Page 124 of The Girl Who Knew Too Much

“I seem to recall that she worked in an office but I can’t remember any details. Like I said, she ran off with that actor fellow quite a while before Betty died.”

“Thank you. You’ve been very helpful, Miss Hodges.”

“You’re welcome, dear. You will let me know if you find out for certain that my niece was murdered, won’t you?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Poor Betty. Stars in her eyes, that girl.”

Irene was about to hang up but she glanced at her notes and realized she hadn’t asked all of her questions.

“One more thing, Miss Hodges.”

“Yes?”

“Do you remember the name of the restaurant where Betty worked?”

“Oh, yes, the First Avenue Café. The owner is a very nice man. He was the only one who bothered to send me a note after Betty died. I drop in for coffee once in a while.”

“Thank you, Miss Hodges.”

Irene made a note and hung up.Don’t rush,she told herself.Take it step by step the way Peggy taught you.

She picked up the phone again. “Operator, please connect me with Mrs. Phyllis Kemp in Seattle, Washington,” she said. “Yes, I have the number.”

Kemp answered on the third ring. She sounded annoyed.

“Kemp Apartments,” she said. “If you’re calling about the room that was advertised in the paper, you’re too late. It’s already been rented.”

“This isn’t about the room, Mrs. Kemp. This is Irene Glasson. We spoke over a week ago. I asked you about one of your boarders, Betty Scott.”

“Yes, I remember.” Kemp’s tone switched from annoyed to suspicious. “Why are you calling again? I told you, it was an accident. She slipped and fell in the bathtub.”

“I’m following up on a lead, Mrs. Kemp. I’ve just spoken with Betty Scott’s aunt, who told me that Betty had a friend there at your boardinghouse, another aspiring actress who worked at an office. I’m trying to find her.”

“Sorry, I can’t help you. She moved out before Betty died.”

“What was her name?”

“I don’t recall offhand. I’d have to look it up in my files. I don’t have time to do that.”

“Miss Hodges seems to think that that other woman ran off with Betty’s boyfriend.”

“I wouldn’t know about that. I make it a policy to never get involved in my boarders’ private lives. I’m going to hang up now. I’ve got better things to do than talk to a reporter.”

The line went dead.

Irene sat quietly, thinking about what she had learned. Oliver had said that Nick Tremayne’s accent sounded more West Coast than Midwest. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to imagine that he hailed from Seattle instead of Chicago, and that possibly he had made a couple of pornographic films before leaving town to start a career in Hollywood. Studio fixers like Ernie Ogden cleaned up that sort of problem on a regular basis.

But what if Nick Tremayne had decided to return to Seattle to erase his own past?

She picked up the phone again and asked the operator to connect her with the First Avenue Café in Seattle. The proprietor answered onthe fourth ring. He sounded busy and impatient. But when she told him why she was calling, his mood changed.

“I sure do remember Betty Scott and her actor friends,” he said. He chuckled. “They used to come in here and talk me into giving them free coffee. I felt sorry for ’em, y’know? They all had dreams of going to Hollywood. One of them actually made it.”

“Which one?”

“Archie Guthrie. Good-looking young man. He had that certain quality. Always figured that if any of them made it, he would be the one. And sure enough he did. Changed his name, of course. They all do, I understand. First time I saw him on the screen I recognized him right away. I got kind of excited, y’know? Just think—I used to serve free coffee to Nick Tremayne.”