“You’ve certainly’ve got a swell joint here,” I said.
He was busy fixing the Scotch. “How did you hear about this?” he asked.
“The Globe knew that we had been sort of friendly, and they thought maybe I could get in and find out what the trouble was about,” I said, taking the glass from his hand. “They figured that you would talk to me.”
Just for a second he stared at me, then he grinned. “So you came out to fool them?”
I nodded. “Sure, I came out to fool them.”
The Scotch went down very well indeed.
He sat down in a big armchair and ran his hand through his hair. He was a distinguished-looking guy, with a big, fleshy face and good eyes. I should think he was getting on for fifty, but he was tough and as hard as teak. He pointed to another chair. “Sit down, Mason, and tell me how you’re going to get me out of this.”
I sat on the table so I could look down on him. “I guess you gotta start talkin’ first,” I said. “I gotta find out just how things are. All I know is a shot was reported and the cops came up. After a little while they came out, told the boys there was nothing to it, and beat it. If the cops were satisfied, I guess there ain’t anythin’ to get worried about. You ain’t just bein’ cussed, are you, Colonel?”
Kennedy took a long pull at his glass. “It’s worse than anything like that,” he said. “It’s a woman.”
I hid a little grin. The Colonel was a good guy, but he’d got a way of making dames fall for him. He didn’t do much to encourage them. He just sat around and smiled, and along they’d come.