‘Did he talk tough?’
‘Oh no. In fact, he was horribly polite.’
I stared thoughtfully at the river. Probably they had killed Dedrick as soon as they got him out of the house. They hadn’t hesitated to kill his chauffeur, and they wouldn’t hesitate to wipe me out after they had the money. It was a job I didn’t want.
She was smart enough to guess what I was thinking.
‘If you don’t do this, I have no idea who else to ask. I’ll come with you if you will do it.’
‘Oh no. If I do it, I do it alone.’
‘There will be no question of that. I’ve made up my mind to see the money delivered to them with my own eyes. If you won’t go with me, I’ll go alone.’
I turned to look at her, surprised by her vehemence. We stared at each other for about three seconds. I could see by the expression in her eyes no one would make her change her mind.
‘Well, all right, if that’s how you feel about it,’ I said. I’ll come with you.’ We sat for some moments in silence.
‘There’s one thing I wanted to ask you,’ she said abruptly. ‘What was this woman like who said she was my secretary?’ ‘You mean to look at?’