“Not on the basis of what you’ve told me. If you turn up any real evidence, we’ll be glad to work on it.”
He gave me a telephone number I could call if I wanted to see him again.
Dick Tosche and I walked back to my hotel.
“Have there been any rumors about DeVarnay?” I asked.
“You mean among the street people? Most of them know about him. Not only is he a prominent antique dealer, but he pays well for tips on where to find antiques. Information like that circulates with the speed of light.”
“Are there any rumors about him being involved in something shady?”
“I haven’t heard any. Do you want me to inquire around?”
“Please do. Just for a start, I’m curious to know whether he has a street connection—a person or persons who work for him regularly.”
At the hotel, we asked the night clerk whether the police had made any progress. He told us someone belatedly remembered that Little Boy—under his real name, Griff Wylan—had worked for the hotel for a short time a couple of years before, and several of the employees knew him. Following that up, a detective figured out what had happened. Little Boy had contrived to get himself admitted through a rear employees’ entrance by pretending to call on a custodian who lived at the hotel. From there he made his way to the front, got my room number from the register when the duty clerk had to leave the desk for a moment, and entered with a master key.
That answered everything except what he had been after and why, thus leaving the puzzle just as murky as it had been before.
“How can I get in touch with you?” I asked Dick.
“Sister Merlina will take messages for me.” He paused and then added, “She’s a witch. Certified. Nice girl, too. She runs a little curio and witchcraft shop out on Decatur.” He dictated the phone number.
“That sounds splendid,” I told him. “Before this is over, we’ll probably need her.”
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