In the Best Families

He marched to the door and opened it and let me pass through first. Outdoors he crossed to his car, got in behind the wheel, and told me, “Hop in.

I stood. “Where to?

“Where I'm going.

“I'm sorry, I said regretfully, “but I like to know where. If it's White Plains or a barracks, I would need a different kind of invitation. Either that or physical help.

“Oh, you're a lawyer.

“No, but I know a lawyer.

“Congratulations. He leaned towards me and spoke through his nose. “Mr Goodwin,

I'm driving to Mrs Rackham's house, Birchvale. Would you care to join me?

“I'd love to, thanks so much, I said warmly, and climbed in.

Chapter Five

The rest of that night, more than six hours, from half-past midnight until well after sunrise, I might as well have been in bed asleep for all I got out of it.

I learned only one thing, that the sun rises on April ninth at 5.39, and even that wasn't reliable because I didn't know whether it was a true horizon.

Lieutenant Con Noonan was at Birchvale, among others, but his style was cramped.

Even after the arrival of District Attorney Cleveland Archer himself, the atmosphere was not one of single-minded devotion to the service of justice. Not that they weren't all for justice, but they had to keep it in perspective, and that's not easy when a prominent wealthy taxpayer like Mrs Barry Rackham has been murdered and your brief list of suspects includes (a) her husband, now a widower, who may himself now be a prominent wealthy taxpayer, (b) an able young politician who has been elected to the state assembly, (c) the dead woman's daughter-in-law, who may possibly be more of a prominent wealthy taxpayer than the widower, and (d) a vice-president of a billion-dollar New York bank. They're all part of the perspective, though you wish to God they weren't so you could concentrate on the other three suspects: (e) the dead woman's cousin, a breeder of dogs which don't make friends, (f) her secretary, a mere employee, and (g) a private dick from New York whose tongue has needed bobbing for some time. With a set-up like that you can't just take them all down to White Plains and tell the boys to start chipping and save the pieces.