“Don’t,” Sergeant Sellers interrupted, laughing.
Bertha said, “I’m going to—”
“You’re going to cool down,” Sellers interrupted again, the laughter suddenly gone from his voice. “You used to run a fairly average detective agency; then you got tied up with this streak of dynamite, Donald Lam, and you started cutting corners. You’ve cut corners in every case you’ve had. Because Lam is a whiz, you’ve been able to get away with it. But now you’re out on your own, and you’ve stubbed your toe. You’ve been caught breaking into a house. All the police have to do is to press that charge against you, and you’d lose your licence and—”
“Don’t you think you can intimidate me, you great big fool,” Bertha Cool shouted. “I wish I were a man just long enough to come up there and pull you out of your office chair and pin your ears back. I know now how people can get mad enough to commit murder. I just wish I had you where I could get my hands on you. Why, you—”
Bertha choked with sheer inarticulate rage.
Sergeant Sellers said, “I’m sorry you feel that way about it, Mrs. Cool, but I thought it was necessary to keep you shut up overnight while I made a few investigations. It may interest you to know that as a result of those investigations we’ve made substantial progress toward clearing up the case.”
“I don’t give a damn what you’ve done,” Bertha said.
“And,” Sellers went on, “in case you’re in a hurry to go back to Riverside and pick up your aged mother who’s had a stroke, Mrs. Cool, you save yourself the trouble, because your mother is here in my office at the present time. I’m having him make an affidavit as to what happened. After the district attorney sees that affidavit you may have another interval of incarceration. I think you’ll find in the long run it pays to be law-abiding and to co-operate with the police. And, by the way, we picked up your automobile and drove it back to the garage where you store it. After searching it, of course. The next time you want to go anywhere, I’d suggest you just go to the garage and drive out in your car. Not that it’s any of my business, but your juggling around with streetcars and automobiles will convince a grand jury that you intended to commit some crime when you started for San Bernardino yesterday. That’s not bad, you know. Good-bye.”
Sergeant Sellers dropped the receiver into place at the other end of the line.
Flabbergasted, Bertha Cool made two abortive attempts get the receiver in its cradle before she finally succeeded.