“This is a complicated, confusing business for me. At every turn you discover another lie that Colin told me. Wendell is lying. How do I know who is telling the truth?”

“If I’m not, I’m stealing from a pregnant widow.”

She smiled. “You would be, wouldn’t you? We were talking about something before the telephone rang. Do you really think it was the way you said?”

“Not adultery? Yes. We’re very interested in what he was doing in that hour, but all things considered—the hour, the fact that Enid Alma would not have worked for him if she had had to take calls from a girl friend—I’ve decided not to give other women very much thought. You shouldn’t, either.”

“I’ll try.” She looked at the ceiling. “I don’t understand about your wife and Wendell. Maybe I’m dense or something. Was she under his care?”

“No, no. Forget it. She went to Jefferson, you know.” The idea came too late to be effective. “Just—forget it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Okay. If you get your husband’s wallet, I’ll tell you what I learned from the janitor of the building where he lived when you were going out.”

She did not take long. He put the wallet on the table. “Your confidence in your judgments will be restored very quickly. According to the janitor, you were the last of many female guests your husband had. So you were right about that. The janitor saw or heard them as they went in and out.”

“That’s right, he lived downstairs.”

“The janitor was interviewed three years ago by an insurance investigator and gave the same information—even mentioned you. I wanted to hear if he ever knew any of the others. He saw four or five, but never said hello to any but you. When you came along, you were the only one. Your husband didn’t see the others when he started seeing you. That’s all there is to that.” He reached for the wallet, not looking at her. He did not want to encourage her to pursue this.

Actually, the janitor had told him that there had been two women before Norma whom he had seen often, and one fairly regularly for a period of many months. Leland saw no reason for inflicting this information on Norma. The janitor had no real knowledge of any of the women, including her. He had been able to say that there had been no one steady in the months just before she had come along. Leland did not feel that she had to be told even this. He wanted to keep her in the habit of thinking only of what she knew.