glances. âWhatâs the matter, did I say something?â
âNo,â said Burke.
Kipleyâs black eyes narrowed unpleasantly. âYou two wouldnât be holding out on me, would you?â
âYes,â Ellery said. Burke looked positively unhappy. âBut we donât have the right to go into that, Kip. Anyway, the West girlâs connection with the case will probably break soon. Who else?â
The columnist jotted something down on a pad at his elbow. âI didnât furnish this joint out of official handouts, Charlie. Thanks for the tip ⦠Well, thereâs Marta Bellina.â
âThe opera singer?â
âIn person. Bellina was probably GeeGeeâs best friend. Armandoâs been crawling all over the best friend, too, and if Marta minds sheâs been keeping it a deep, dark secret. Women!â
âIncredible,â Burke muttered.
âMarta Bellina,â Ellery wrote. âNext?â
âHer doctor.â
âWhose doctor?â Ellery asked, glancing up.
âGeeGeeâs.â
Ellery looked startled.
Kipley laughed. âIf Armandoâs a faggot he hasnât been caught at it. No, Dr. Merckell is a lady doctorâSusan Merckell, M.D.â
âThe Park Avenue laryngologist whoâs so popular with show people?â
âThe same. Handsome woman; never married. Made to order for the count. All he has to do is fake a sore throat, go to Dr. Merckellâs office, and get into her examining room. My information is that during Armandoâs visits itâs the doctor who gets examined.â
âWhere do you dredge up all this muck?â asked Harry Burke in a disgusted voice.
âDo I ask you where you plant your bugs, Charlie?â the columnist asked amiably. âThen thereâs the broad with the veil.â
âWhat?â exclaimed Ellery.
âHeâs been seen in the company of a chick who always wears a violet veil. A thick one, so you canât make out her face.â
âAlways?â
âAlways.â
âHow old is she?â
âCan you tell a femmeâs age nowadays when you canât see her puss? If the sun stopped coming up and all the power failed, thereâd be one hell of a lot of happy grandmas.â
âHow about the veiled womanâs hair?â
âSometimes itâs blond, sometimes itâs red, sometimes itâs brunette. But itâs the same woman in my book. With wigs ⦠I see you two are interested in Madame X. As interested as I am. Basically, Armando is stupid. Letting himself be seen around town with a veiled dame! She might just as well be wearing a topless bathing suit. Donât you ever read my column?â
âNot as often as Iâm going to from now on.â Ellery said fervently. âBy the way, have you any idea when Armando was last seen with the mysterious veiled woman?â
âBefore Christmas, I think. You ask like pushy questions, man. Whatâs the date got to do with anything?â
âItâs just an idea Iâm working on. Is there anyone else?â
Kipley said simply, âIâve run out.â
Ellery signaled to Burke. âKip, I canât tell you how grateful I amââ
âYou can take your gratitude and you know what. Give me some poop, Charlie, and weâre brother Elks.â
14
They went down to police headquarters and spent the remainder of the day going through page after crammed page of Glory Guildâs diaries and memoirs. For the most part the diary entries were inconsequentialâguests entertained, parties attended, weekends spent; reactions to first nights, an occasional acid comment about a pop singer. The diaries were sequined with name-dropping references to the great and notorious of show business, as if the late GeeGee had never entirely outgrown her Middle West clothes. There were surprisingly few allusions to her husband, and not a syllable about