Read Online Going Out in Style by Gloria Dank - Free Book Online Page A

split evenly between himself and his sister.”
    “Sixty million each?”
    “Sixty-four million.”
    Janovy leaned back and shook his head. Sixty-four million dollars! “I’d say the motive’s pretty clear, then. What’s the report on the fingerprints, Fish?”
    Fish shuffled through some notes. “The only fingerprints on the front door were those of Mrs. Whitaker, Albert Whitaker, and Mrs. MacGregor.”
    “And in the hallway? Under the stairs?”
    “In the hallway, just those three again. Under the staircase, none.”
    “Which is what you’d expect if the killer wore gloves.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “What about the missing earring, Fish? Any idea where it went?”
    “No, sir.”
    Janovy regarded him thoughtfully. “Why would the murderer take it? It doesn’t make any sense. It’s incriminating evidence.”
    “I don’t know, sir.”
    “There’s no sign of it anywhere—in her room, on the stairs, in the hallway?”
    Fish shook his head in a melancholy fashion. Janovy sighed. “All right. Did you check up on who has a key to the house, Fish?”
    “Yes. It was just as Albert Whitaker said. Mrs. Whitaker, her two children, and Mrs. MacGregor. Mrs. Whitaker’s keys were in the evening bag she was carrying when she was killed. The other three showed me their keys, so none of them is missing.”
    “I see. That’s interesting. One more thing, Fish. Mrs.MacGregor says she heard somebody coming in around six-fifteen. But Bella Whitaker wasn’t killed until seven-thirty at the earliest—even though she should have left for New York City by then. Speculation?”
    “Someone she knew, sir. Someone who kept her talking for a while.”
    “Yes. I agree.”
    “Do you think it’s possible, sir,” Fish asked diffidently, “that this murder—well, that it wasn’t planned in advance?”
    “Not planned?”
    “Yes, sir. I’ve been thinking … perhaps someone made an appointment with Mrs. Whitaker that evening. She agrees to see this person before she catches her train. The person comes by and they get into an argument. The visitor pretends to leave, but instead hides behind the staircase. When Mrs. Whitaker comes downstairs and heads toward the door, the visitor comes up behind her and kills her.”
    “A sudden impulse after the argument?”
    “Well, something like that, sir.”
    Janovy sat thinking. It was possible … there was nothing to say that this was a well-planned murder. Just an intuition he had, that this was no hastily executed, ramshackle affair.…
    “What would the argument be about, then, Fish?”
    “I’m not sure, sir.”
    A sudden vision flashed in front of Janovy’s eyes—bright red-gold hair, a glowing face, and intelligent gray eyes on his, while a voice said,… 
when she found out that George and I were thinking of getting married, she had a fit … she said some pretty ugly things
.…
    “Thank you very much, Fish,” he said abruptly. “That’ll be all.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    *      *      *
    Mrs. MacGregor grumbled to herself as she got the broom out of the closet. Etta Pinsky said, “What is it, MacGregor?”
    MacGregor replied in a surly tone that it was nothing, just her lumbago that acted up every now and again. Etta snorted and said that the only time MacGregor’s lumbago acted up was when she was working. MacGregor bristled and had to be pacified before consenting to sweep the kitchen floor.
    She was cleaning Etta’s little apartment, something she did once a week. Etta watched her sharply. “You’ve missed that corner there, MacGregor. Good Lord! I have to keep my eye on you all the time.”
    MacGregor looked sour and said that wasn’t true.
    “Yes, it is, MacGregor. Look over there, you’ve missed that spot, too. Honestly, you’re impossible.”
    MacGregor rested her elbow on top of the broom and remarked that her other clients didn’t give her any trouble the way Miss Pinsky did.
    “Other clients, indeed! Who exactly are you talking