You Live Once by John D. MacDonald

sun-dried blonde, rubbed his hands together and said, “Well, Chief, I guess we can get started.”
    “Captain Kruslov will ask some questions,” the chief said.
    Kruslov paced to the center of the room. “We called you people together to see if we can come up with anything we missed so far. We’re interested mostly in anybody any of you could have seen hanging around, acting funny, anything like that. We’re sort of thinking of a snatch. We’ll take up this angle first. Miss Bettson?”
    “Bettiger. No, I didn’t see a thing. Mary and I played twenty-seven holes. At the end of eighteen we were even in holes and even in score so we played another nine. I won three and two. I didn’t see a thing out of line.”
    “How did she act? Same as usual?”
    “Oh yes. We gabbed, kidded around, talked about people. She was fine. Nobody was lurking about, if that’s what you mean.”
    “Now will you tell the chief and these people what you told Sergeant Hilver this morning.”
    Miss Bettiger looked uncomfortable. “Well, I don’t think it was important. It was just talk.”
    “Go ahead, please.”
    “We talked about men. We do that a lot, I guess, maybe too much. Mary was laughing about what she called her ‘reserve love nest.’ She said there was this man who had been making a big play and he kept trying to give her a key to a place he had rented somewhere in town. She said if she ever wanted to hide, that would be the place, because he wouldn’t dare give her away.”
    “Did she tell you his name?”
    I did not dare look over at Dodd and Nancy. I was afraid of what I’d see on their faces. “No, she didn’t tell me his name. She just said he’s married. She made a big joke of it.”
    Kruslov turned to Mr. Pryor. “Mr. Pryor, do you think Miss Olan could be at that apartment or room or house she spoke of to Miss Bettson?”
    “Bettiger,” the girl said.
    “Sorry. Miss Bettiger.”
    Uncle Willy said hotly, “I think it’s a damned outrage to suggest any such thing. Mary is a good girl. She’sunpredictable, but basically good. She’d be no part of any cheap arrangement like that. If she was I’d … I’d throw her out of my home. I’m raising three daughters here.” I saw the bulge of his brown forearms and was convinced.
    “I still think we have to consider that as a possibility,” Captain Kruslov said. “Now, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond. Did you notice anything at all suspicious about Saturday night?”
    They looked at each other and I read Nancy’s lips as she said to go ahead. “No,” Dodd said. “It was a perfectly standard evening.”
    “Did Miss Olan drink too much?”
    “I … well, yes. Frankly, she did.”
    “Was she in the habit of drinking too much?”
    “No.”
    “Why did she drink so much Saturday?”
    “I don’t think she intended to. I think she made a mistake ordering. She got thirsty playing golf and she should have started on something tall instead of cocktails.”
    “Did you witness the quarrel between her and Mr. Sewell?”
    “Yes, I did.”
    “Would you tell us about it?”
    “That’s very simple. Clint was trying to help her. He wanted her to stop drinking. She got nasty about it, but Clint didn’t. He just kept coaxing her and after she made quite a little scene at the bar, she let him lead her out of there. I thought he handled it rather well. It really wasn’t anything important.”
    “A drunken woman is a despicable thing,” Willy said firmly. “It is always important.”
    “I mean the quarrel wasn’t important, Mr. Pryor.”
    “Did you or your wife notice anyone hanging around, or see anything you thought odd at the time?”
    “No sir. I guess we left a few minutes before Mr. Sewell left with Miss Olan. I understand he planned to drive herhome and take a cab from here. Later he told me that …”
    “Never mind that. You saw nothing out of line.”
    “No sir.”
    Kruslov turned to me. He moved closer to me than he had to the others. He looked more