“Why did you and Rony refuse to let the police take your wallets to get fingerprints?”
“Because it was late and we wanted to get home, and anyway it looked to me as if they were just living up to routine and didn’t really mean it.”
Archer glanced at a paper. “They took around three hundred dollars from Rony, and over two hundred from you. Is that right?”
“For Rony, so he said. For me, right.”
“He was wearing valuable jewelry — stickpin, cufflinks, and a ring. It wasn’t taken. There was luggage in the car, including two valuable cameras. It wasn’t touched. Didn’t that strike you as peculiar?”
I turned a hand over. “Now listen, Mr. Archer. You know damn well they have their prejudices. Some of them take everything that’s loose, even your belt or suspenders. These babies happened to prefer cash, and they got over five C’s. The only thing that struck me worth mentioning was something on the side of my head.”
“It left no mark on you.”
“Nor on Rony either. I guess they had had practice.”
“Did you go to a doctor?”
“No, sir. I didn’t know that Westchester required a doctor’s certificate in a holdup case. It must be a very progressive county. I’ll remember it next time.”