We all shook hands.
Hale seemed to be enjoying his role of master of ceremonies. “Lieutenant Pellingham is an expert on ballistics. He does most of the technical work for the New Orleans Police Department. He’s brought that gun with him, Lam. I told him that you were with me when we first discovered the weapon, that we debated whether we should call in the police at once, or wait until you had made an investigation in Los Angeles to get the exact status of the Craig murder case.”
Hale glanced significantly at me as though trying to impress upon me that this preliminary speech was my cue to follow along, and not make any contradictory statements.
I nodded at Lieutenant Pellingham, said, “I’ve already been in touch with Sergeant Rondler here in headquarters.”
“You didn’t tell him about the gun?” Hale asked.
I seemed surprised. “The gun! Why, no I understood I was simply to investigate the murder, and then if it appeared the crime had been committed with a thirty-eight caliber revolver which had never been found, I was to get in touch with you, and you were to notify the police.”
“That’s right,” Hale said, positively beaming at me. “That’s exactly the way I understood it. But,” he went on, “you were with me when I first discovered the gun there in the desk. That’s the point that Lieutenant Pellingham was interested in. He wants some corroborating evidence.”
I turned to the lieutenant. “Mr. Hale was looking through the desk. There were some papers which had evidently dropped down in a partition behind a desk drawer. When we started to get them out, we discovered a revolver.”
“You can identify that revolver, of course?” Lieutenant Pellingham asked.
I said, “It was a thirty-eight, blued-steel. I’m not certain of the make of the gun. It—”