Free A Room to Die In by Jack Vance, Ellery Queen Page A

for him.
    “Thank you.” He
spoke with the stiffish dignity of a man unfairly put upon.
    “You knew my
father well?” Ann asked.
    “No. We had
little in common.”
    “You must be
acquainted with the Cyprianos.”
    “Oh, yes. Pearl
thought very highly of Mrs. Cypriano. Girlhood chums, and all that. She sold
the Cyprianos her lovely home for far less than its market value. I assume they’ve
kept up the payments.” His tone was half-questioning.
    “ ‘Payments’?”
    “Yes. They paid
eight thousand dollars down, I believe, and Pearl held a mortgage on the
balance, about thirty thousand dollars. The mortgage would naturally be part of
your father’s estate.”
    “I haven’t come
across it,” said Ann. “Thank you for mentioning it.”
    Edgar Maudley
set his cup down and rose. “Well, I must be on my way. I’m sure we can work
something out, Miss Nelson. If I were a rich man—which, alas! I am not—I could
offer you what these articles are worth to me, although, as I mentioned,
sentiment and value are incommensurable.”
    “Exactly. So if
any of these articles should change hands between us, we’ll have them appraised
by an impartial authority. Will that be satisfactory?”
    Maudley took his
hat and coat. With a bitter smile he said, “I did think you might feel the
slightest bit uncomfortable, coming into possession of an estate which,
strictly speaking, was your father’s by sheer chance.”
    “Not at all,” said
Ann. “It’s the nicest thing that ever happened to me. And since my father had
to die in any event, I’m glad I was able to profit by it.”
    Maudley seemed
horrified. “I must say . . . Well, it might be wise not to count your
chickadees before they’re hatched.”
    “What do you
mean, Mr. Maudley?” Ann asked very distinctly.
    The man seemed
sorry he had spoken. “Nothing, nothing at all,” he said hurriedly. “Thank you
for the tea, Miss Nelson. Here is my card, in case you should change your mind.”
He departed. Ann looked down at the card with a curling lip and tossed it
aside.
    She took the
teacups to the sink thoughtfully. Edgar Maudley’s visit had solved one mystery—the
identity of the man who had quarreled with her father—but it posed another:
Where was the mortgage to the Cypriano house? It had not been in the desk,
where her father had kept his other important papers.
    On Sunday Ann
notified Mrs. Darlington that various contingencies associated with her father’s
death would prevent her coming to work until the middle of the week. The
principal pointed out with just a trace of tartness that since school ended
Friday, she might just as well not bother. Ann said that if she possibly could,
she would return to work, although perhaps it did seem a trifle foolish under
the circumstances.
    On Monday she
engaged an attorney to deal with her father’s will. She also learned that
cadavers were no longer in short supply at medical schools. Only after diligent
effort was she able to place the body of Roland Nelson with the Stanford
Medical Center.
    On Tuesday she
signed various affidavits, obtained the signature of the Marin County Coroner,
and arranged transportation of her father’s remains from San Rafael to Palo
Alto.
    On Wednesday Ann
returned to work at Mar Vista, and on Wednesday evening Edgar Maudley
telephoned. He was anxious to learn what she had decided regarding the matters
they had discussed. Ann informed him that she had not been able to give the
situation much thought.
    When might he
expect her to reach a decision? Probably not before Saturday, Ann replied. This
was the earliest she would find it convenient to sort through her father’s
effects.
    Edgar Maudley
said that he would make sure to be on hand, if only to assist her. Ann thanked
him for offering to help, but said it might be better if she conducted the
preliminary survey by herself.
    Maudley made a
noncommittal sound, something like “Hmm, hmm, hmm.” Then he said, “Incidentally—and
I ask