It was several minutes before she had herself sufficiently under control to speak. “Do you think that Mr. Whitewell expected you would find me?” she asked.
“I don’t know. All I know is that he employed us to find you.”
“But he stipulated with me that I must arrange my disappearance so that I could never be found. That was one of the things he insisted on.”
“Exactly.”
“Then hiring you would be just a gesture to pacify Philip?”
“That’s it.”
I could see she was clinging to a straw of hope. “But it costs real money to hire a good detective, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“And you must be good — skillful?”
It was her party. If she wanted to kid herself along, it was okay with me. I said, “We think we’re good.”