Catch a Falling Knife

Cavalier.”
    Burt laughed and said, “It sounds like you’re on the ball. Well, I did talk to Detective Johnson this morning. He’s cooperating with me because he’s no longer completely convinced that Mark did the dirty deed. He talked to Donna for quite a while after we left to try to get her to tell a straight story. If she keeps changing it I can have a field day with her in court. So now her story is that she was studying with a male friend. Johnson is trying to confirm this with the friend.”
    “That was her original story, if I recall correctly. Even if she was with a friend, isn’t the timing of when she left him key? She claimed she returned to the apartment, found Elise’s body and immediately called 911. Of course, there’s a record of when the 911 call came in.”
    “I’m sure the good detective will get all that information. I’ll beat on him until he does.”
    “Does Donna still claim she saw Mark’s car when she returned to the apartment?”
    “Apparently so. But, as I say, I think we may be able to nullify her testimony, as far as a jury is concerned.”
    I asked Burt to call me back if he learned anything more and hung up.
    Mark pointed out a tall and thin young man wearing glasses who was walking toward us on the other side of the street. At the distance he was from us he looked familiar, but I couldn’t be sure. When he got close enough for my old eyes to focus, I saw that it was indeed Ted. Mark and I agreed not to accost him outside where it would be easier for him to slip away than in his apartment.
    Ted went up the driveway to the back of the house. We decided to give him three minutes before we went in. We didn’t want to make him too suspicious. I looked at Mark’s watch. My adrenaline starts pumping when I am waiting for something to happen and it was difficult for me to sit still.
    Finally, after an eternity, the second-hand circled Mark’s watch three times and we got out of the car, crossed the street and followed him up the driveway. I remembered that before Mark had been arrested, Burt had told Mark not to do any detective work. But on the phone Burt hadn’t said anything. And Mark had been to Club Cavalier with Burt so I could rationalize having Mark talk to Ted with me. Ted gave me the creeps and I didn’t want to talk to him alone.
    Mark knocked loudly on the door and then stepped away from it so that Ted would see me first. Considering that we had just watched him enter he took a long time to answer. Could he have spotted us in the car and was avoiding talking to us? I didn’t think so; he hadn’t even looked in our direction.
    I was wondering about the propriety of breaking down the door when I heard footsteps on the stairs leading up from the cellar. He opened the door a crack and I said, “Hi Ted, remember me, it’s Lillian Morgan. May I speak to you for a minute?”
    He didn’t move, apparently expecting me to say my piece, so I said, “May I come in?”
    He reluctantly opened the door wide enough for me to enter. That’s when he spotted Mark. Ted looked startled, but it was too late for him to keep us out, if that’s what he wanted to do. We both had our feet planted firmly in the doorway. Facing the inevitable, he led the way downstairs.
    When we entered his room I said, “Ted, this is Dr. Pappas.”
    Mark offered his hand, but Ted didn’t take it. He said in a flat voice, “You’re the guy who harassed Elise.”
    I noted that he said harassed rather than killed. I was about to say that Elise had been going to drop the charge when I remembered that we had had this conversation before. I said, “Did you read this morning’s paper?”
    “I don’t get a paper.”
    Ted hadn’t offered us seats so the three of us were standing. We wouldn’t be here long unless we could get something going. But the fact that Ted didn’t read newspapers might be to our advantage. I said, “Are you aware of any extracurricular activities that Elise took part in?”
    “She was a singer. She sang in shows.”
    “Anything else? Something that you might not have approved of?”
    “No, unless you count getting herself harassed.” He looked at Mark.
    “So you didn’t know that she was a dancer at Club Cavalier.”
    “A what?”
    I tried to frame the words for maximum effect. “Elise danced topless at Club Cavalier several nights a week.”
    This time he got the message. His eyes opened very wide behind his glasses. He looked from one of us to the other. He