"All right. Let Guido ask the police for protection."
"He can't. I don't know why, but he doesn't dare. He'd rather take his chances with Larkin."
"I'd suggest that if he's that scared of the authorities, he deserves whatever he'll get."
"Don't be such a damned prig. Guido may be an accessory, of course, but I hate to think that. Why write him off before we're sure he wasn't just someone's dupe?"
"Mmmm. What has all this to do with me?"
"I want you to keep an eye on him."
"So? What's wrong with you doing this? Your vacation is coming up. I still have a living to make, and you can't pay me."
"I haven't the skill. And Guido and Larkin both know my face. Also, I do think I can be of some value on this side of the Bay."
"Huh! Sherlock Nero Poirot rides again."
"No. Think, Trig. The probability is that Bruce was killed by one or more professionals. But they didn't do it for fun. Somebody hired them, and that somebody is the real murderer. I've two reasons for wanting to meddle a little bit, rather than simply dumping what I know into the official lap. First, to spare Guido, at least till I'm sure if he's worth sparing or not. But second, this may not be entirely a police problem. They'll concentrate on the actual, physical killers, try to find one or two or three ants in the whole Bay Area antheap. They've no choice about that, it's their duty. Doubtless they'll put a man on the job of finding out who the killers' boss is. But the police don't know anyone concerned very intimately. The boss will have a certain amount of time to cover his tracks. Or to plan another murder.