Miss Wickford said, “Perhaps I can help you there a little, Lieutenant. His name was Robindale E. Hocksley. I remember my father writing about him. I was just a child at the time, but names have always stuck in my memory. I was going to tell you this before, but you interrupted me with another question.”
Tragg said, without looking around, “You’re not helping me a damn bit, Miss Wickford. I know what his name was. I knew all about that partnership before I came up here. I wasn’t asking questions because I wanted information, but to find out who’s trying to co-operate and who’s trying to cover up. Karr, why didn’t you tell me your partner had the same name as that of the man who was murdered?”
“I didn’t know it until after the murder. Then it just didn’t occur to me it was other than a similarity of surnames. I never knew Red Hocksley’s first name was Robindale.”
“How about you?” Tragg asked Gow Loong.
“What’samalla me?” Gow Loong demanded with the shrill rapidity of an excited Chinese.
“How long you been with Mr. Karr?”
“Maybe-so long time.”
“In China?”
“Sure, in China.”
“You remember the three men in the partnership Mr. Karr’s spoken about?”