Elsie said that Roy was all doped up and half asleep when they took him out, and he looked like he didn’t even care. They found drugs and most of Nancy’s money in his room, and the bleach bottles and ice cube bags in the dumpster. They found the rag and the wacky juice, which turned out to be chloroform, in Francine’s trash basket.
Later that night, after we all got back from the police station—all except Roy, that is—I let Mr. Winkley go out through the balcony and I went over to the Colonel’s room and we were in there playing chess.
“How did you know about the loose panel?” I said.
“I found it almost immediately when we entered the room. You could not have been expected to find it. I’ve had extensive training and experience.”
“I didn’t know about the loose panel until I saw Mr. Winkley push it open,” I said; “and even then it took me a while to figure out how the killer used it to get out.”
“Don’t underestimate your contribution, Willy. I erroneously eliminated Roy from consideration because I assumed that a one-armed man could not have held the panel open and closed the door. You connected the various pieces of evidence—the flashlight, the statue, and the loose panel—and deduced correctly.”
“You don’t ever want to assume anything, Colonel. I guess I made the same mistake, because I assumed that the killer came in the door, just because the window was latched. When we were in the room, I opened the window and stuck my head out, and I didn’t even notice that the screen was missing. All the time when I was searching for clues in the dumpster, the screen was on the ground right next to it.”
“The only thing that matters now is that we can be reasonably assured that the crime has been solved and that the perpetrator will be brought to justice.”
“Yeah. Roy’s going down hard.”
We were supposed to be playing chess, but we’d both forgot. We went back to looking at the board. It was my move. I would always watch his face and put my hand near the piece I was thinking of moving, and I could tell by his look if it was a good move or not. He never saw me looking because he always looked only at the board. I moved my knight and put him in check.
I had the Colonel in a tight spot, and he studied the board for a long while.
“Mr. Winkley’s not pissing on my clothes as much as he was,” I said.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I think he was mad at me because Nancy died.”
“No. He needs time to adjust to his new situation, and you must be patient with him. He is not to blame.”
“I know,” I said. “He still acts crazy sometimes, but that’s just the way he is.”
“He lost his mother when he was a kitten, and his development was arrested.”
I didn’t think anybody ever knew Mr. Winkley’s mother.
“Arrested?” I said. “Mr. Winkley?”
“I mean that he never quite grew up.”
“Oh,” I said. “Maybe he ran away from his mother and got lost.”
“No,” he said. “She died in a fire; a terrible fire.”
My stomach dropped a few floors when he said that, because he’d told Gladys that Stanley’s mother died in a fire. I wondered if maybe when the Colonel was little he played with matches. I tried to think of how I could ask him without him going into one of his trances.
“Did Mr. Winkley start the fire?” I said.
He didn’t answer right away. Then he said, “He was just a little kitten.”
I decided it was no use talking to him about it, because if he started a fire and killed his mother, it was probably all locked up inside his subconscious and he wasn’t going to remember it anyway.
“I’ve got to get some more cat food for him,” I said. “I owe Elsie a lot of back rent. I’m a little short this week.”
“Well then, you’ll need to do something about that, won’t you? You are fortunate that Elsie agreed to give you another chance; and Mr. Winkley must be about due for a veterinary checkup.”
“I guess.”
“Don’t guess, Willy. You have responsibilities now.”
“I know. I promised Elsie I’d see her brother about a dishwashing job.”
“You do that.” He moved his queen and put me in check.
“You may be called to testify in court,” he said. “If you’ll allow me, I would like to act as your—what’s the matter, Willy?”
“She lied. She said she wasn’t going anywhere, but she was planning to go away with Roy, and that’s how he tricked her into taking out the money.”
“She didn’t lie, Willy. Whatever she told you was what she believed at the time. She was confused.”
“She made a bad deal.”
“Yes.”
There was only one move that I could make to get out of check. The Colonel had me surrounded.
“As I was saying, Willy, you may be called to testify and I would like to act as your legal counsel, in an unofficial capacity of course. During my military service I was frequently called upon to employ my skills in the resolution of various legal matters. Sometimes even now, when there’s a particularly difficult case, I may be contacted—”
“You were a lawyer in the Air Force?” I said.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss all the details, due to the highly sensitive nature of my assignments. My records were expunged, for security reasons.”
“Sponged?”
“Erased; wiped clean.”
“I never knew you were a lawyer.”
“That’s classified information, so don’t tell anybody I told you, or that I’m counseling you. Keep it under your hat.”
“Okay.”
“Now, suppose you’re on the witness stand and they ask about the paint thinner. What do you say?”
“I was looking for clues in the dumpster, and then …”
“Nobody asked if you were looking for clues. The relevant information is that you were scavenging in the dumpster, as you are known to often do, and you found a can of paint thinner.”
“I was scavenging in the dumpster as I am known to often do and I found a can of paint thinner.”
“Well, I suppose that’s close enough for the time being. Now, what did you do with the paint thinner?”
“I put it in the supply closet so that I could get money from Elsie. You—I mean the Colonel—he would have ordered me to hold it for evidence but—”
“You put it in the supply closet for future use.”
“Yeah. I found a can of paint thinner in the dumpster and I put it in the supply closet for future use.”
“Exactly; the plain and simple truth, Willy. That’s all they’re going to want.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll work on this again tomorrow. It’s been a busy day and we’re both tired.”
“I’m not tired,” I said, and I probably would have stayed a lot longer except that just then we heard Mr. Winkley scratching outside the Colonel’s door. That Mr. Winkley could really be a pest sometimes. The Colonel opened the door and I picked up Mr. Winkley.
“How did he get inside the hotel?” I said. “Nancy’s window is closed now.”
“Another mystery,” the Colonel said. He stepped out into the hallway and pointed to my door.
“You left your door open,” he said.
Then we looked in my room.
“You left your balcony door open too,” he said.
“He must have climbed up his tree!” I said. “He finally figured it out!”