Nemesis

He buttered a piece of bread, took half of it in one mouthful and went on. “I knew something was phony. And I used you to smoke it out for me. You might have gotten killed, but I had to do it. You were the judge’s Nemesis. I let you roam around. You go to the Kicking Horse, to Corinne’s, to Mabel’s, and ask a lot of questions. That keeps ’em worried. They don’t want to kill you. That would have started me going more than ever. They beat you up, hoping you’ll play dead. But you don’t. When you told me the name Velma Dare, I started looking into the judge’s background. And I got just about everything I wanted. I had a tail on him, and one on you from then on. When I found out you went to see him I really got worried. I figured you were through. But he tried to play it too smart. He faked that call to the commissioner to fool you. He was talking to somebody at the Kicking Horse. Then he was going to dump you and Velma together. Not a bad idea. I mean, from his point of view.”

“How about the phony call to Mabel? The one that Velma was supposed to have made, telling Mabel she was going down South?”

“That was the judge, or somebody on his payroll. They had to cover up for Velma’s disappearance. That would do it. Then nobody would be asking questions. When they did it might be years from now and who the hell would care where Velma was.”

He looked hopefully toward the kitchen again.

“The roast isn’t burned,” Larry said patiently. “Now what was the deal between Tonelli and the judge?”

“Tonelli was the judge’s man. Right on the payroll. And the judge tried to double-cross him. The judge saw I knew what was going on, so he slanted my build-up to fit Tonelli, and then he shot him right in front of us. That took nerve and some pretty fast thinking. Tonelli was playing along with him because he knew the judge was in as deep as he was. But the judge figured if he could make a case against Tonelli and then shoot him to keep his mouth shut — well he figured that would put him in the clear.”

“And Tonelli’s men killed Corinne for talking to me?”

“Yeah. That’s about all except—”

Fran appeared in the doorway, holding the roast on a huge platter. She paused, waiting for their approval. She had the triumphant expression of a bride who has followed the cook book faithfully and is a little amazed that it worked.

“Gosh, that’s pretty,” Meyers said.

Larry was frowning. “You said that was all, ‘except’ — except what?”

“Larry!”

Larry looked up and saw Fran standing in the doorway. One of her small feet was tapping the floor ominously. He remembered what had happened the last time he had failed to be properly enthusiastic over a special dinner. He shuddered.

“Darling, that’s magnificent,” he said fervently.