Bertha, surveying the effect, said, “But I can’t have you holding your arm up that way. Wait a minute. I’ll give you something else to hang on to.”
She moved a high-backed chair over beside him and said, “Here, put your hand on this. Let me guide it. There it is. Now, just hold still and let me get this hem.”
She pulled pins from a folded paper, thrust the heads into her mouth, and went around the skirt, taking up the hem. When she had gone completely around the base of the garment, she stood back to survey the results and said, “I think that’ll be all right. Now, let’s get down.”
She helped him to the floor, slipped the dress off over his head, and, sitting on the edge of the bed, did a hasty job of basting the hem into place.
“Don’t you think that it might be advisable for me to get in touch with the police?” Kosling asked. “I didn’t know what to do when I first heard that announcement over the radio, but the more I think of it, the more I feel—”
Bertha said with exasperation in her voice, “Now, listen, let’s get this straight. Let’s get it straight once and for all. You’ve got some information that’s worth exactly five thousand dollars. Out of that five thousand dollars, I’m going to get two thousand five hundred. Something you said to Boll-man gave him the tip. He went out to your house and walked into a trap someone had set for you. The police are interested in who set that trap and why. I’m interested in finding out what Bollman was after. Once the police get hold of you, they’ll sew you up in a sack. To me, twenty-five hundred smacks is twenty-five hundred smacks. Now, do you understand?”
“But I can’t imagine what that information was.”
“The hell of it is that I can’t either,” Bertha admitted, “but right now you’re a walking gold mine as far as I’m concerned, so I’m going to stick closer than a brother until we get everything all cleaned up. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand that.”
“All right, that’s all you need to know. Now, come on. We’re going to get out of here while the getting is good. You’re my mother. You’ve had a slight stroke. We’re going out for a walk. You aren’t going to say anything to anyone, and in case anyone does any talking, your contribution to the conversation will be a sweet smile. All right now, here we go.”