“Including her sister?”
“All of ’em.”
He glanced at the clock, which said 11:23. “We should make it by one-thirty.”
“Yeah, easy. I think I know where I can borrow an armored car. The route goes within five miles of where a certain man has a palace on a hill.”
He made a face. “Get the sedan.”
“Okay, if you’ll crouch on the floor or let me put you in the trunk. It’s you he’s interested in, not me. By the way, what about Fred and Orrie? I’ve phoned Saul and warned him that there are other elements involved besides the law boys, and I should think Fred and Orrie might take a day off. After you have a talk with the family, whatever you’re going to say, you can have them pick it up again if that’s the program, which I hope to God it isn’t.”
He made that concession. I couldn’t get Fred or Orrie, but they would certainly call in soon and word was left with Fritz to tell them to lay off until further notice. Then Wolfe had to go up to the roof for another look while I went to the garage for the car, so it was nearly noon when we got rolling. Wolfe, in the back seat as always, because that gave him a better chance to come out alive when we crashed, had a firm grip on the strap with his right hand, but that was only routine and didn’t mean he was any shakier than usual when risking his neck in a thing on wheels. However, I noticed in the mirror that he didn’t shut his eyes once the whole trip, although he hadn’t been in bed for thirty hours now.
The day was cloudy and windy, not one of June’s best samples, though no rain fell. When we were approaching Stony Acres and reached the spot on the secondary road where Rony and I had been assaulted by highwaymen, I stopped to show Wolfe the terrain, and told him Saul had reported that the take from Rony had been three hundred and twelve bucks, and was awaiting instructions for disposal.
Wolfe wasn’t interested in the terrain. “Are we nearly there?”
“Yes, sir. A mile and a half.”