`How did you like Dad?'
`I liked him.'
`He liked Rusty. Do you know who Rusty is?'
`Yes.'
`Rusty was sometimes rough and noisy, but he was never dull. He was a lot of fun for Dad. Why
did he just disappear like that? Dad wants you to find him. Isn't that true, Mr Marlowe?'
`Yes and no,' I said.
`Do you think you can find him?'
`I didn't say I was going to try. Why don't you go to the police?'
`Oh, Dad will never bring the police into it.'
She looked at me smoothly, and drank what was left in her glass. Then she rang a bell and a maid
came in and filled the glass without looking at me.
Mrs Regan said, `How will you start?'
`When did Rusty go?'
`Didn't Dad tell you?'
I just smiled at her. She went red and her hot black eyes looked angry. `Don't play with me,' she
said. `I don't like the way you're behaving.'
`I'm not crazy about you,' I told her. `I didn't ask to see you, you asked to see me. I don't care if you
show your legs and drink whisky for lunch. I don't care if you think I behave badly. You're probably
right. But don't try to question me.'
She put her glass down hard. Drops of whisky fell on the white chair.
`Don't talk to me like that,' she said thickly.
I smiled again and lit a cigarette.
`I hate big dark handsome men like you,' she said. `I just hate them.'
`What are you afraid of, Mrs Regan?' I asked.
Her expression changed. `You could find Rusty − if Dad wanted you to,' she said.
`When did he go?'
`A month ago. He drove away without a word to anyone. They found his car later.'
`They?'
Suddenly she gave a lovely smile. `He didn't tell you!'
`He told me about Mr Regan. He wanted to see me about something else. Is that what you wanted
me to say?'
`I don't care what you say!'
I left her then. In the hall I met Norris.
`You made a mistake,' I said. `Mrs Regan didn't want to see me.'
`I'm sorry, sir,' he said politely. `I make many mistakes.'
I stood on the steps and smoked my cigarette. I looked over the garden to the hills. In the distance I
could see some old oil−wells. The Sternwoods' money came from those oil−wells. Now they lived in
their beautiful house, far from the machines and the smell of the oily water in the sump.
I walked down to the gates and out of the Sternwood garden. The sky was black when I reached
my car. I heard thunder in the hills and put the top up on my car.
She had lovely legs. They were a smooth act, General Sternwood and his daughters. `What do really want?' I wondered.
continued ~
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