Ed McBain - The Last Brief

‘I’ll be goddamned!’ Davis said aloud.

He glanced at his watch quickly. It was too late now. He would have to wait until morning.

‘I’ll be goddamned,’ he said again.

It would be a long night.

Mr. Schlemmer was a balding man in his early fifties. A pair of rimless glasses perched on his nose, and his blue eyes were genial behind them.

‘I can only speak for Aircraft Insurance Association of America, you understand,’ he said. ‘Other companies may operate on a different basis, though I think it unlikely.’

‘I understand,’ Davis said.

‘First, you wanted to know how much insurance can be obtained from our machines at the San Francisco airport.’ Schlemmer paused. ‘We sell it at fifty cents for twenty-five thousand dollars’ worth. Cost you two quarters in the machine.’

‘And what’s the maximum insurance for any one person?’

‘Two hundred thousand,’ Schlemmer said. ‘The premium is four dollars.’

‘Is there anything in your policy that excludes a woman travelling on a company pass?’ Davis asked.

‘No,’ Schlemmer said. ‘Our airline trip policy states “travelling on ticket or pass.” No, this woman would not be excluded.’

‘Suppose the plane’s accident occurred because of a bomb explosion aboard the plane while it was in flight? Would that invalidate a beneficiary’s claim?’

‘I should hardly think so. Just a moment, I’ll read you the exclusions.’ He dug into his desk drawer and came out with a policy which he placed on the desk top, leafing through it rapidly. ‘No,’ he said. ‘The exclusions arc disease, suicide, war, and of course, we will not insure the pilot or any active member of the crew.’

‘I see,’ Davis said. ‘Can I get down to brass tacks now?’

‘By all means, do,’ Schlemmer said.

‘How long docs it take to pay?’

‘Well, the claim must be filed within twenty days after the occurrence. Upon receipt of the claim, and within fifteen days, we must supply proof-of-loss forms to the claimant. As soon as these are completed and presented to us, we pay. We’ve paid within hours on some occasions. Sometimes it takes days, and sometimes weeks. It depends on how rapidly the claim is made, the proof of loss submitted — and all that. You understand?’

‘Yes,’ Davis said. He took a deep breath. ‘A DC-4 crashed near Seattle on January 6th. Was anyone on that plane insured with your company?’

Schlemmer smiled, and a knowing look crossed his face. ‘I had a suspicion you were driving at that, Mr. Davis. That was the reason for your “bomb” question, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes. Was anyone insured?’

‘There was only one passenger,’ Schlemmer said. ‘We would not, of course, insure the crew.’

‘The passenger was Janet Carruthers,’ Davis said. ‘Was she insured?’

‘Yes.’

‘For how much?’

Schlemmer paused. ‘Two hundred thousand dollars, Mr. Davis.’ He wiped his lips and said, ‘You know how it works, of course. You purchase your insurance from a machine at the airport. An envelope is supplied for the policy, and you mail this directly to your beneficiary or beneficiaries as the case may be, before you board the flight.’

‘Yes, I’ve taken insurance,’ Davis said.

‘A simple matter,’ Schlemmer assured him, ‘and well worth the investment. In this case, the beneficiaries have already received a cheque for two hundred thousand dollars.’

‘They have?’

‘Yes. The claim was made almost instantly, proof of loss filed, the entire works. We paid at once.’

‘I see,’ Davis said. ‘I wonder... could you tell me... you mentioned suicide in your excluding clause. Was there any thought about Mrs. Carruthers’ death being suicide?’

‘We considered it,’ Schlemmer said. ‘But quite frankly, it seemed a bit absurd. An accident like this one is hardly conceivable as suicide. I mean, a person would have to be seriously unbalanced to take a plane and its crew with her when she chose to kill herself. Mrs. Carruthers’ medical history showed no signs of mental instability. In fact, she was in amazingly good health all through her life. No, suicide was out. We paid.’

Davis nodded. ‘Can you tell me who the beneficiaries were?’ he asked.

‘Certainly,’ Schlemmer said. ‘Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Radner.’

He asked her to meet him in front of DiAngelo’s and they lingered on the wharf a while, watching the small boats before entering the restaurant. When they were seated, Anne Trimble asked, ‘Have you ever been here before?’

‘I followed a delinquent husband as far as the door once,’ he answered.

‘Then it’s your first time.’

‘Yes.’

‘Mine, too.’ She rounded her mouth in mock surprise. ‘Goodness, we’re sharing a first.’

‘That calls for a drink,’ he said.

She ordered a daiquiri, and he settled for scotch on the rocks, and he sipped his drink slowly, thinking, I wish I didn’t suspect her sister of complicity in murder.

They made small talk while they ate, and Davis felt he’d known her for a long time, and that made his job even harder. When they were on their coffee, she said, ‘I’m a silly girl, I know. But not silly enough to believe this is strictly social.’

‘I’m an honest man,’ he said. ‘It isn’t.’

She laughed. ‘Well, what is it then?’

‘I want to know more about your sister.’

‘Alice? For heaven’s sake, why?’ Her brow furrowed, and she said, ‘I really should be offended, you know. You take me out and then want to know more about my sister.’

‘You’ve no cause for worry,’ he said very softly. He was not even sure she heard him. She lifted her coffee cup, and her eyes were wide over the brim.

‘Will you tell me about her?’ he asked.

Do you think she put the bomb on the plane?’

He was not prepared for the question. He blinked his eyes in confusion.

‘Do you?’ she repeated. ‘Remember, you’re an honest man.’

‘Maybe she did,’ he said.

Anne considered this, and then took another sip of coffee. ‘What do you want to know?’ she asked.

‘I want to...’

‘Understand, Mr. Davis. ’

‘Milt,’ he corrected.

‘All right. Understand that I don’t go along with you, not at all. Not knowing my sister. But I’ll answer any of your questions because that’s the only way you’ll see she had nothing to do with it.’

‘That’s fair enough,’ he said.

‘All right, Milt. Fire away.’

‘First, what kind of a girl is she?’

‘A simple girl. Shy, often awkward. Honest, Milt, very honest. Innocent. I think Tony Radner is the first man she ever kissed.’

‘Do you come from a wealthy family, Anne?’

‘No.’

‘How does your sister feel about—’

‘About not having a tremendous amount of money?’ Anne shrugged. ‘All right, I suppose. We weren’t destitute, even after Dad died. We always got along very nicely, and I don’t think she ever yearned for anything. What are you driving at, Milt?’

‘Would two hundred thousand dollars seem like a lot of money to Alice?’

‘Yes,’ Anne answered without hesitation. Two hundred thousand would seem like a lot of money to anyone.’

‘Is she easily persuaded? Can she be talked into doing things?’

‘Perhaps. I know damn well she couldn’t be talked into putting a bomb on a plane, though.’

‘No. But could she be talked into sharing two hundred thousand that was come by through devious means?’

‘Why all this concentration on two hundred thousand dollars? Is that an arbitrary sum, or has a bank been robbed in addition to the plane crash?’

‘Could she be talked,’ Davis persisted, ‘into drugging another woman?’