The Father Hunt

sumption is false? What if the payments had no connection with the birth?"

"We're sunk. We bow out. But in that case there wasn't just one lie in Elinor's letter, the whole damn letter was a lie, and I don't believe it. If the payments had nothing to do with Amy, why did Elinor keep it, every century of it, for her?"

"Women are random clusters of vagaries."

"Who said that?"

"I did."

"Not that random."

His shoulders went up and down. "Have you time for a letter before you leave? To be mailed now?"

"No. But I might as well start making up for the boner I pulled." I got my office notebook from a drawer. "Miss Rowan will feed me no matter what time I come. She's the understanding type."

"Pfui." He would never forget the time she had called him Pete and he had had Houri de Perse perfume sprinkled on him. "Have you Eugene Jarrett's home address?"

I nodded. "I got it this morning. I thought Saul might need it."

"To him at his home, special delivery. Dear Mr. Jar-rett: On behalf of a client I need information regarding the activities and associates of Miss Carlotta Vaughn during the years nineteen forty-three and nineteen forty-four, comma, when she was in your father's employ, comma, and I have been told that you may be able to supply some details. Period. I shall appreciate it if you will kindly call at my office, comma, at the above address, comma, on Monday, comma, at eleven in the morning, comma, or at either two-thirty or six in the afternoon. Period. I hope that one of those hours will be convenient for you. Sincerely yours."

"Why not offer him nine in the evening too?"

"As you know, I don't like to work after dinner. But I suppose… Very well. Add it."

I pulled the typewriter around and got out paper and carbon.

An hour later, as I headed north on the Henry Hudson Parkway, keeping to sixty, I wasn't on a perch either professionally or personally. Professionally, the client was