“Nonsense,” she said. “I can do it so naturally and easily that no one will ever suspect. Mr. Ellis likes me. I think he likes me a lot.”
“Do you like him?” I asked.
“He’s nice.”
I said, “If you could do it, Marian, it would be a big help to me.”
“When do I do it?”
“Right now,” I said. “Put on your things, get in a taxi, and go up to the district attorney’s office. Tell this deputy you’ve thought of something else, and tell him about this man. Tell him you thought he might want to put it in the statement.”
She said, “I’ll go right away. Will you come with me?”
“No. I want to keep out of the picture. Don’t say anything about me.”
She ran over to the dresser, patted her hair into place, touched up her lips with lipstick, patted a powder puff over her cheeks, and said, “I’ll go right now. Will you wait here until I get back?”
“Yes.”