"Mr. Thompson."
"Yes, Miss Miller."
"A few moments ago you asked me to help you discover who killed your
brother-in-law. For some reason you think Mr. Zalnitch had something
to do with it, and you wanted me to give you any information I could
about him."
"Yes," I responded.
"When you made that proposal, I was very angry because I resented your
thinking I'd spy on my employer. However, your suspicions are so
ridiculous I feel it is only fair to tell you that you are wasting your
time."
"What makes you so sure that Zalnitch had nothing to do with it, Miss
Miller?"
"Because I know he is utterly incapable of doing anything of that
kind," she answered.
I half smiled. "Mr. Zalnitch has the reputation of holding life very
cheaply--that is, the lives of others who stand in his way. He hated
my brother-in-law for that very reason. If he didn't kill him, it
wasn't because he didn't want to. For proof of it, you heard what he
said in there."
The girl looked me over for a minute. A far-away look had come into
her eyes.
"Mr. Thompson, Mr. Zalnitch is obsessed by a wonderful idea. You
people call him 'Bolshevist' and 'anarchist,' because he is trying to
overthrow the existing order of things. In working out his great
theory, he would stamp out a nation if it interfered with the
fulfillment of his plan, and he would not think that he had done
anything wrong. In fact, he would think it the only thing to do. In
that much, he holds life cheaply. But if you think he would descend to
wreaking vengeance on individuals for personal spite, you are all
wrong. He is too big a man for that."
"Did Zalnitch send you out to say this to me?" I asked suspiciously.
The girl flushed angrily. "Really, Mr. Thompson, you make it almost
impossible for any one to help you. Instead of being sent, I may be
dismissed for having come out here to talk to you. You asked for my
assistance and now that I have tried to give it, you make me regret the
impulse."
She turned and started to leave, but I called her back.
"Miss Miller, please forgive me and don't think me ungrateful. Mr.
Felderson meant more to me than any person living, and I have made up
by mind to bring his murderer to justice if I have to devote the rest
of my life to it. I know that I have been jumping at conclusions.
I've done a lot of things since Mr. Felderson's death that I can't
understand, myself,--things that were entirely unlike me--but I feel
that I would be a traitor to my brother-in-law's memory unless I follow
every possible clue. He had only three enemies and one was Zalnitch,
who threatened him. Isn't it only natural that I should suspect him?"
Her look was entirely sympathetic as she replied.
"I know how Mr. Felderson's death must have affected you, Mr. Thompson,
and I do want to help you. You say he had three enemies; then I advise
you to look for the other two, for I am positive Mr. Zalnitch had
nothing to do with the murder."
I thanked her and went down the rickety stairs, believing somehow that
she had told me the truth. But if not Zalnitch, then who? I knew that
in less than a week, as soon as Helen was well enough to stand the
shock, she would be indicted, unless in the meantime, I could discover
the murderer. Helen had regained consciousness the night before, but
was far too weak to undergo any questioning. My impatience at the
delay, necessary before she could tell the story of the crime, had
driven me, most foolishly, I now realized, into trying to force
Zalnitch to a guilty admission of complicity.
When I got hold of myself, I knew well enough that the only sensible
course was to wait until Helen should be able to clear up the mystery,
so I went to the office and began the heavy task of putting Jim's
effects in order.