“A detective!” he exclaimed. “I thought you were a jujitsu expert.”

“He is,” Bertha said.

“But what are you doing here?”

“Killing two birds with one stone,” I said. “Training Mr. Ashbury and making an investigation.”

“What’s the investigation?”

I said, “Sit down, Bob.”

He hesitated a moment, then dropped into a chair.

“I just missed meeting you earlier this evening,” I remarked casually.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“How long’s your mother been sick?”