“That’s just a lot of talk,” she stated flatly, “to make it sound as though Ralph had a good excuse for leaving them and going in with him.”
“Did you know that Nora had planned to make one last effort to get her husband back?”
“No. But I’m not surprised. I know she came down once before to work on him, but he wasn’t having any.”
“Then you didn’t realize she was in Miami planning to see her husband last night?”
One look at Ann’s face was enough to convince him she hadn’t known. “Then Nora must have done it herself,” she burst out excitedly. “Well, if you really want to solve this case, Mike Shayne, you go after her instead of Vulcan.”
“What would her motive be?”
“She wouldn’t need a motive,” Ann Margrave fold him promptly, “except having Ralph spurn her again. She’s got a vicious temper. You find out where she was when it happened. That’s all.”
Shayne grimaced and emptied his cognac glass. He didn’t think it would be polite to tell the girl that it looked very much as though Nora Carrol had been in his bedroom at just about the right time. Instead he asked, “Who else might have known about Nora’s plan?”
“Pops, I guess. And Mr. Bates, the lawyer.”
“How about Ted Granger?”