“True, sir; I promise not to be long.” Ferguson hitched his chair nearer the two men. “It is in regard to the funeral that I desire to speak. I was told by Coroner Penfield that you had requested that Austin Hale’s body be cremated.”
“Well?” questioned John Hale as Ferguson paused.
“Why did you make that request, Mr. Hale?”
“Because I believe in cremation,” promptly.
“Were you not aware that Austin’s body could not be cremated until after the mystery of his murder had been solved?”
“No, I am not a lawyer.”
“One does not have to be a lawyer to know that such a request would be refused,” replied Ferguson.
Again John Hale shrugged his shoulders. “The request was perfectly reasonable,” he declared.
“Under normal conditions, yes,” dryly. “Why did you make it?”
John Hale’s raised eyebrows indicated annoyance at the detective’s persistence. “I have already told you,” he stated. “It is hardly necessary to repeat that I believe in cremation.”