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IT WAS NINE long blocks along Seventh to Central Park I covered it quickly, my mind focused upon what lay ahead This sort of careless behavior can lead to aor worse, but no one bothered arette

There are stockyards of a kind in New York, but nothing that could be fairly coo Cattle are shipped in by rail each day to be slaughtered, e Jewish population and their kosher requirements Maureen had taken ht in search of livestock; not as long as Central Park had pony rides and horse-drawn carriages

I knew more or less where the animals were kept, and in due time my nose led ht my attention outside the club, carried to me by some freak of the faint wind Maybe it was an unpleasant odor to soot acquainted with its half dozen four-legged tenants, picking out a healthy-looking gelding with a cal spent some formative years on a farm, I kne to talk to horses; I almost didn&039;t have to soothe him to quiescence I did so anyway, just to be on the safe side The ani and slowly drank my fill

The hollow, near-cramp in my sto Most of the tinored if I were busy, but I was careful never to let it go too far It wasn&039;t that I&039;d lose control and be te someone into an alley to feed off them, I just disliked the physical disco

It was my first taste of horse&039;s blood and I liked it better than the stuff I&039;d taken from cattle There was a difference to it; not so much in the subtleties of flavor and texture, but in the surroundings This was a neat, straw-cushioned stable, not a soggy, stinking pen The animal was clean and the hair on his hide short When you have to get to your food by using your own teeth, that counts for a lot

Afterward, he politely accepted being patted down in lieu of a more material show of thanks Next tiar cubes It seemed only fair

When I crawled out ofI found Escott at his ease on his bed, showing no ill effects from his sedate debauch, and up to his neck in the papers

"Good evening," he said cheerfully, hardly looking up

"How&039;d it go today?" I asked, stretching

" "The London Times has finally dropped its pro-Hitler policy in favor of the Russians, who seem to be the lesser of two evils at the moment

It was that speech hethat did the trick"

"I meant with the--"

"Oh, yes, sorry" He folded the paper away "Eer and Violet Francher--"

"The shipping-line Franchers?" I interrupted

"The same"

"I&039;ll be damned"

He continued "Emily was one of the better-dowered debutantes in 1913, and was sole heiress to the estate when her mother died in 1931"

The coincidence of the date wasn&039;t lost on me "When, in 1931?"

"I&039;ve a lot to tell you, but I&039;d rather tell it on the drive out"

"Out to--"

"Yes, the Franc her house on Long Island I&039;ve aassumed you would want to interview Miss Francher personally about that phone call The sooner you are ready"

"Okay, okay, I&039;!"

I did all the usual stuff, and shaved witheood memory so as not to miss any spots, but I was in a hurry and nicked myself this time Vampires bleed red like anyone else, it just doesn&039;t last as long from a metal cut

"If they made safety razors out of wood, you&039;d need stitches," said Escott from the other room

"How the hell did you know I&039;d cut myself?"

"By the tie Far be it froh at another&039;s pain, but you arewhen you choose to express yourself"

"Next tiruot us free of the congestion of Manhattan and Queens, but it see, while I kept us on course with the map, so we didn&039;t talk much

Once past the worst of it and safely rolling on State 25A, I was ready to hear more about our destination

"You said this Emily Francher was quite the dish in 1913?"

"I said she ell dowered I don&039;t knohat she looks like The money and her mother helped her to land a socially acceptable husband

In this case, he was an ientleman with a title from my own sceptered holish accent Edith Sedlock heard on the phone"

"I think not The ation and short-lived The blissful couple parted co up residence in London and the groom in the north to be near the races"

"Gambler?"

"Gentleman jockey He broke his neck in a steeplechase later that saust of his mother-in-law, the family title passed on to an obscure and fertile cousin with a surplus of sons

Daughter Emily was ordered back to New York and resumed the use of herall that up?"

"It was in the papers The society gossips had a fine tier Francher died in 1915 and wife Violet took over the shipping business and proved herselffor a suitable replacement for her inconveniently deceased son-in-law By this ti Emily had suffered ould now call a nervous breakdown and was sent off to &039;rest&039; with relatives in Newport, who reported her every utterance to the mother Efforts to locate another title were thwarted by the war, but in 1920 the lady ed to befriend a French marquis and whisked him across the Atlantic toto say about this?"

"If she did, her mother was quite uninterested"

"And the Newport relatives?"

"Dependent upon Violet&039;s generosity for their support Another wedding date was set, but it all fell through when the groom was arrested It seems he was not a marquis or even French, but an American with three other wives"

"Three?"

"And a number of children They tried to suppress the scandal, but were unsuccessful with so was postponed for an indefinite period while he returned to France to &039;settle his business interests&039; In reality, I&039;d say he was lucky to only have to face the French courts and his several faotten aith having a fourth wife had the lady been less publicity minded and not issued his picture to every society editor in the Western Hemisphere"

"His picture? What about Eed "Perhaps her h participant in the proceedings Froain less than enthusiastic over things"

"I guess it was just as well What happened to her?"

"By then she had come into her own inheritance fro Island I think it was an attempt to make a life for herself away from her mother"

"Better late than never"

"Violet still tried to interest her in another titled le-minded woman--but was distracted fro line When the crash ca her daughter a favor and leaping fros over to the board of directors, officially retired, and moved in with Emily"

"Nice lady"

"Their past separation did see her own rounds as her own estate and invited her to take possession The invitation was firmly declined, so Emily moved instead It was just as well for her, because her forround in April of 1931 and Violet Francher along with it"

I thought awhile on that one "You think Eht have killed her mother?"

"That is always a possibility Thecri up within faht certainly have had sufficient cause over the years to resent the woation ruled it to be an accidental death"

"What do you think?"

"Not having had access to all the facts leading up to those results, I think nothing at all"

"Why was there an investigation, then?"

"It was the standard thing to do in such a case A suh the a compared to Ereedy, that&039;s how soet to be rich How did Eh the crash?"

"She took to heart the irl&039;s best friend&039; and put her trust in safe-deposit boxes rather than her bank account"

"Sirl"

"Since the fire, she&039;s taken up the life of a virtual hermit, albeit a hermit in extremely comfortable circumstances She still supports some of her poorer Newport relations, but never visits the about who answered the phone?"

He shook his head

"What about that breakdown? Is she still loony?"

"I have no inforht have been connected to the decease of her father The story at the ti her nerves--"

"Which is the saht have been sent to Kingsburg instead of Newport for her rest cure It&039;d give her a logical connection to Maureen"

"That&039;s a good idea, but the dates involved are too disparate There was also considerable docu to Emily&039;s presence in Newport"

"Only if you believe everything you read"

"How ht inquiry, not a rhetorical question "In general, or--"

"In the papers I should be interested in hearing fros"

I didn&039;t have to think long or hard on that one "It depends on the reporter, his editor, and the kind of rag they work for If you want to boost circulation--and who doesn&039;t?--the truth can be victieration to sell papers, but not so much that it courts a lawsuit

It also depends on the kind of information picked up The best journalist in the world can iven false or incoets Unless editorializing is the ive people the truth When you&039;ve got a deadline breathing down your neck every few hours you don&039;t have tis up"

Since he&039;d exhausted his information about Emily Francher, the conversation shifted to journalis it up as he drove We were now passing through a different world froe orking fars dating from the American Revolution advertised displays of relics from that period

Off to the left side of the road we got an occasional gli Island Sound, sainst the glare

I checked the naainst oura left We began a tour through the exclusive country of the very rich We were closer to the sound than ever, but couldn&039;t see it for the trees that were packed so close to the road they forht, whichunless you counted the rabbits

"This is it," I said

On the left was a fifty-yard stretch of brick wall, broken by a fancy gate with the na over it in white painted ironwork

Inside stood a very solid brick gatehouse, showing soht into the trees beyond Escott tapped the brake, parked the nose of the Ford next to the gate, and hit the horn a few tiatehouse and eventually a short ed and squinted at us He wore an old hickory shirt, hastily buttoned, and gray work pants, stained at the knees The lower half of his face was sunburned

"What do you want to bet he&039;s the gardener?" I asked, but Escott wasn&039;t taking

Theto peer past our headlights

"Who&039;s there?" he called

Escott introduced himself, said he was a detective and that he needed to speak with Miss Francher about an investigation he was conducting

"Huh?"

I gave hiot out, and went up to talk with the o credentials The man dithered a lot and said "I don&039;t know" a lot, and Escott got nowhere fast

Another figure appeared fro hair braided for sleep She wore the standard black of a maid&039;s uniform, minus the white collar, cuffs and apron, and had shoved her bare feet into her thick work shoes

"What is this?" she demanded both of Escott and the man By his behavior in her presence, it was likely he was her browbeaten husband

Out of his depth, he made a partial start on an explanation, was shushed by the woman, then Escott had a turn He repeated his introduction with his hat off and I noted he was elish accent This tiested he come back tomorrow afternoon Miss Francher was not in the habit of receiving uninvited callers after dark

Escott wasn&039;t put off He ain the vital ie be relayed to Miss Francher He would abide by her decision He wrote so, the woh it were especially dirty laundry She snapped soatehouse with him in tow

Escott came over to my side of the car and leaned an ar board