"
The deputy-coroner looked interested.
"Whom do you mean by `little friend' and what is her name?"
"I will send her to you."
And I did.
The next day I was standing on the corner of Vermont Avenue when I
saw Jinny advancing from the house in K Street. She was chipper,
and she was smiling in a way which made me say to myself:
"It is fortunate that Durbin is not here."
For Jinny's one weakness is her lack of power to hide the
satisfaction she takes in any detective work that comes her way.
I had told her of this and had more than once tried to impress
upon her that her smile was a complete give-away, but I noticed
that if she kept it from her lips, it forced its way out of her
eyes, and if she kept it out of her eyes, it beamed like an inner
radiance from her whole face. So I gave up the task of making her
perfect and let her go on smiling, glad that she had such frequent
cause for it.
This morning her smile had a touch of pride in it as well as of
delight, and noting this, I remarked:
"You have made Loretta talk."
Her head went up and a demure dimple appeared in her cheek.
"What did she say?" I urged. "What has she been keeping back?"
"You will have to ask the coroner. My orders were strict to bring
the results of my interview immediately to him.
Pages:
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121