in, her breasts and white bra showing.
“I thought I’d meet you down here. We need to be at Dr. Radnor’s at one, and I need a favor. It’s on the way.” She got in carefully so as not to spill her coffee, then put her hand on his forearm.
He turned, letting the car idle. “What?”
“First, Mary Lou Sanchez started this morning, she’s up there now. Second, seeing you have a knack for rubbing Suggs the wrong way, I took him to breakfast to try a woman’s approach.”
“What did you learn from Sergeant Charm?”
“Don’t wear open-toed pumps the morning after it rains.”
“Huh?”
“I stepped into a puddle getting out of my car at the restaurant. After I left Suggs, I had to go home to change my shoes and pantyhose.” She turned her legs sideways, pushed her toes against the floorboard, and slid her camelhair skirt several inches up her thighs. “You men don’t care what we gals have to go through to keep our legs looking good.”
Sam Spade would have said, “The dame has great gams.” But Jack said, “Suggs. Chris. Give.”
“Okay, okay. Lower your flag, mister. Chris Andujar was killed by a thirty-eight. The gun was registered to him. The shot entered at his right temple and exited the other side. The trajectory was consistent with a self-inflicted wound. His fingerprints were smudged; forensics figured that resulted from the gun sliding down his finger as his arm collapsed.”
Nora paused to finish her coffee. “The ME reported Chris had been dead about twelve hours when Sarah found him. Like you said about the bank, it’s all jibing with her story.”
“Did Suggs find anything that hinted at foul play? And what about life insurance?”
“Nada on anything suspicious.”
“Nada?”
“It means nothing, and sounds better than what Suggs said.”
“Which was?” Jack asked, starting to put the car in reverse.
She put her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t leave yet. His exact words: ‘Damn it. I told McCall there was no foul play. Tell him to go fuck himself.’ It took me ten minutes to mellow him out enough so he’d talk about the insurance.”
“And?”
“The Andujars had carried term life when they were younger, but the premiums kept increasing as they aged, so when Donny got older they let it expire. Now it’s your turn, what did Chris’s physician tell you?”
“His health was fine. The shocker was that Chris had listed me as the person to be contacted if his condition ever prevented him from making decisions about his treatment. That’s what let the doc feel okay about talking with me.”
“Not Sarah?”
“She was listed third.”
“Donny second?”
“Nope. Me, then his psych buddy, Radnor, then Sarah. Donny was not listed at all.”
After finally getting around to asking the favor, Nora got out of Jack’s car and walked over to her own. She wanted him to follow her while she dropped off her Mustang to get new brake linings.
Ten minutes later, Jack watched Nora’s hips pivot as she walked toward the office at the brake shop. Her small waist and legs reminded him of Lauren Bacall, the actress who had married Humphrey Bogart. When she came out of the office, and walked toward him he noticed she had larger and more active breasts than Bacall—but then bra technology had come a long way since Bacall’s days as a vamp.
Chapter 10
Dr. Phillip Radnor’s office was in a high-rise building on NW Rhode Island Avenue between Scott Circle and Connecticut Avenue. Inside the suite a receptionist with busy eyes and a saggy body leaned against the wall behind her desk, talking on the phone. She used the hand not wrapped around the phone to point toward the lobby chairs. Jack and Nora took a seat.
Dr. Radnor was a large man, not tall and powerful, but short and, the polite word, rotund.
“Mr. McCall?”
“Thank you for seeing us, Dr. Radnor. This is my partner, Nora Burke.”
The psychiatrist nodded and led them into his office which was furnished with a
“I thought I’d meet you down here. We need to be at Dr. Radnor’s at one, and I need a favor. It’s on the way.” She got in carefully so as not to spill her coffee, then put her hand on his forearm.
He turned, letting the car idle. “What?”
“First, Mary Lou Sanchez started this morning, she’s up there now. Second, seeing you have a knack for rubbing Suggs the wrong way, I took him to breakfast to try a woman’s approach.”
“What did you learn from Sergeant Charm?”
“Don’t wear open-toed pumps the morning after it rains.”
“Huh?”
“I stepped into a puddle getting out of my car at the restaurant. After I left Suggs, I had to go home to change my shoes and pantyhose.” She turned her legs sideways, pushed her toes against the floorboard, and slid her camelhair skirt several inches up her thighs. “You men don’t care what we gals have to go through to keep our legs looking good.”
Sam Spade would have said, “The dame has great gams.” But Jack said, “Suggs. Chris. Give.”
“Okay, okay. Lower your flag, mister. Chris Andujar was killed by a thirty-eight. The gun was registered to him. The shot entered at his right temple and exited the other side. The trajectory was consistent with a self-inflicted wound. His fingerprints were smudged; forensics figured that resulted from the gun sliding down his finger as his arm collapsed.”
Nora paused to finish her coffee. “The ME reported Chris had been dead about twelve hours when Sarah found him. Like you said about the bank, it’s all jibing with her story.”
“Did Suggs find anything that hinted at foul play? And what about life insurance?”
“Nada on anything suspicious.”
“Nada?”
“It means nothing, and sounds better than what Suggs said.”
“Which was?” Jack asked, starting to put the car in reverse.
She put her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t leave yet. His exact words: ‘Damn it. I told McCall there was no foul play. Tell him to go fuck himself.’ It took me ten minutes to mellow him out enough so he’d talk about the insurance.”
“And?”
“The Andujars had carried term life when they were younger, but the premiums kept increasing as they aged, so when Donny got older they let it expire. Now it’s your turn, what did Chris’s physician tell you?”
“His health was fine. The shocker was that Chris had listed me as the person to be contacted if his condition ever prevented him from making decisions about his treatment. That’s what let the doc feel okay about talking with me.”
“Not Sarah?”
“She was listed third.”
“Donny second?”
“Nope. Me, then his psych buddy, Radnor, then Sarah. Donny was not listed at all.”
After finally getting around to asking the favor, Nora got out of Jack’s car and walked over to her own. She wanted him to follow her while she dropped off her Mustang to get new brake linings.
Ten minutes later, Jack watched Nora’s hips pivot as she walked toward the office at the brake shop. Her small waist and legs reminded him of Lauren Bacall, the actress who had married Humphrey Bogart. When she came out of the office, and walked toward him he noticed she had larger and more active breasts than Bacall—but then bra technology had come a long way since Bacall’s days as a vamp.
Chapter 10
Dr. Phillip Radnor’s office was in a high-rise building on NW Rhode Island Avenue between Scott Circle and Connecticut Avenue. Inside the suite a receptionist with busy eyes and a saggy body leaned against the wall behind her desk, talking on the phone. She used the hand not wrapped around the phone to point toward the lobby chairs. Jack and Nora took a seat.
Dr. Radnor was a large man, not tall and powerful, but short and, the polite word, rotund.
“Mr. McCall?”
“Thank you for seeing us, Dr. Radnor. This is my partner, Nora Burke.”
The psychiatrist nodded and led them into his office which was furnished with a
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