest of the toasts will come during dinner, which is now being served."
"As to seating arrangements," said Wiggins, taking Bogdanovic by the arm. "On Chief Goldstein's advice, I have fixed it so that you will be as far away from Theodore Janus and as close to Maggie Dane as possible. The geography wasn't easy. You will be at table three. That's adjacent to the head table, where Chief Goldstein will be seated beside Theo. Sharing your table will be Judge Reginald Simmons, retired, and Oscar Pendelton, whom you know from that recent unpleasantness regarding Morgan Griffith. Oscar's companion is Marian Pickering Henry. Such a charmer for someone who finds time to cultivate a prizewinning garden and grind out best-selling thrillers as if her word processor were a sausage machine! The other two will be Nicholas Stamos, of our steering committee, and his absolutely stunning missus, Ariadne."
Finding Dane seated alone, Bogdanovic looked around the room and let out a sigh. "Banquet halls I have known."
"I gather you attend a lot of these dinners."
"The chief attends," he said, sitting. "I go along. There are a lot of crazies around who might want to settle a score."
Leaning close, she whispered, "Hence, the pistol under your coat."
"Most of the events he goes to are given by civic groups who want to hear what the police are doing about the crime problem. But you can never know about crowds. This is the first time I've been to this event."
As he spoke they were joined at the table by Pendelton and Henry. With closely trimmed gray beard and hora-rimmed eyeglasses that gave him an owlish look, and a natty English-tweed shooting jacket, the publisher of Mysterious Doings Books said, "Let's hope tonight's festivities will not turn out like the Mystery Writers dinner two years ago, Sergeant, when the guy who received the Grand Master Award wound up being murdered that very evening." He turned to the woman at his side. "Have you met Marian Pickering Henry, Sergeant?" "No, I haven't had the pleasure."
"Marian, this is Detective Sgt. John Bogdanovic. And the lady seated beside him is the incomparable Margaret Dane, scourge of criminals and defense lawyers alike."
"Having abandoned my garden and my computer to watch you on television every day during that trial," said Henry, "I feel I've known you all my life."
"And I you through your books. I've read them all. As to the Mystery Writers murder, Oscar, I followed it in the press."
"Oscar tried in vain
"Do I like opera? I went to a performance of Aida years ago. But my knowledge of operatic music is pretty much confined to the well-known arias and what I hear of it on programs with Luciano Pavarotti on television. When I go out I take in a movie."
"Action pictures, I'll bet."
"Actually, I prefer little movies with real people in them. Ones with good stories. I see enough violence on the job."
"Books?"
"The chief is always after me to read more detective novels. I prefer biography and history. American. What do you read?"
"Legal briefs mostly. But when I have time, John Grisham. Marian Pickering Henry. Agatha Christie. Rex Stout, of course."
"Surely you've read all the Nero Wolfe there is by now."
"You can never get tired of rereading Nero Wolfe. Your boss is right about reading mysteries. You can learn a lot. When I was starting out in law, my boss insisted I read up on all the famous trials in American history. As usual, Theodore R. Janus's counsel was right on point. I learned so much from him. Still learning. He's the best there is."
"That's pretty darn forgiving of you, considering what he did to undermine your case against that wife killer," he said, his eyes on Janus draining his martini glass. "Watching that guy on television, I felt like putting a fist through the screen. I was stunned when I heard you were giving Janus an award."
"Why shouldn't I? We're old friends. And he deserves it."
Again, Wiggins's voice cut through the clamor. "The rest of the toasts will come during dinner, which is now being served."
"As to seating arrangements," said Wiggins, taking Bogdanovic by the arm. "On Chief Goldstein's advice, I have fixed it so that you will be as far away from Theodore Janus and as close to Maggie Dane as possible. The geography wasn't easy. You will be at table three. That's adjacent to the head table, where Chief Goldstein will be seated beside Theo. Sharing your table will be Judge Reginald Simmons, retired, and Oscar Pendelton, whom you know from that recent unpleasantness regarding Morgan Griffith. Oscar's companion is Marian Pickering Henry. Such a charmer for someone who finds time to cultivate a prizewinning garden and grind out best-selling thrillers as if her word processor were a sausage machine! The other two will be Nicholas Stamos, of our steering committee, and his absolutely stunning missus, Ariadne."
Finding Dane seated alone, Bogdanovic looked around the room and let out a sigh. "Banquet halls I have known."
"I gather you attend a lot of these dinners."
"The chief attends," he said, sitting. "I go along. There are a lot of crazies around who might want to settle a score."
Leaning close, she whispered, "Hence, the pistol under your coat."
"Most of the events he goes to are given by civic groups who want to hear what the police are doing about the crime problem. But you can never know about crowds. This is the first time I've been to this event."
As he spoke they were joined at the table by Pendelton and Henry. With closely trimmed gray beard and hora-rimmed eyeglasses that gave him an owlish look, and a natty English-tweed shooting jacket, the publisher of Mysterious Doings Books said, "Let's hope tonight's festivities will not turn out like the Mystery Writers dinner two years ago, Sergeant, when the guy who received the Grand Master Award wound up being murdered that very evening." He turned to the woman at his side. "Have you met Marian Pickering Henry, Sergeant?" "No, I haven't had the pleasure."
"Marian, this is Detective Sgt. John Bogdanovic. And the lady seated beside him is the incomparable Margaret Dane, scourge of criminals and defense lawyers alike."
"Having abandoned my garden and my computer to watch you on television every day during that trial," said Henry, "I feel I've known you all my life."
"And I you through your books. I've read them all. As to the Mystery Writers murder, Oscar, I followed it in the press."
"Oscar tried in vain
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