I walked over to her and lifted her chin.

“Still scared of me?” I asked.

She looked at me.

“No.”

“Swell,” I said. “Come on, I want to talk to your father. I thought you’d help me.”

We returned to the reception-room. Maxison was sitting glaring at Tim, who was trying to look like a Chicago gangster. He didn’t do it very well.

“Your daughter’s got a lot of guts,” I said to Maxison. “Now show me that coffin.”

He took us into a back room. It was large with bare walls. Coffins stood on the uncarpeted floor.

Maxison pointed to an imitation ebony coffin with ornate silver handles.

“That’s it,” he said.