“And where did you first meet Mr. Greene?”
“At my home in New Orleans. He was there on business—with my husband.”
“And, I take it, he befriended you also.”
The woman maintained a stubborn silence.
“A moment ago,” pursued Vance, “you used the phrase ‘me and mine.’—Have you any children, Mrs. Mannheim?”
For the first time during the interview her face radically changed expression. An angry gleam shone in her eyes.
“No!” The denial was like an ejaculation.
Vance smoked lethargically for several moments.
“You lived in New Orleans until the time of your employment in this house?” he finally asked.
“Yes.”