“You had a close go,” I stated. “The late Mr. Butman was anxious to see you both.”
Virgie Beers did something that looked like a shiver. The red-haired woman smiled coldly. I sat back in the chair and asked a question. “Come through, Virgie— who carved the Widow?”
She sat up and swore at me. The Donner woman frowned. I tried something else. It was a blind guess.
“You’re lying to me part of the way, Virgie. Somebody’s after something, but it isn’t a hundred grand. It isn’t fifty grand. It isn’t any grand. Maybe it’s stones.”
I had a smile on my face, and I had to fight to keep it on. Virgie Beers showed fear in her eyes. The redhead sucked in her breath and went into a coughing spell. I whistled softly.
“Well, well,” I said cheerfully. “Now what sort of stones do you think they are?”
