1949 - You're Lonely When You Dead by James Hadley Chase

something we’ll have to take care of when it happens. What else did you find out, Ed?’
    ‘Well, not much,’ he returned. ‘I thought I was going to create a sensation. The old dame - her name’s Mrs. Selby - who lives across the passage, facing Dana’s front door, spends most of her time watching her neighbours. She said she heard footsteps on the stairs about eleven-fifteen last night and peeped through her letterbox. I guess she was expecting to see Dana take a man into her rooms, and was ready to phone down to the janitor. She’s that kind of crab. She said Dana and a woman in a flame-coloured evening dress went into the apartment. She only had a glimpse of the woman and she couldn’t give me a description of her, except the dress and the diamond necklace she was wearing. They stayed in the apartment for about half an hour. Mrs. Selby wasn’t particularly interested, but when she heard the front door open she had a quick peep and was in time to see the woman in the evening dress going down the passage alone.
    ‘She decided there was nothing more to see and went to bed. The telephone, ringing in Dana’s apartment, woke her about one o’clock. About five minutes later she heard Dana’s front door open and shut. She reckons the killer rang Dana and got her to come out to the dunes on some pretext and killed her. That’s what she told the police.’
    ‘That’s odd,’ I said thoughtfully. ‘If Dana left her apartment at one o’clock, she couldn’t get to the dunes before one forty-five, and the police say she was murdered around twelve-thirty.’
    ‘That’s what Brandon told you,’ Benny said. ‘He’s such a liar he probably told you the wrong time to keep himself in practice.’
    ‘I doubt it,’ I said, ‘but I’ll check with Mifflin. He’ll tell me.’
    ‘Well, at least we’re breaking new ground,’ Kerman said.
    ‘Yes, but I don’t know if it’s getting us anywhere,’ I said, frowning. ‘One thing does seem almost certain now. Anita succeeded in bribing Dana to tell her why she was watching her.’
    Benny sat forward.
    ‘Now wait a minute!’ he exclaimed heatedly. ‘That’s a pretty lousy thing to say, isn’t it?’
    ‘I know, but we must face facts, Ed. Anita offered me a thousand dollars to give her the information. I wouldn’t play. Half an hour later she and Dana are seen together at Dana’s apartment, and the next morning a necklace worth twenty thousand is found under Dana’s mattress. Maybe I have a suspicious mind, but to me that points to a bribe.’
    ‘It looks like it,’ Kerman said reluctantly. ‘She’d have to be pretty strong-minded if Anita offered her a necklace like that.’
    To hell with that for an idea,’ Benny broke in. ‘Not so long ago you said Natalie Cerf might have planted the necklace on Dana. Don’t you ever stick to a theory?’
    ‘But I didn’t know then that Anita had been to Dana’s apartment. This Mrs. Selby didn’t see or hear anyone visit Dana after Anita had gone, did she?’
    ‘No, but she was asleep, remember. She mightn’t have heard if someone sneaked up there.’
    ‘I know how you feel about this, Ed. We were all fond of Dana, but after all she was only a kid. That necklace would be a big temptation.’
    Benny grimaced.
    ‘Well, maybe, but I don’t like to think...’
    ‘Nor do I, but there it is. It’s an idea worth thinking about. We’ve got to find Anita. The two most likely places where she may be hiding are L’Etoile or Barclay’s house. Unless, of course, she’s left town. I’ll go out and see Barclay this afternoon. You, Ed, go back to Dana’s apartment and try and find out from Mrs. Selby if she noticed whether Anita was wearing the necklace when she left. Then from there go to the spot where Dana was found and check every yard of the way. Someone may have seen her. It’s a slight hope as not many people would be around at that time, but that cuts both ways. If anyone did see her they’ll remember