There was a slight pause, then McCann said viciously, “You crazy? I tell you she’s talked! She actually saw Maurer kill that woman. She’s ready to go on the stand and swear to it!”
“Let her go on the stand. It’s her word against Maurer’s. She’s got no corroboration. Why should we worry?”
“She doesn’t need corroboration,” McCann snarled. “She’s got proof!”
Gollowitz stiffened.
“What do you mean?”
“I tell you she’s got proof! She says Maurer pulled out a handkerchief after he had killed June Arnot. A gold pencil fell out of his pocket and dropped on his bloodstained shoe. Then it rolled across the floor and went down a drain. Maurer tried to retrieve it, but he couldn’t reach it. The crazy bastard left it there! The girl saw it happen! The D.A.’s only got to get the pencil and Maurer’s sunk. It has his initials on it and his fingerprints and June Arnot’s blood. There was no blood in the changing room, so the blood must have come from him. It’s proof a jury would love. Do you still want me to stop worrying?”
Gollowitz’s face suddenly turned a greenish hue.
“Is this true?”
“How the hell do I know? It’s what she’s just told Forest. They’ll soon find out
it it’s true or not!”