Love for Sale

Rennie’s, before he went upstairs to start collecting the same from objects in their rooms.
    When Big Jimmy Rennie had been fingerprinted, Walker escorted him to the library. Wiping his hands carefully to get rid of the ink, Rennie took a leisurely look around the room. He cast his glance over the glass-fronted bookshelves, the long, graceful table in the center, and stood, relaxed, by a leather chair next to the French windows that overlooked the magnificent view of the Hudson flowing along below and behind the mansion.
    Walker studied the man before sitting down at the table. Considering what he was named, Walker had expected a sloppy man, probably Irish, with a beer belly, red hair, and a florid, blotched face. That would teach him a good lesson in forming impressions of people he hadn’t met.
    Big Jimmy was smooth. Overconfident. Tall but on the heavy side. Dressed in a pricey, well-fitting suit. Handsome for a man Walker guessed to be around sixty years old. Tanned with white hair, and ever-so-faint scars where he’d had his fade hitched up near the front of his well-groomed, old-fashioned sideburns.
    Rennie studied the view, nodding with approval. He finally sat down across from Robert. Smiling with big, perfect white teeth that were probably very expensive dentures, he said mildly, “What’s this all about, sir?“
    “Charles Pottinger ‘s been murdered in his bath here in this house.“
    “No!“ he said, seeming only mildly surprised. “That explains his absence this morning and our having to replay one of his best speeches.“ Walker relaxed back into his chair, staring at Rennie and saying nothing. He’d learned that silence with an individual like this was usually the best policy.
    “How was he killed?“ Rennie asked.
    “He was stabbed.“
    “I presume the others who were missing from the Institute were here with him?“
    “Whom do you mean?“ Walker asked as if it were only a matter of curiosity.
    “Price, Hazard, and Kinsey,“ he said with a faint smile. “It was awfully quiet up there over the weekend with them missing.”
    Walker didn’t reply. A long silence ensued. Finally Jimmy Rennie leaned forward and asked, “Why have you brought me here?“
    “Why do you think?“
    “Because I was the reason for the meeting, I assume.“
    “That’s one of them,“ Walker said casually.
    “What are the other reasons?”
    Walker tented his fingers as if deep in thought.
    He finally said, “Can you account for where you were overnight on Saturday?”
    Rennie laughed softly. “I certainly can. I was at home with my wife. We had her brother, his wife, and her niece and nephew to dinner. The brother and sister are twins and it was in honor of their joint birthday. We gave the boy a rather good watch and the girl a long silk scarf.“
    “And after dinner?“ Walker asked.
    “A bridge party with a few neighbors invited along.”
    You are so smooth that you’re downright slick, Howard thought.
    “And what were you doing at midnight and after?“
    “The guests left at eleven. My wife and I said our prayers and went to bed.“
    “In the same bed?“
    “My dear sir, you shock me!“ Rennie said, still smiling. “How can that possibly be any of your business?”
    Deputy Lawrence, posted at the door, snorted.
    “How can it not be?“ Walker answered easily.
    Rennie looked out the long windows for a moment and, not meeting Walker’s eyes, said, “My wife is in somewhat fragile health. The preparations and long evening of socializing had made her tired. I went to the adjoining dressing room and read a bit of a fine book of old sermons for a while. Then I went to check that my wife was sleeping and went to sleep myself in the single bed in the dressing room.”
    Walker knew Rennie was lying. There probably wasn’t even a book of sermons in his house. He knew, too, that Rennie knew he knew it.
    Walker rose and said, “That’s all I have to ask you now. All the Institute’s records are being sent to Albany today. You and your cohorts will shortly be taken to lodge at Matteawan for a few days, where I’ll be questioning all of you more thoroughly.”
    This shook him. “The insane asylum? Have you yourself gone mad?“
    “Quite the contrary“ Walker rose and went to the door. “Officer Lawrence, stay at the door until I summon you, if you please.“ He glanced back at Big Jimmy Rennie, who’d gone extraordinarily pale under his tan.

    By three o’clock, the asylum had sent their