If Death Ever Slept

“This is about her. Three times in the past year I’ve had deals ruined by people who must have had information of my plans. I think they got that information through her. I don’t know exactly how she got it-that’s part of the job I want you to do-but on one of the deals the man who got in ahead of me, a man named Brigham, Corey Brigham-I’m sure she’s playing with him, but I can’t prove it. I want to prove it. If you want to call that a marital affliction, all right, but it’s not my marital affliction. My marital affliction is named Trella, and I can handle her myself. Another thing, my daughter-in-law is turning my home into a madhouse, or trying to. She wants to take over. She’s damned slick about it, but that’s what she’s after. I want her out of there.”

“Then eject her. Isn’t it your house?”

“It’s not a house, it’s an apartment. Penthouse. Duplex. Twenty rooms. I own it. If I eject her my son will go too, and I want him with me. That’s another thing, she’s getting between him and me, and I can’t stop it. I tell you, she’s a snake. You said with that inducement”-he gestured at the bundle of bills-“I should get evidence for a divorce, but you don’t know her. She’s as slick as grease. The kind of man you were suggesting-one of that kind would never get her. It will take a man of your quality, your ability.” He shot a glance at me. “And Archie Goodwin’s. As I said, I know Goodwin’s reputation too. As a matter of fact, I had a specific suggestion about Goodwin in my mind when I came here. Do you want to hear it?”

“I doubt if it’s worth the trouble. What you’re after is divorce evidence.”

“I told you what I’m after, a snake. About Goodwin, I said I have a secretary, but I haven’t. I fired him a week ago. One of those deals I got hooked on, the most recent one, I suspected him of leaking information on it to a certain party, and I fired him. So that-”

“I thought you suspected your daughter-in-law.”

“I did. I do. You can’t say a man can’t suspect two different people at once, not you. So that job is vacant. What was in my mind, why can’t Goodwin take it? He would be right there, living under the same roof with her. He can size her up, there’ll be plenty of opportunities-she’ll see to that if he doesn’t. My secretary had his meals with us, so of course Goodwin will. It occurred to me that that would be the best and quickest way, at least to start. If you’re not tied up with something he could come today. Right now.”