The Easy Sin by Jon Cleary Page B

angry.
    â€œWe cover every angle,” said Malone and waited.
    Cragg hesitated again, looked at Smith, then back again at Malone and Sheryl. “Well, basically, yes—”
    Then Malone saw the woman come in the door at the far end of the long room and pause by the reception desk. He was long-sighted, but it was a moment before he recognized Caroline Magee. She stared down towards the group, then turned and was about to disappear when Malone called out, almost a shout, “Mrs. Magee!”
    â€œMrs. Magee?” said Cragg. “Who's that, his mum?”
    â€œ He doesn't have a mum,” said Kylie. “It's his bloody wife!”
    â€œHis wife?” Cragg looked at Kylie as if she had suddenly become an unwanted refugee. “He has a wife ?”
    â€œI wonder if she controls any of his assets?” said Smith and looked like a prospector who had just come on an unexpected reef. Then he saw Malone look at him and he smiled yet again. “Sorry. Just a thought.”
    Caroline Magee came leisurely down through the desert of work-stations. She has style , thought Malone; the sort of style Kylie Doolan would never achieve. She was dressed in a dark-green suit with a cream silk shirt under it; a heavy gold bracelet on her wrist and a thin gold chain round her neck were the only decoration. The dark auburn hair was sleek on her head and the large hazel eyes were cautious but confident. She smiled at Malone, ignoring the others.
    â€œHello, Inspector. What do we have—good news or bad news?”
    â€œNo news so far.” Malone introduced her to Sheryl, Cragg and Smith. Kylie had stepped back a pace or two, as if into a frigid zone. “Has he contacted you?”
    â€œNot a word.” Then she turned to Cragg. “Errol mentioned you, Mr. Cragg. Said you held the company together.”
    Smith laughed; he was the most jovial accountant Malone had ever met. Cragg gave him a sour look, then said, “I think Errol was kidding, Mrs. Magee. While I was holding it together, he was basically pulling it apart.”
    Caroline nodded agreeably. “That would be Errol. Wouldn't it, Miss Doolan?”
    Kylie thawed, but only a degree. “He always treated me okay.”
    â€œOne can see that,” said Caroline, spraying freezer. Then she turned to Smith. “Will there be any debt?”
    â€œOh, I should think so.” Christ, thought Malone, I bet he goes to cemeteries and dances on graves. “Perhaps you could spare me half an hour for a talk?”
    She returned his smile. “Forget it, Mr. Smith. There's nothing in my name nor with my signat ure on it. Did he have you sign anything?” She drew Kylie in again from Antarctica.
    Kylie suddenly looked pinched, even sick. “Only for credit cards.”
    â€œJesus!” Cragg ran his hand over his head. “He's left us all holding the can!”
    â€œNot me,” said Caroline.
    Then Sheryl, who had been silent up till now, said, “Did he ever talk with you about places he'd like to go to, to live in retirement?”
    â€œLike Majorca? It's a little crowded there, isn't it? But then, it's easier to get lost in a crowd, isn't it?”
    Malone wondered what sort of man Errol Magee had been that neither his wife nor his girlfriend appeared too upset at his disappearance. But then as he and Detective Constable Fernandez had agreed, women were a mystery.
    â€œWe'll find him eventually, Mrs. Magee,” he said. “We sometimes have unsolved murders on our books, but when we know who the murderer is, we usually find him. No matter how long it takes.”
    â€œSo you basically think he killed the maid,” said Cragg.
    â€œWe never use the word basically in Homicide, Mr. Cragg. With us, it either is or it ain't. Not basically.”
    â€œI don't believe Errol killed Juanita,” said Kylie.
    â€œNeither do I,” said Caroline.
    They looked at each other as if they had heard