“I don’t know. She left Oakview.”
His eyes became hard. “Why didn’t you follow her?”
I sprang my alibi on him. “Because Bertha Cool had telephoned me and said that we were fired.”
“Good heavens, that’s the one thing I wanted. I want to know where she is. I want to know about her. I want to know what she’s doing, what she’s been doing, whether she’s married. I want to find out all about her. And you let her slip through your fingers!”
“Because we were fired,” I pointed out, patiently. “I thought you acted hastily under the circumstances. I decided to run down to Santa Carlotta and tell you the facts.”
He pushed back his chair and paced the office nervously. Abruptly he turned and said, “I simply have to find her.”
“Our agency is the best means you have of doing that.”
“Yes, yes. I want you to find her. Go ahead and get busy. Don’t waste any time. Don’t waste a moment.”
I said, “All right. Doctor. The next time we get on a hot trail, don’t call us off. After all, you have only yourself to thank for this. If you’d trusted us and been frank with us, we could have closed the case within forty-eight hours without any further expense. As it is, we’ve got to begin all over again.”
“Look here,” he said. “Can I trust you?”