The Innocent Woman

stretch,” Tracy said.
    “What about Amy?”
    “What about her.”
    “I know she’s hysterical most of the time. But was there anything she said that she used the word shot? You know, like, ‘Someone shot Frank.’”
    Tracy shook her head.
    “Did you use it? In your questions. Like, Did she shoot him? Does she know who shot him?”
    “I didn’t say shot .”
    “You sure?”
    “I didn’t say it. I certainly assumed he was shot, just like you did, but I never said so.”
    “That’s a break.”
    “Why?”
    “When Amy tells her story to the cops, it’s better if she lets them determine the cause of death.”
    “I see your point.”
    “She didn’t say anything? Even when she was hysterical and you had to roughhouse with her—she didn’t blurt out something then?”
    “No. She’d lost it. She wasn’t at all coherent.”
    “Even when you wrestled her out the door?”
    “No. I was talking. Telling her to shut up. She was just making sounds.”
    “Sounds?”
    “Yeah. Half sob, half scream. Loud. I was afraid she’d attract someone. I kept telling her to shut up.”
    “She didn’t say anything then?”
    “No, she just pushed me. I fell back against the desk. I had to lunge for her, grab her, and—”
    “What?”
    “Jesus Christ!”
    “You pushed off the desk?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Amy Dearborn’s desk?”
    Tracy nodded wordlessly.
    “Oh shit.” Steve shook his head. “No wonder it was bugging you. You left your fingerprints on the desk with the rifled petty cash drawer.”

15.
    M ARK T AYLOR FLOPPED HIS two hundred and twenty pounds into Steve Winslow’s overstuffed clients’ chair, cocked his head at the attorney and said, “This better be important. I happen to have a date.”
    “Oh?” Steve said.
    “The young lady in question was not pleased. If this terminates the relationship, it will be reflected in your bill.”
    “You’re already on time and a half for after hours, Mark.”
    Mark Taylor ran his hand through his curly red hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “Small consolation,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get a date with this girl for a month.”
    “Girl?” Tracy said.
    Mark Taylor looked at her. “Huh?”
    “Mind if I jump in here?” Steve said. “Tracy is about to take exception to your calling a grown woman a girl. Fascinating as that might be, we do happen to have this murder on our hands.”
    “Murder?” Taylor said.
    “That’s why you’re here,” Steve said. “So let me give you a rundown of the facts. This evening, at approximately ten P.M., the body of Frank Fletcher was discovered in his office at F. L. Jewelry on West 47th Street by a Miss Amy Dearborn.”
    Mark Taylor frowned, held up his hand. “Whoa. Just a minute. Reality check. Did you say this evening?”
    “Yes.”
    “Did you say the body was discovered at ten P.M.?”
    “Yes, I did. You got a problem with that?”
    “A small one,” Taylor said.
    “And what is that?”
    “Unless my watch is stopped, it happens to be nine forty five.”
    “Yes, I believe it is.”
    Mark Taylor shook his head. “I don’t want anything to do with this.”
    “I can’t believe your attitude,” Steve said.
    “Oh no?” Taylor said. “You didn’t just tell me about a murder that hasn’t been reported yet?”
    “Did I say that?”
    “You said it was discovered at ten o’clock.”
    “That’s an approximation, Mark.”
    “I don’t give a shit what it is. If you know about a murder the cops don’t, you’re in bad. Now you’ve told me, and I’m in bad.”
    “No, you’re not, Mark. What I say isn’t binding, it’s hearsay. You don’t know about a murder. And even if you do, it’s your own damn fault.”
    “Huh?”
    “For getting here so fast. If you’d taken another half hour to get here, you’d be feeling fine. If you got here at ten-fifteen and I told you a murder was discovered at ten o’clock, you wouldn’t give it a second thought.”
    Taylor stood up, put up his hand. “Steve,” he said. “You can kid around with the happy horseshit all you want. But this is where I draw the line. You’ve come close to costing me my license before. With your smooth talk and your there, there, everything will be all right. If you know about a murder before the cops do, and you’re not tellin’ them you know, you’re an accessory. You say, ‘Don’t I like your business?’ I like my business. I wanna keep my business. So if you don’t mind, I’m going in the outer office,