The Case of the Murdered Muckraker by Carola Dunn

Author:Carola Dunn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2011-04-25T16:00:00+00:00

12

Mrs. Carmody reemerged into the sitting room with her face restored. She came over to the four by the fireplace, Lambert jumping to his feet at her approach.

“I guess you folks must be wondering about me and Otis,” she opened. “I really am all broke up over him passing on, only you don’t wanna be a killjoy, do you?”

“Oh dear, so very sorry!” said Miss Cabot. “Of course you haven’t had time yet to put on your blacks.”

“Blacks?” Mrs. Carmody turned an astonished gaze on the old lady. “Oh, you mean mourning clothes? That’s kinda old-fashioned, you know, and black doesn’t suit me one bit.”

“Oh dear!”

“’Sides, I figure now Otis is gone it won’t worry him what I wear, and it’s my duty now to cheer up poor Bart. He likes me in red. Heck, I gotta go telephone his lawyer.”

“You’re welcome to use our telephone,” offered Miss Genevieve, as unwilling as Daisy to let her escape without coughing up a bit more information.

“Gee, can I? That’s mighty kind of you. Say, d’you remember his name that Bart told me?”

“James P. Macpherson,” said Daisy.

“Have you a directory, ma’am?” Lambert asked. “I’ll look up his number for you, Mrs. Carmody.”

Miss Cabot found the telephone directory in her sister’s desk, Lambert found the number, and Mrs. Carmody asked the hotel switchboard to connect her. Miss Genevieve made no pretence of not listening, even hushing Lambert and Miss Cabot when they would have spoken.

“Hello, Mr. Macpherson? … This is Elva Carmody … . No, nothing to do with that business. It’s Bart—Mr. Bender. The cops have taken him in … . No, not Fraud, I guess it’s the Homicide Bureau.”

A squawk came over the wire, loud enough for Daisy to hear, though not to make out the words.

“Heck no, not one of his goddamn tenants. My husband, Otis Carmody. You musta read about it … . No, I don’t believe he did and they haven’t acksherly arrested him, but they’re gonna grill him … . Well, O.K., if he did, it was for my sake, but it’s sure landed us in a heapa trouble. You gotta get down to police headquarters right away.”

She listened for a moment, then said good-bye and hung up the earpiece on its hook.

“Everything all right?” asked Miss Genevieve.

“Mr. Macpherson’s going down there and make sure they don’t violet Bart’s rights. But if the cops got evidence,” Mrs. Carmody went on disconsolately, “he says he might not be able to get him out today. My husband dead, my friend in jail, what the heck am I s’posed to do?”

Miss Genevieve visibly withheld a pithy response. “Won’t you sit down for a moment,” she said, “while you consider your options? Do you know the men who work for Mr. Bender?”

“Nix. Bart didn’t want me to trouble my head with business, not like Otis. Otis was always on at me to take an interest in his work. He used to get all excited and say nine tenths of the people in

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