Death of a Doxy (Crime Line)

"Put it in writing and I'll frame it. I have questions, and we haven't much time. Have you opened up at all?"

"No. I'm a dummy."

"Stay that way. As you know, Parker agrees. What have they got? We know they got your license and the other objects, since you didn't get them and I didn't, and your prints, and her diary, but is that -"

"Her diary?"

"Yeah. You didn't know she kept one?"

"My God, no."

"She did, and they have it, so Cramer says. He didn't say what's in it. Probably you are, but we want your opinion on another point: would she put his name in it? The name I had to pry out of you."

"Oh." He looked at it a few seconds. "I see. That might be a point. I don't think she would. Of course she had the diary stashed, but even so I'm pretty sure she wouldn't. She was too cagey. It's more than just an opinion. I say no."

I looked at my wrist. Six minutes to go. "Now the question. How many people knew about you and her?"

"Nobody."

"Nuts. You can't know that."

"As far as I know, nobody. You've heard me blow, Archie, but you never heard me blow about her. After just a few times with her she scared me. I had had women cotton to me before, but she was hipped. I liked her all right, she was good all right, but she was hipped. After we got started we were never together anywhere except her place. She wanted it that way, and that suited me. But I completely misjudged her. I told her about meeting Jill, you know, just that I had met an airline stewardess, and then like a damn fool I thought I could ease her along to the idea that since I wasn't her only contact she couldn't expect to be my only contact. Then I got hipped, for the first time in my life. On Jill. And she – I've told you how she took it. She was absolutely going to marry me herself, for God's sake. I told her my income was about half of what he was spending on that setup, and she said just a room and bath would do us even after the baby came. That kind of crap. I don't for a minute believe there was going to be a baby, and even if there was, whose would it be? I'm answering your question. I told nobody about her, and I doubt if she told anyone about me."

"But she told you about other people, didn't she?"

"Some, yes. You know, just talk, sure."

"Which one of them killed her? Who had a reason to?"