Ed McBain - Vespers

“Small wonder," Hobbs said, and smiled.

Carella looked at him.

"Her name isn't Abigail Hobbs.”

"Your mother''s name...”

“She divorced my father ten years ago," said.

"She's been using her maiden name ever since.”

The hotel had a French name but its staff was strictly American and when the ma3tre d' in what was called the Caf du Bois said, "Bonn swart, mess-yoor, will there be two for drinks?" Hawes didn't feel particularly transported to Gay Paree. The maitre showed him through a glade of real birch trees under a glass canopy, usually nourished by sunshine but not today when the rain was beating steadily overhead. At the far end of the lounge a man was playing French-sounding songs on the piano. Krissie slung her shoulder bag over the back of the chair, sat, tossed her hair, and said, "I have to call my agent when I get a minute. She'll want to know how it went." On the way here in the rain, she'd told Hawes that they'd asked her to read two scenes rather than the one scene they'd asked all the other actresses to read.

She considered this a good sign. Hawes said he hoped she'd get the part.

He ordered drinks for both of them now - the gin and tonic Krissie requested, and a Diet Pepsi for himself since he was still on duty -- and then he said, "There are some questions I have to ask you, Krissie, I hope you don't mind.”

"Don't look so serious," she said.

"I want you to tell me, first of all, where you were between six-thirty and seven-thirty on the night of May twenty-fourth.”

“Oh, my," she said, and rolled her eyes.

serious, isn't it?”

"Yes.”

"That's when Father Michael was killed, "Yes.”

"And you want to know where I...”

"Where you were while he was being killed, "My, my.”

“Yes," he said.

"What are you going to ask next? Was I affair with him?”

"Were you?”

“As for where I was that night," she said, "I tell you in a minute.”

“Please do," he said.

"Because I write down everything in appointment calendar," she said, and swung shoulder bag around so that she could reach into, and pulled out a binder book with black covers. "Although I can't say I appreciate inviting me for a drink under false pretenses.”

"Krissie," he said wearily, "I'm investigating murder.”

"Then you should have told me on the phone this was a business meeting.”

"I told you I...”

“You said you wanted to see me," she angrily flipping pages, "not that you wanted to me to question me. Here," she said, "May," she "let's see what I was doing on the twenty-fourth, r'' The waiter came back to the table.

"The gin and tonic?" he asked.

"The lady," Hawes said.

It occurred to him that she had not yet said whether or not she was having an affair with Father Michael.

The waiter put down her drink, and then turned to Hawes and said, "And a Diet Pepsi," giving him a look that indicated real men drank booze.

"Enjoy your drinks, folks," he said, and smiled pleasantly, and. walked off. At the other end of the room, the piano player was playing a song about going away.

Krissie took a sip of her drink and turned immediately to her calendar again.

"May twenty-fourth," she said.

Hawes waited.

"To begin with, the twenty-fourth was a Thursday, so I was working that day, I worked at the church on Tuesdays and Thursdays, remember?”

"Yes.”

"Which meant I was there from nine to five, so my first appointment was at five-thirty, do you see it " here?" she said, "with Ellie, here's her name, turning the book so Hawes could see it. "That's my agent, Ellie Weinberger Associates, I met her at The Red Balloon at five-thirty.”

"Okay," Hawes said. He was already reading ahead in the calendar space for Thursday, the twenty-fourth of May. On that day, Krissie's appointment was... "At eight o'clock, I met this man for was putting together an off-Broadway famous vaudeville skits, and he wanted to talk about directing one of them. I've never before, this would have been a wondel opportunity for me. His name is Harry met him at a restaurant called.., do you see it Eight P.M., Harry Grundle, Turner's? That's was.”

"What time did you leave your agent?”

"Around six-thirty.”

"Where's The Red Balloon?”

"On the Circle.”

"Where'd you go when you left her?”

"Home to bathe and change for my dinner "And where's Turner's?”

"In the Quarter. Near my apartment, actually.”

"Do you drive a car?”

"No.”

"How'd you get from one place to the other?”

"By subway from the church to The Red I took a taxi home, and walked from my Turner's.”

"Do you remember what you were wearing?”

"I wore a cotton dress to work and to meet Then I changed into something dressier.”

"Like what?”

"A blue suit, I think. Also cotton. It was a very hot day.”

"What color was the dress you wore to work?”

"Blue.”

"Both blue, is that it?”

"It's my favorite color," she said, and closed the book.

He was thinking that it would not have taken more than twenty minutes by subway from the church to Grover Park Circle. If she'd left her agent at six-thirty, as she said she had, she could have been back uptown again by ten minutes to seven. The priest was killed sometime after seven. And she'd still have had time to taxi downtown to meet Grundle.

He was also thinking that he would have to check with Mrs. Hennessy to get a description of the dress Krissie had been wearing to work that day, and he would have to look up Harry Grundle to ask him what she'd been wearing that night. Because if she hadn''t gone home to bathe and change her clothes... "How about Easter Sunday?" he said. "Does your calendar have anything for Easter Sunday?”

"I don't like you when you're this way," she said.

"What way?”

"Like every shitty cop I've ever met in my life.”

“Sorry," he said, "but I am a cop.”

"You don't have to be a shitty one.”

"Where were you on Easter Sunday between two-thirty and three P.M?”

"You know, it occurs to me that maybe I ou have a lawyer here.”

"Shall I read you your rights?" he asked, and a smile. But there was something that truly him here. Not that she had no real alibi for the and a half between six-thirty and eight on twenty-fourth of May, but because her attitude become so very defensive the moment he be asking questions. Maybe his technique was rol maybe that was it. Or maybe ...

"I really don't think you need a lawyer," he "Do you know where you were on Easter "Yes, of course I know where I was," she and flipped the book open again, and said, the hell was Easter Sunday?”

"The fifteenth, I think. Of April.”

"I'm pretty sure I was in the country. My have a house in the country, I'm pretty sure I s Easter with them." She kept flipping pages until came to April.

"The fifteenth," she said, almost to herself.

"Yes," he said.

"I have nothing for that day," she said, and up. "That's odd. Because I could swear I went to country. I can't imagine being alone on Sunday.

Unless I was in rehearsal for something. which case..." She looked at the book agai0. sure, here it is. I did a showcase on the a Saturday night. I was probably learning lines Sunday before because here, do you see it?

rehearsals began the next day, Monday the sixteenth, “

here.

She was tapping the calendar box with her forefinger.

Rehearsal, the entry read.

YMCA. 7:00 P.M. "Was anyone with you?" he asked.

"Oh, yes. We were rehearsing a scene from a new play, there were at least...”

"On Easter. While you were learning your lines.”

"I believe I was alone.”

"No one to cue you?”

"No, I believe I was alone.”

"You didn't go up to St. Catherine's that day, did you?”