“Okay, we’ll just have to wait until we see the file. Her husband’s estate has provided her with an income and we’ll find out from the copy of the trust agreement in the file who the trustee is. Probably one of the downtown banks. What about the houses?”

“The Canby house is hers outright. I’ve had to wait on her previous address.”

“You may get that in the insurance file, too,” Leland said. “What else has been going on?”

“There’s been nothing from Florida. The subject has been staying close to his hotel. We received a check from Schwartzwald for a hundred dollars less than our fee. Mike dictated a letter over the telephone to the effect that we were accepting the check as partial payment and would expect the balance by return mail. Mike told me to tell you that he would handle it—that it’s nothing for you to get angry about.”

“What about that custody case? I liked what I saw of that woman.”

“Nothing. Nothing’s happened.”

“Good.” He looked out the window. Two inches of snow had fallen on Manitou, light and wet. The snow clung to the roofs and ledges and was shoveled from the sidewalks in tarnished little heaps. The air smelled clear and fresh. It looked clear, so brilliant it was not possible to miss the difference in the air. Here you could feel healthy, alert, and eager. The atmosphere in Port Smith was something that had to be overcome.

At the office he tried to get Karen on the telephone, but she was between stops at schools, en route to High View. He asked the secretary if Mrs. Leland would be available in the afternoon. She was scheduled to attend a pageant at a junior high on Clifford Heights. He said that he had no message, and hung up.

Florence had made his appointment with Betty Kaminsky for noon in the lobby of the Manitou Hotel. Leland made sure that he was on time. Betty Kaminsky came in five minutes later, and for a moment he did not want to believe it was her. She had been sick on Tuesday, but improved health alone could not account for such a change. Part of it was her clothing, which was well made and expensive and enhanced her red hair and very fair skin. Another part was her height: although her legs did not seem quite so long, she looked taller than he had reckoned on Tuesday, as tall as Karen. Her illness, the robe, slippers, and so on, had worked to confuse him. On Tuesday she had come downstairs in spite of herself, to satisfy her curiosity. And perhaps there had been more to it. Her husband had mishandled the situation and misjudged her. It could have put some of the tiredness in her eyes. Now she looked calm and self-possessed.