“But if it is the police, they’ll come down here, pick you up for questioning, find me talking with you, and—”
I interrupted him with a laugh. “That shows how little you know about this game.”
“What do you mean?”
“If it’s the police,” I said, “they’ll tell the house detective to go back and say there was no one in the room. He’ll come down here, looking smugly complacent, and say that everything is okay.”
“And what will the police do?”
“Fade out of the picture temporarily. They don’t like to get caught searching a person’s room without a warrant.”
Cutler seemed apprehensive. “I wish I could believe you.”
“You can. I’ve been through this before. It’s a regular procedure — all in a day’s work.”
He turned that over in his mind. “I don’t want police messing around with this thing. This is a private matter and I’m going to settle it in my own way.”
“Very commendable.”