Alex Harris 00 - Armed

before the end of the year. I’ve worked hard to get his business. If we blow this order he’ll go right back to American Dolls.”
    Emmanuelle had her dark hair pulled back and fashioned in some way that totally baffled me. I’d seen an advertisement on TV for some implement that creating dazzling hair fashions. Yeah, right. How about if your hair was only two inches long and baby fine? Huh? Would it work then? I had flipped the channel in disgust.
    “Okay, fine. But just be sure it goes out by tomorrow.” Emmanuelle put the phone down in much the same fashion Mr. Sheridan had used and leveled her hostile eyes on me.
    “Ms. Roberts, I’m Alex Harris. I believe we met yesterday in Mr. Poupée’s office. I’m sorry to interrupt but I wonder if I might have a few minutes?”
    “I know who you are. William mentioned you. The police spoke with everyone yesterday. At least they spoke with me. I don’t understand the necessity of having to answer everything again especially for someone who’s not an official.” She gave me a perplexed look.
    “I understand your hesitation and I admit I’m a bit skeptical as to what good I can do.” I gave a small laugh at this point hoping to ease the tension but not even coming close to achieving the desired effect. “I’m here as a favor to Mr. Poupée. As a favor to a friend,” I emphasized. No harm in name dropping. “I can’t force you to answer any questions, but I hope you’ll be able to shed some light on what happened here. I know Mr. Poupée would appreciate it.” Emmanuelle shrugged but at least she didn’t kick me out. “What time did you leave on Tuesday?” I asked. It had worked with Mitch.
    “Original, aren’t you?”
    I ignored her sarcasm and just stared at her waiting for a reply.
    “I left about eleven. A.M. that is. I do a lot of work from my apartment. It’s quieter there, and no one comes in to interrupt.”
    “Were you working on anything specific?”
    “I’m the sales rep for the eastern U.S. At the moment I have several major clients I’ve convinced to come over to Poupée. I wanted to work on a proposal but I spent most of the afternoon trying to assure a new client we’d get his order shipped on time.” She clasped her hands and nodded toward the phone. “But as you heard, there seems to be a bit of a mix-up out in the shipping department.
    “He’s a distributor of mannequins and other boutique paraphernalia and it’s imperative he gets his order.” She still had her hands clasped together and her legs crossed, all the while rocking back and forth in her chair. “He needs his shipment so he can get new mannequins into his shops for the spring and summer lines. Our shipping people had better get their act together or heads will roll, I’ll see to it.” She said it with more than a little annoyance in that husky voice of hers—a voice more than one man probably found extremely alluring. “I also read up on some of our European clients. Richard is expanding the business there nicely, and I’m hoping I might play a part in the near future.”
    “So you stayed at your apartment all day? Can anyone verify that?”
    “Yes, I stayed home all afternoon, but sorry, most of my neighbors work. Besides, I don’t know many of them. So I would have to say that no, I can’t prove it— Oh, wait. Ruth called about three with a phone message. Though I guess that won’t do any good for the time Elvira was killed.”
    “I’ve heard from some people you and Mrs. Scott didn’t like each other. Do you care to elaborate?” I asked.
    “No, not really. But as I’m sure you won’t go away until I do, I’ll tell you. Not that it’s any of your business no matter what William says,” Emmanuelle added. “Elvira meddled a lot and thought she knew a lot more than she did. There are times when I need to speak with William for clarification on a deal. Elvira made sure I never got in to see him.” Emmanuelle paused while she pushed a piece of hair away from her face and tucked it back into place. “I could usually catch him out in the hallway, but it held things up. When I worked from home and called in, the calls always went through her. I guess I could have emailed, but he’s not big on email.”
    “Why didn’t you ever tell Mr. Poupée about these problems?”
    “I did on several occasions, but he had a thing for her and thought she could do no wrong. Some people said it escalated after her husband died. Mr. Poupée became