I got the motor warmed up and waited until most of the rattles and bangs had ceased to be quite so noticeable before pushing the car in gear and starting out for Claire Bushnell’s place.
1624 Veronica Way turned out to be an apartment house. I looked over the cards and saw the name Claire Bushnell, cut from a visiting card and inserted in a little holder over the button.
I pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
It was Sunday and she might be loafing around or she might be out taking a walk. From the name on the card, she evidently didn’t have a husband, so I decided to be informal. I played a little tune on the bell, a long, two shorts, a long, a short, a long, a short, then a long followed by three quick shorts.
That did the trick. The buzzer announced the door was being opened.
I took a look at the number, saw it was Apartment 319, and went inside.
It was a gorgeous day outside, with beautiful clear sunlight, and the air had a nice fresh tang to it that had made me want to take the agency car way out on the highway, park under some trees and watch the birds. Inside the apartment house the air was stuffy and stale. After the bright sunlight outside, it was difficult to see things down the hall.
The owners of the apartment must have decided to conserve electricity so the big industrial users could have all they wanted.
I finally found the lift, and rattled and banged up to the third floor. It didn’t take me long to locate Apartment 319.