B Is For Burglar

"Nope," I said. "I'd guess December, though, if she just got a six-months' notice."

Mrs. Pickett gave me an appreciative glance. "Good point. I guess that's why you're a detective instead of me. All right, let's see what December looks like." She sorted through about fifteen cards. Already, I was worried about Dr. Pickett's a

"Light month," I remarked, watching her.

"He's semiretired," she said, absorbed in her hunt. "He still takes care of these old people in the neighborhood, but he tries to limit his practice. He's got varicose veins worse than me and his doctor doesn't want him on his feet all day. We get out and walk every chance we get. Keeps the circulation up. Here it is." She held an index card up, handing it to me with a mixture of triumph and relief. They might be near retirement age, but the office was still well run.

I studied the card. All it had on it was Elaine Boldt's name and address and the date she'd been in. December 28. Was I on the right track? I turned the notion over in my mind.

"Marty Grice would have come in first," I said, "and then recommended Dr. Pickett to Elaine."

"That's not hard to verify," Mrs. Pickett said. "See? On the back of the card, I have that line says 'referred by' and here's Mrs. Grice's name sure enough. Actually, we do that so if folks skip out on their bill, we have some way to trace back."

"Could I see Marty's chart?" I asked.

"Well, I don't see why not."

She went back to the file cabinet and pulled a slim folder out of the drawer marked G-I and passed it to me. Marty's name was neatly typed across the tag on the top. I opened the file. There were three sheets inside. The first was a medical questio

Known it would come down like that. I just hadn't believed I would actually find the proof. Yet here it was. Someone had neatly whited out the name originally typed in and typed Marty's name right over it. I ran my finger across the top line, feeling for the name typed underneath as though it were done in Braille. Elaine Boldt's name was visible as a faint imprint under the name Marty Grice. The last few pieces were falling into place. I was certain hers were the charred remains recovered from the Grices' house that night. I closed my eyes. It suddenly seemed very strange. I'd been tracking Elaine for ten days without realizing I'd already seen her in a photograph in the homicide file, burned beyond recognition. Marty Grice was alive and I suspected that she and Pat Usher were one and the same. There were details to nail down yet, but I had a very good idea how the murder had been set up. "Are you feelin' all right?" "I'm fine," I said briefly. "Did you want to talk to John?"

"Not right now, but at some point, yes. You've been a big help, Mrs. Pickett. Thanks."

"Well, I don't know what I did, but you're certainly welcome." I shook her hand, dimly aware of the mystified gaze that followed me as I left. I got in my car and sat there, trying to figure out what to do next. Jesus, how had they assured that the stomach contents would match? That must have been a slick one. The autopsy report indicated the blood type was O-positive, the most common type, so that was easy enough. Marty and Elaine were close in height. It wasn't as though the murder victim was completely unknown. Everyone assumed it was Marty, and the dental X rays had simply been used to confirm her identity. There was no reason to imagine that the dead woman was anyone else. Leonard and his sister had talked to her on the phone at nine and Lily claimed Marty had hung up to go answer the door. The call to the police station was a little flourish someone thought up for the effect. Mike was right about the time. At 8:30 that night, there was a woman s body wrapped up in a rug. It just wasn't his aunt. Elaine must have been bludgeoned to death sometime earlier, with enough of her jaw and teeth left intact to make identification possible. So many things were suddenly falling into place. Wim Hoover must have recognized Marty going in or out of Elaine's apartment. Marty or Leonard apparently got to him before he got to a phone.

I started the car and pulled out of the lot, turning left. I headed over to the police station and parked out front in a fifteen-minute green zone across the street. Once inside the station, I stopped at the counter on the left. Beyond the counter, there was a doorway leading back into the squad room.

Some cop in plainclothes I'd never laid eyes on spotted me standing there as he passed the door. He paused.

"You need some help?"

"I'm looking for Lieutenant Dolan."

"Let me check. I was just back there and I didn't see him."

He disappeared. I waited, glancing over my shoulder into Identification and Records. The black clerk was the only one there and she was typing away like crazy. I kept going back over it in my mind. It was so clear now how it all fit. Marty Grice had gone to Florida and lived in Elaine's apartment. It wasn't hard to figure out what she'd done. Lost some weight. Had her hair restyled and dyed. No one down there knew her from Adam so it wasn't as if she had to hide. She probably just got herself spiffied up once she had Elaine's bucks to do it with. I thought back to my encounter with her: the bruised, puffy face, the tape across her nose. She hadn't been in any automobile accident. She'd had cosmetic surgery-a new face to go along with her new identity. She'd told me herself that she was "retired" and didn't expect to work another day in her life. She and Leonard had fallen on hard times and there sat Elaine Boldt with money to burn and a tendency to indulge herself. How Marty must have seethed at the sight. Murder had been an equalizing force, with grand larceny providing a pension fund after the fact. Now all she had to do was wait until Leonard freed up and the two were set. It was Dolan's case. If the murder weapon turned up, I thought he'd have enough evidence to act on. For now, at least I could tell him what was happening. I didn't think it was smart to keep it to myself.

The plainclothesman returned. "He's gone for the day. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Gone?" I said. I bit back my customary expletive but inside my head, I was saying, "Shit!"

"I'll be in touch first thing in the morning." "Sure. You want to leave him a note?" I took one of my cards out and gave it to him. "Just tell him I'll stop by and fill him in."

"Will do," he said.

I went back to my car and took off. I had a theory about where the murder weapon was, but I wanted to talk to Lily Howe first. If she'd figured out what was going on, she'd be in danger. I glanced down at my watch. It was 6:15. I spotted a pay phone at a gas station and pulled in. My heart had begun to thud with dread. I didn't want Mike in jeopardy. If he realized his aunt was alive, he'd be in trouble too. Hell, we all were. My hands were trembling as I paged through the telephone book, feverishly sca