“You didn’t know the man?”
“No, suh, Ah don’. He was a tall man with kinda big hands, carryin’ a briefcase.”
“How old?”
“Maybe fifty, maybe fifty-five. Ah don’ remember rightly, suh. He was a stranger to me. Ah just happened to remember the girl and that she didn’t eat here no mo’. Ah used to wait on her when she was here.”
“Can you tell me anything more about this man?” I asked.
The waiter thought for a minute, then said, “Yes, suh.”
“What?”
“He looked like he was holdin’ somethin’ in his mouth,” he said.
I didn’t press the inquiry any further. I paid for the coffee, went over and stood watching the boys who were playing the pinball machine, and after a few minutes walked out.
I went down to Jack O’Leary’s Bar. At this hour there wasn’t so much of a crowd. I climbed up on one of the stools and ordered a gin and Seven-Up.