Page 62 of Fade Out

“Did you see where he went?” I asked.

He waved generally in the direction of the doors we’d entered through. I thought of hurrying over there, but I was sure that whoever it had been was already gone. And then I thought, Possum. It was obviously Rita’s friend Possum. It had to be.

Did that mean Rita was also there? I wondered if she’d have the nerve to stick around to watch the aftermath. I started walking around the room looking for her. I didn’t get very far when Gloria hurried over to me and asked, “What have you heard? What happened?”

“Someone dressed as a waiter walked up behind Richard Crisp and stabbed him in the throat. Then he ran out the front door of the ballroom. I think it was Rita’s accomplice.”

Gloria paled. “Such nerve.”

“She has less and less to lose,” I pointed out.

Just then, several uniforms hurried into the ballroom, followed by a couple of EMTs. The uniforms began to secure the scene, a nightmare with so many people around. I was sure at least fifty people had already slipped away. Possible witnesses. Someone was going to have to get a list of every guest and track them down to see if they’d seen anything. After a few moments of milling around, the EMTs left without the body.

Richard Crisp was dead.

* * *

It was nearlytwo hours before I found myself seated in front of a young CPD officer giving a statement. During that time, someone had sensibly, or perhaps insensibly, opened the bar. I was feeling no pain.

“Can you tell me what you saw?” he asked. His name was Garner. I read that off his name tag, he hadn’t bothered to introduce himself.

“I didn’tseeanything. Ihearda scream.”

“And you looked in that direction. What did you see?”

“People. A lot of people.” I was done with another drink. I looked around for a waiter, but the police had, rudely, captured their attention.

“And then what?”

“Well, then I walked over that way.”

“You did? You walked toward the murder scene?”

“Yes, but in all fairness… I didn’t actually know it was a murder scene.”

“Then?”

“There was someone trying to help Mr. Crisp. I think he was a doctor. I hope he was a doctor—is he a doctor?”

“How do you know the victim’s name?”

I thought about it.How much should I tell this guy?If I told him the truth he was going to get very suspicious very fast. Of course, I couldn’tnottell him.

“I’ve heard of him. He’s well-known.”

Oops, that made him suspicious.

“You’re at the scene, standing over the body. Then what.”

“I tried to get Elaine Kelso to give me a description of the killer.”

“And you know her because…”

“She’s also well-known.”

“Why did you take it upon yourself to ask for a description?”

That was it. I was going to have to tell him the truth. “I’m a private investigator, and I used to be on the job.”