“No.” Clayton frowned again. “Henry was supposed to get those, and never did.”

“Then I’ll try to find out.”

He shook his head. “What difference could it make? Henry killed Lydia and stole the money, and now that he’s dead his reasons don’t matter anymore. You should be looking to Roland and your job, and to getting it together with Kris Ann before it’s too late.”

I stood. “I’ll be all right, and Krissy, too. Just don’t tell anyone what I’ve asked you. Not yet.”

Clayton’s round, troubled face gazed up at me. “Rennie and I like you both, Adam. Why would I make this worse?”

I nodded. When I closed the door to return to my office he was still staring after me.

A clean copy of the motion waited on my desk. I sat, reading and not seeing, and then snatched the telephone to call Nora Culhane.

She wasn’t in. I left messages and spent the day waiting.

She returned the call around five. “I’m surprised,” she said.

“I need your help.”

“Why?”

“Your boss, people at the station—they can’t know.”

“You sound crazy, Adam.”

“Look, are you interested or not?”

“Yes, okay—off the record. What is it?”

“I think I know why Henry Cantwell stole the money.”

“Go on.”

I explained what I learned at the bank. When I was through she asked, “Why are you telling me this?”

“I want you to fly to New Orleans.”

“For what?”

“Go to the parish recorder’s office and check the name and address of each partner. Make copies. Do whatever you have to do to find out who they are. After that you can use the information any way you want.”

“Why can’t you do your own errands,” she said tartly.

“I can’t leave now. There’s something else I have to do.”

“Then if you want my help, be honest. Does all this relate to Lydia Cantwell’s murder?”

“I’m not sure. It depends on what you find.”

“Adam, the station can’t send me unless I at least tell them something.”

“Get sick then. Charge the ticket and I’ll pay for it.”

“You’re serious.”

“Yes.”

“Then let me think about it.” She hung up.

I paced and smoked cigarettes. An hour later she called to say that she would fly out in the morning. “I hope you find what you’re looking for,” she said.

Thirty-three

THIRTY-THREE