“Yes.”
“Well, give him a ring and—” I broke off, and Bertha Cool said, “What is it, Donald?”
“Let’s not let Smith know just what we’re doing right now. We’ll find Mrs. Lintig in our own way. I can get in touch with Evaline Harris as a claim adjuster for the railroad company. I’ll pay her seventy-five dollars for damage to her trunk and take a receipt. Later on, I can come back and crab that I made the adjustment under false representations. It’ll give me an angle of approach.”
Bertha Cool’s eyes popped wide open. “My God, Donald,” she said. “Do you think this agency is made of money? We should go around adjusting the claims of the railroad company!
I said, “You can charge it as a necessary expense.”
She said, “Be your age, Donald. There’ll be other expenses. The more we pay to other people, the less we have for Bertha.”
I said, “It’ll cost more than seventy-five dollars trying to follow a cold trail.”
Bertha Cool shook her head. “That’s out. Think up something else.”
I picked up my hat, and said, “All right. I will.”
My hand was on the doorknob when she called me back. “And get to work on this thing, Donald. Don’t mark time while you’re trying to think up ideas.”