Private Dick Casefile 01 - Lily White Rose Red

coffee, Celestine. And George, put away the gat. Come along.” 162

    CATT FORD

    When she said “come along,” I thought she meant me, but evidently it was going to be a conference. Lily led me into the morning room, and George was right on my heels.
    “Please, sit down.”
    I don’t know if the society dames in town looked down on Lily because of her start in show business, but it grabbed me how she was always such a lady. I sat, a little heavily, and let out a grunt when I hit bottom.
    “Are you all right, Mr. Randall?” Lily asked, proving that she could remember my name after all.
    “Fine, thanks. It’s just been a long day.” George held a chair for Lily, which I should have known to do myself, and then sat down next to her, as if he were her equal instead of her driver. I didn’t mean that like it sounds, just that there seemed to be a deeper relationship than just between a society woman and some employee.
    Celestine came back in with the tray, and that made me sit up.
    The coffee smelled good. Coffee smells good any time of day to me, but there was something about Lily’s coffee that was extra good. Or maybe it was just Lily. Lord knows I wasn’t going to give Celestine the credit.
    Celestine poured out four cups, and I was interested to see that she remembered how I took it. She also fixed up a cup for Lily and George before sitting down with us.
    “The three musketeers?” I muttered.
    Lily snickered. “I told you he was cleverer than he looks,” she said to George. He nodded, but Celestine remained unconvinced. “So tell us what you’ve learned, Grey darling.” I guess we were back on a first-name basis. “The police have been running in circles trying to find out who paid Marguerite’s rent.” She stiffened for a moment, quite a feat sitting down, but that dame had a spine of steel. “And you found out before they did?”
    “I think I’m looking at her meal ticket.”

    Lily White, Rose Red: Grey Randall, Private Dick Casefile #1
    163

    “Very good.” She gave me a stately nod, acknowledging the hit.
    “Except it was really Max. He owns that building. The manager was told that the rent was paid for a year in advance, so he didn’t bother her.”
    “Lieutenant Steele said she never brought any of her boyfriends up there.”
    Lily had her hands folded, like a little girl being quizzed at school. “At least she retained that much sense of self-protection,” she said tartly.
    “So what did she do for money?”
    “She had her job. I assume they paid by check.” I waited. “Can I see her bank statements? And why weren’t they sent to her apartment? Or did she toss them out?” Lily rolled her eyes. “They were sent here. She never looked at them. Marguerite had over ten thousand dollars in her account when she died.”
    “Dancing must pay better than I thought,” I said.
    “When we set her up in that apartment, I opened a checking account for her with five thousand dollars. Unbeknownst to me, Max put in the same amount.” Lily smiled reminiscently before adding,
    “And of course, Marguerite charged her clothing to me. All she had to do was pay for her meals.”
    Nice life, if you can live long enough to enjoy it. “Do you know the papers are implying that a man whose name is too important to whisper was keeping her and that’s why the case will never be solved?”
    “A temporary public relations problem. Max will survive it, he always has.” Lily waved it away. “Besides, we know he didn’t kill her.
    Once you unmask the real killer, that sort of innuendo is always quickly forgotten.”
    “ If I unmask the real killer. How long have you suspected who killed your daughter, Lily?”
    “I still don’t know for sure, but the moment I heard she was dead—I suspected.”

    164

    CATT FORD

    “So why have you had me running all over town trying to dig it up?”
    She gave a bitter little laugh and tapped her hand on her forehead.
    “Of course, silly me, I could have just called the police, couldn’t I?”
    “Maybe not, but you could have told your boyfriend, Mr. X.” George made a sudden movement, but a quick glance told me he was just surprised, not preparing an assault. Celestine’s hot black eyes gave away nothing.
    “I did. He won’t believe it,” Lily said, and I got the sense of how bitter that had been for her.
    “Because the cops are in his pocket, so they wouldn’t do anything to piss him off?”
    “Yes.” Lily’s lip curled sarcastically.