be hearing from the kidnappers soon?”
“It’s the best guess I can come up with,” Don said. “And kidnapping the Ko Feng seems like a better idea than kidnapping a rich man’s daughter or a champion racehorse.”
“You may be right there,” I admitted. “You don’t have to feed the Ko Feng. Have you told Lieutenant Gaines about this theory?”
“What do you think?” It was rhetorical.
“I can just see his face if you did. He’d look as if he’d drunk a bottle of soy sauce.”
“He’s the detective,” Don said. “If he hasn’t thought of the ransom idea, then he ought not to be running the Unusual Crimes Unit. They must get all kinds of weirdo crimes and bizarre motives. Ransom’s bound to be among them.”
“Tell me something. Did anybody contact you once you had agreed to take on this job?”
“No. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they do now.”
“Neither would I. The two of us are prime suspects.”
We chatted on for a while then I said, “I don’t suppose Marvell is going to want to pay me my expenses any longer. This hotel is $285 a night.”
“I don’t suppose he will. He isn’t the easiest of men to get along with—I certainly wouldn’t want to be in Cartwright’s shoes. Marvell’s probably got him in the roasting pan right now and is turning up the temperature.”
“His opinion of us isn’t likely to be much higher,” I added.
“Well, at least we declared the Ko Feng genuine,” said Don. “He must be thankful to us for that.”
“And then it was stolen from under our noses. He won’t thank us for that.”
“We weren’t hired as security guards,” Don argued.
“Is he reasonable enough to take that into account?”
“Aye, there’s the rub. Reasonable is not one of the first adjectives to come to mind when you’re dealing with Alexander Marvell. You’ll soon find that out when you talk to him.”
“I have to, I suppose?”
“No way you’ll be able to avoid it. I expect to hear from him any minute—literally. You’ll probably be included in the invitation—if you can call it that. In the meantime though, back to your question … The answer is no, I don’t think he’ll spring for any more nights at the Courtney Park.” He paused, thinking. “Listen, there’s a place over on West Seventy-third Street, not far off Central Park. I’ve put visitors in there a few times when they weren’t on a first-class expense account. It’s okay and reasonable. It’s called the Framingham Hotel. It’s one of those conversions from an old apartment building.”
“It sounds good,” I told him. “Inspector Gaines told me to stay around a few days so I hope it isn’t any longer than that.”
“And that cute sergeant? What did she tell you? The two of you seemed to be getting on very well when you came out of that interrogation.”
“I always try to cooperate fully with the police,” I said virtuously.
“Especially when they’re policewomen … Is she interrogating you again today?”
“We don’t have any plans for it. I keep seeing these posters about this International Food Fair and I thought I’d go take a look.”
“I was thinking of putting in an hour or two there myself, but I can’t. I’ve got a visitor this morning and another this afternoon. Give me a call later.”
I had a shower while waiting for breakfast and was astonished to find that the powerful aroma of the Ko Feng was still on my hands. After thirty minutes, the breakfast had not arrived and I called room service.
More than forty-five minutes had elapsed before the meal did arrive. Service in New York had deteriorated since my last visit. At $285 a night, I expected better than that and I said so when I checked out. The clerk apologized and said it was because they had a lot of guests. I suggested that as this was a hotel, they should expect guests. My transatlantic sarcasm went over her head as she was too busy adding to my bill 8.25 percent sales tax, 6 percent city
“It’s the best guess I can come up with,” Don said. “And kidnapping the Ko Feng seems like a better idea than kidnapping a rich man’s daughter or a champion racehorse.”
“You may be right there,” I admitted. “You don’t have to feed the Ko Feng. Have you told Lieutenant Gaines about this theory?”
“What do you think?” It was rhetorical.
“I can just see his face if you did. He’d look as if he’d drunk a bottle of soy sauce.”
“He’s the detective,” Don said. “If he hasn’t thought of the ransom idea, then he ought not to be running the Unusual Crimes Unit. They must get all kinds of weirdo crimes and bizarre motives. Ransom’s bound to be among them.”
“Tell me something. Did anybody contact you once you had agreed to take on this job?”
“No. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they do now.”
“Neither would I. The two of us are prime suspects.”
We chatted on for a while then I said, “I don’t suppose Marvell is going to want to pay me my expenses any longer. This hotel is $285 a night.”
“I don’t suppose he will. He isn’t the easiest of men to get along with—I certainly wouldn’t want to be in Cartwright’s shoes. Marvell’s probably got him in the roasting pan right now and is turning up the temperature.”
“His opinion of us isn’t likely to be much higher,” I added.
“Well, at least we declared the Ko Feng genuine,” said Don. “He must be thankful to us for that.”
“And then it was stolen from under our noses. He won’t thank us for that.”
“We weren’t hired as security guards,” Don argued.
“Is he reasonable enough to take that into account?”
“Aye, there’s the rub. Reasonable is not one of the first adjectives to come to mind when you’re dealing with Alexander Marvell. You’ll soon find that out when you talk to him.”
“I have to, I suppose?”
“No way you’ll be able to avoid it. I expect to hear from him any minute—literally. You’ll probably be included in the invitation—if you can call it that. In the meantime though, back to your question … The answer is no, I don’t think he’ll spring for any more nights at the Courtney Park.” He paused, thinking. “Listen, there’s a place over on West Seventy-third Street, not far off Central Park. I’ve put visitors in there a few times when they weren’t on a first-class expense account. It’s okay and reasonable. It’s called the Framingham Hotel. It’s one of those conversions from an old apartment building.”
“It sounds good,” I told him. “Inspector Gaines told me to stay around a few days so I hope it isn’t any longer than that.”
“And that cute sergeant? What did she tell you? The two of you seemed to be getting on very well when you came out of that interrogation.”
“I always try to cooperate fully with the police,” I said virtuously.
“Especially when they’re policewomen … Is she interrogating you again today?”
“We don’t have any plans for it. I keep seeing these posters about this International Food Fair and I thought I’d go take a look.”
“I was thinking of putting in an hour or two there myself, but I can’t. I’ve got a visitor this morning and another this afternoon. Give me a call later.”
I had a shower while waiting for breakfast and was astonished to find that the powerful aroma of the Ko Feng was still on my hands. After thirty minutes, the breakfast had not arrived and I called room service.
More than forty-five minutes had elapsed before the meal did arrive. Service in New York had deteriorated since my last visit. At $285 a night, I expected better than that and I said so when I checked out. The clerk apologized and said it was because they had a lot of guests. I suggested that as this was a hotel, they should expect guests. My transatlantic sarcasm went over her head as she was too busy adding to my bill 8.25 percent sales tax, 6 percent city
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