“An appointment?” Sergeant Holcomb asked eagerly. “Who with?”
“He didn’t say,” Mrs. Tump said.
“A lady,” Byrl Gailord corrected.
“Yes, that’s right. He did say something about he couldn’t keep a lady waiting,” Mrs. Tump agreed, “but he didn’t say definitely that it was an appointment.”
“Well, not in so many words,” Byrl supplemented, “but I gathered that he had an appointment with a young woman.”
“A social engagement?” Sergeant Holcomb asked.
Byrl twisted her gloves. “Personally,” she said, “I think it was a business appointment, and I think it was something which worried him very much, something which made him preoccupied and irritable.”
“You’re giving him altogether too much credit,” Mrs. Tump said. “The man was rude, impertinent, and — and ugly. He was trying to be abusive.”
Byrl Gailord shook her head decisively, and met Sergeant Holcomb’s eyes. “That isn’t true, Sergeant,” she said. “Mrs. Tump didn’t know him well, that’s all. If you investigate, you’ll find Mr. Tidings had a very important appointment, and he was in a hurry to keep it. It was an appointment which meant a great deal to him, either personally or in a business way.”
Carl Mattern said, “That agrees with what I told you, Sergeant.”