“You have some fine etchings too, have you not? I don’t know much about etchings, but I like them a lot.”
“Yes, but don’t look at them now. Felix adores showing them to people and he knows all about them. The next time you come he will take great pleasure in showing them to you. Just talk to me now.”
“Sure!” said Billy quite flattered that such a beautiful lady cared to talk to him. “Jerry and Vi Thomas were quite keen on etchings too. They had some rare signed proof ones, and Jerry was very particular about the frames too. He had some wonderful ebony frames made that were almost as valuable as the etchings.”
“How lovely they must have been,” said Hortense. “Let’s go out on the balcony. It seems warm in here to me.”
“Why not come for a spin in my car? It’s parked around the corner.”
“All right! You go and get it and I’ll be down directly.”
She ushered her caller out and ran back to a small den in the rear of the apartment where her husband was busily engaged trying to find the key to Detective O’Gorman’s cryptic code.
“I’m going out for a ride with Mr. McGraw. While I am gone, for goodness’ sake take down from the walls those signed Rembrandts and Whistlers, the ones in the ebony frames, and put something else in their places. This callow youth, Billy McGraw, is a great friend of the Thomases and has a liking for etchings.”
“Good girl! You didn’t let him see them!”
“Not I! I had to make him look at me instead.”