Bitter Business

I exclaimed. “Why on earth would Jack Cavanaugh fire you?”
    “He told me the police were about to make an arrest and my services were no longer needed.”
    “Are they? The cops, I mean.”
    “I talked to Joe this afternoon. He didn’t mention any big breakthrough.”
    “So what’s Jack Cavanaugh talking about?”
    “I think he assumes that because Joe has his boys following up the Leon Walczak thing pretty hard that Leon’s the bad guy. But let’s get serious. You’ve seen the guy. Do you honestly think he could walk up to the perfume counter at Neiman Marcus or Saks—and believe me this junk’s only sold at the most expensive stores— plunk down two hundred plus dollars for a bottle of perfume, and not have anyone remember him?”
    “Maybe Joe’s right. It could have come from anywhere. The duty-free shop at some airport.”
    “And what would Leon Walczak be doing in the dutyfree shop?”
    “Maybe he stole the stuff.”
    “Not the perfume. They keep testers on the counter for the cologne, but the perfume is kept under lock and key. I won’t bore you with all the fascinating information I’ve managed to absorb recently on the subject of perfume, but believe me, they guard the expensive stuff like it was diamonds. Come to think of it, they have a hell of a lot tighter security at the perfume counter than they do for the cyanide at Superior Plating.”
    “So if you came up empty on the perfume, what makes Cavanaugh think that the police are about to make an arrest?”
    “I wouldn’t say we came up empty. Joe and I went through the interview sheets together on the perfume and we came up with a few things.”
    “For example?”
    “Well, for one thing, this particular brand of perfume is brand-new. They just started selling it— launched, I believe, is the correct cosmetics terminology. It was launched on February first of this year, which means they didn’t sell it in stores before that date. They also sell a ton of the cologne and the toilet water and all the inexpensive parts of the line, but they barely move any of the perfume. This particular brand is only sold in Chicago at Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and a store called Barneys that I didn’t even know existed until I went there yesterday. Joe got them to open up their books, which is not that big a deal now that they all have computerized inventory systems. It turns out that among the three of them they only sold twenty-six bottles of the perfume between February first and fourteenth—which is the date the box it was mailed in was postmarked. In addition, more than half of those bottles were sold to people who put their purchases on their store charge account. I’ve got somebody checking them out, but so far they’re all well-dressed women who drive Mercedes. I’ve also been able to check on the people who paid with other kinds of plastic—a lot of them are from out of town, so again we haven’t turned up anybody likely. Not that I’d expect the killer to have actually gone to the store and charged it, but you never know, dumber things have been done in the name of crime.”
    “How many bottles were sold for cash?” I demanded, agreeing with Elliott that this would have been by far the likeliest method of payment.
    “Six. Three at Neiman Marcus, two at Saks, and one at Barneys.”
    “Anybody who sticks in memory?”
    “It’s harder than you’d think. For one thing, it’s not that unusual for a guy to come in and drop a chunk of cash on an expensive gift—lots of times guys buy stuff for their girlfriends and they don’t want their wives stumbling over the receipts.”
    “I hadn’t thought of that.”
    “That’s because you’re not a P.I. Lawyers usually deal with cheating on a bigger scale. P.I.’s get stuck with the petty stuff.”
    “So nobody remembers anyone buying the perfume— or at least nobody who would help us.”
    “Well, there was one salesclerk we interviewed who was pretty sharp. She didn’t actually make the sale, but she remembers a man who came in asking questions about perfume. He was looking for a gift for a woman who had every kind. He wanted to surprise her with something new. He smelled them all and thanked her for her time but left without making a purchase.”
    “So he did his research in one store and did his buying in another. Clever. I assume you showed her Leon’s picture?”
    “We showed her everybody’s picture. The only one who she thought it might be was Jack