Lieutenant. What I do know I’ll keep to myself.”
“What’s the deal?” He was abrupt.
“I want to know what’s going on. In exchange I’ll find out things for you … family skeletons. On top of that, remember the pieces I’ll do for the
Globe
’ll be widely reprinted and you, Lieutenant Winters, will be getting a good deal of attention.”
“What do you know?” I had won the first round.
“Pomeroy,” I said. There was no need to explain further: we understood each other.
“Why Pomeroy?”
“Old enemy. The Senator was blackmailing him over that 5-X … at least that’s my guess. Rhodes wanted to be paid off either in cash or votes, probably the last. Pomeroy’s a big gun in their state.”
“How did you find this out?”
“I know a little about politics,” I said quietly; as a matter of fact I had figured out the whole plot at lunch. I didn’t care to admit, at this point however, that I was relying rather heavily on intuition and a few chance remarks dropped my way the day before by Rufus Hollister.
The Lieutenant extended to me his first confidence. “That’s one way of looking at it,” he said. “But the fact is the Senator refused yesterday to recommend Pomeroy to the Defense Department … Pomeroy admitted as much.”
“I wonder, though, why the Senator’s recommendation should be so important?” I asked, a little puzzled.
“Pomeroy was in bad with the Defense Department. They canceled his contract last month.”
I nodded as if I knew all this; actually it was a surprise; the first real lead. “I knew,” I lied, “that he hoped his 5-X would put him back into business again.”
“It’s not very clear, though,” said the Lieutenant sadly, moving over to the window which overlooked the street. Several newspapermen were trying to get past the guards. Most of the crowd, however, had gone on about their business. “Why would Pomeroy want to kill the one man who could help him get his contract?”
“Isn’t revenge one of the usual motives? along with greed and lust?”
“It’s a little extreme … and obvious, too obvious.” It was the first time that I had ever heard a member of any police department maintain that anything was too obvious: as a rule they jump wildly, and often safely, to the first solution that offers itself. This was a bright boy, I decided; I would have to handle myself very carefully around him.
“One other thing,” I said, playing my only card.
“What’s that?”
“Mrs. Pomeroy. I have an idea, a hunch.”
“That what?”
“That she and the old boy were carrying on, a long time ago. It would complete the revenge motive wouldn’t it? Not only was Pomeroy angry about losing his contract but healso had an old grudge against the Senator because of something which had happened even before Pomeroy ever met his wife.”
“Where’d you find all this out?”
“Deduction, I’m afraid. No evidence. At lunch today she made several remarks which started me thinking, that’s all. I found out that she’d known the Senator all her life, that she was very fond of him … really so … that Pomeroy, as we know, was not; that Pomeroy came to the state only about fifteen years ago from Michigan and about the same time, married the Senator’s old friend, Mrs. P.”
“It’ll take a good deal of investigating to check on this.”
“I know some short cuts.”
“We could use them.”
“You
do
think Pomeroy killed the Senator, don’t you?”
The Lieutenant nodded, “I think he did.”
3
After my session with Winters, I went upstairs and telephoned my office in New York. My secretary, a noble woman in middle life named Miss Flynn, admitted that she had been concerned about me. She gave me a quick report on the progress of my other clients: a hat company, three television actresses of the second rank, a comedian of the first rank, a society lady of mysterious origin but well-charted future, and a small but rich dog-food concern.
“What’s the deal?” He was abrupt.
“I want to know what’s going on. In exchange I’ll find out things for you … family skeletons. On top of that, remember the pieces I’ll do for the
Globe
’ll be widely reprinted and you, Lieutenant Winters, will be getting a good deal of attention.”
“What do you know?” I had won the first round.
“Pomeroy,” I said. There was no need to explain further: we understood each other.
“Why Pomeroy?”
“Old enemy. The Senator was blackmailing him over that 5-X … at least that’s my guess. Rhodes wanted to be paid off either in cash or votes, probably the last. Pomeroy’s a big gun in their state.”
“How did you find this out?”
“I know a little about politics,” I said quietly; as a matter of fact I had figured out the whole plot at lunch. I didn’t care to admit, at this point however, that I was relying rather heavily on intuition and a few chance remarks dropped my way the day before by Rufus Hollister.
The Lieutenant extended to me his first confidence. “That’s one way of looking at it,” he said. “But the fact is the Senator refused yesterday to recommend Pomeroy to the Defense Department … Pomeroy admitted as much.”
“I wonder, though, why the Senator’s recommendation should be so important?” I asked, a little puzzled.
“Pomeroy was in bad with the Defense Department. They canceled his contract last month.”
I nodded as if I knew all this; actually it was a surprise; the first real lead. “I knew,” I lied, “that he hoped his 5-X would put him back into business again.”
“It’s not very clear, though,” said the Lieutenant sadly, moving over to the window which overlooked the street. Several newspapermen were trying to get past the guards. Most of the crowd, however, had gone on about their business. “Why would Pomeroy want to kill the one man who could help him get his contract?”
“Isn’t revenge one of the usual motives? along with greed and lust?”
“It’s a little extreme … and obvious, too obvious.” It was the first time that I had ever heard a member of any police department maintain that anything was too obvious: as a rule they jump wildly, and often safely, to the first solution that offers itself. This was a bright boy, I decided; I would have to handle myself very carefully around him.
“One other thing,” I said, playing my only card.
“What’s that?”
“Mrs. Pomeroy. I have an idea, a hunch.”
“That what?”
“That she and the old boy were carrying on, a long time ago. It would complete the revenge motive wouldn’t it? Not only was Pomeroy angry about losing his contract but healso had an old grudge against the Senator because of something which had happened even before Pomeroy ever met his wife.”
“Where’d you find all this out?”
“Deduction, I’m afraid. No evidence. At lunch today she made several remarks which started me thinking, that’s all. I found out that she’d known the Senator all her life, that she was very fond of him … really so … that Pomeroy, as we know, was not; that Pomeroy came to the state only about fifteen years ago from Michigan and about the same time, married the Senator’s old friend, Mrs. P.”
“It’ll take a good deal of investigating to check on this.”
“I know some short cuts.”
“We could use them.”
“You
do
think Pomeroy killed the Senator, don’t you?”
The Lieutenant nodded, “I think he did.”
3
After my session with Winters, I went upstairs and telephoned my office in New York. My secretary, a noble woman in middle life named Miss Flynn, admitted that she had been concerned about me. She gave me a quick report on the progress of my other clients: a hat company, three television actresses of the second rank, a comedian of the first rank, a society lady of mysterious origin but well-charted future, and a small but rich dog-food concern.
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