S Is for Silence

to pay cash.”
    “Outright?”
    “Do you know how much money I have? I’m not supposed to tell, but I know I can count on your discretion,” she said, lowering her voice.
    “You shouldn’t be telling me anything personal, Mrs. Sullivan. You should talk to Mr. Cramer about your finances.”
    “Fifty thousand dollars.”
    Winston laughed, unnerved. “Seriously?”
    “Of course. Why would I joke about a thing like that?”
    “What’d you do, rob a bank?”
    “It was an insurance settlement. I wanted more, but that’s what the company offered me right off the bat. My lawyer said take it, so that’s what I did. The two were probably in cahoots. I’ve never even told Foley the full amount. He’d be on me in a flash and squander every dime. See this?” Violet pointed to the bruise on her chin. “One day Foley’s going to push me too far and that’s it. I’ll be gone. The money’s my ticket out.” She held out her hand. “Now. May I have the keys?”
    Kathy watched Winston struggle with the request. She knew he wasn’t much for confrontation, especially with a woman like Violet. On the other hand, she knew her dad had given him explicit instructions: No test drive without a salesman. No leaving the floor unattended.
    “What’s your commission on a sale like this?” Violet asked, as though the sale were a foregone conclusion.
    “Somewhere in the neighborhood of four percent.”
    “Enough to cover your tuition and books for the next two years, or am I wrong about that?”
    “That seems about right,” he said.
    Even Kathy was transfixed by the notion of all that money coming to him.
    “So do you want the sale or not?”
    Winston glanced at his watch. “I don’t know what to tell you, Mrs. Sullivan. Mr. Cramer’s due back any minute now…”
    “Oh for Christ’s sake! Give me the keys and let’s get on with it. I’m just taking it around the block.”
    Kathy closed the file drawer, rolling her eyes in disgust. Pushiness was unbecoming in a woman—everyone knew that—but blasphemy was inexcusable. She returned to her desk and took a seat. The woman was insane. There was no way Winston was going to let her drive away in that car. Without so much as a dollar changing hands? Very funny. Ha ha. Kathy picked up a stack of papers and tamped them against the desk, then opened and closed a drawer, pretending to be absorbed in her work.
    Winston appeared at her desk. There were big damp circles under his shirt sleeves, and she could smell his sweat. “I got a problem.”
    “I know. She is so full of herself, it makes me sick.”
    “Can I have the keys to the Bel Air?”
    She stared at him, blinking. “Why ask me?”
    “Could you give them to me, please? She’s buying the car and she wants to see how it drives.”
    “I don’t have them.”
    “Yes, you do. I saw him give them to you.”
    Kathy didn’t move because she’d suddenly had a thought. At dinner the night before, her dad told her mom he was top-heavy on inventory and light on cash. What if Violet really had the money and the sale got messed up? If Kathy made a fuss and then the deal fell through, she’d never live it down. She could feel her face burn.
    Exasperated, Winston leaned over and opened her pencil drawer. There, big as life, were the keys on a ring with the Chevrolet logo, the make and model of the car inked on a round white tag. He helped himself to the set.
    “You’ll be sorry,” she said, not looking at him.
    “No doubt,” he said, and then returned to the floor. Violet was still sitting in the car.
    Kathy’s dad would have a fit the minute he found out, but what was she supposed to do?
    Winston held out the keys to Violet. She took them without a word and then started the car. She put the gear in reverse and began backing toward the wide steel door at the rear of the showroom. Kathy watched as Winston crossed to the door and gave the handle a yank. The door ascended on its track with a low rumbling sound. He leaned toward the driver’s-side window, probably to offer her advice, but Violet swung the car into the alley and took off without so much as a backward look.
    Kathy saw Winston glance at his watch, and she felt a little thrill of fear because she knew exactly what was on his mind. Even if Violet took the long way around, the drive couldn’t take more than five minutes. Which meant he could have the car on the floor again before her dad returned from lunch.

6
    I found Sergeant Timothy Schaefer in a