Free Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison Page B

they passed.
    “Make yourself comfortable,” Shirl said. “I’ll be with you in just a moment.” She went into the kitchen.
    Andy sat on the couch, it was very soft, and put his notepad on his knee. Another air-conditioner hummed in the window and the floor-to-ceiling curtains were closed almost all the way, so that the light was dim and comfortable. The television set was a monster. There were pictures on the walls (they looked like real paintings), books, a dining table and chairs in some kind of red wood. Very nice for someone.
    “Do you want a drink?” Shirl called out from the kitchen, holding up a tall glass. “This is vodka.”
    “I’m on duty, thanks all the same. Some cold water will do fine.”
    She brought the two glasses in on a tray and, instead of handing his glass to him, pressed it against the side of the couch near his hand. When she let go the glass remained there, defying gravity. Andy pulled at it and it came free with a slight tug; he saw that there were rings of metal worked into the glass, so there must be magnets concealed under the fabric. Very elegant. For some reason this annoyed him and, after drinking some of the cold, flavorless water, he put the glass on the floor by his foot.
    “I would like to ask you some questions,” he said, making a tick mark on the notepad. “What time did you leave the apartment this morning?”
    “Just seven o’clock, that’s when Tab comes on duty. I wanted to do the shopping before it was too hot.”
    “Did you lock the door behind you?”
    “It’s automatic, it locks itself, there’s no way to leave it open unless you block it with something.”
    “Was O’Brien alive when you left?”
    She looked up at him angrily. “Of course! He was asleep, snoring. Do you think that I killed him?” The anger in her face turned to pain as she remembered what was lying in the other room; she took a quick gulp from her drink.
    Tab’s voice came from the doorway. “When I touched Mr. O’Brien’s body it was still warm. Whoever killed him must have done it just a little while before we came in—”
    “Go sit down and don’t come in here again,” Andy saidsharply, without turning his head. He took a sip of the ice water and wondered what he was getting excited about. What difference did it make who had polished off Big Mike? It was a public service. The odds were all against this girl having done it. What motive? He looked at her closely and she caught his eye and turned away, pulling her skirt down over her knees as she did.
    “What I think doesn’t matter,” he said, but the words didn’t even satisfy him. “Look, Miss Greene, I’m just a cop doing my job. Tell me what I want to know so I can write it down and give it to the lieutenant, so he can make a report. Personally, I don’t think that you had anything to do with this killing. But I still have to ask the questions.”
    It was the first time he had seen her smile and he liked it. Her nose wrinkled and it was a broad friendly grin. She was a cute kid and she would make out, oh yes, she would make out with anyone who had the D’s. He looked back at his notepad and slashed a heavy line under
Big Mike
.
    Tab closed the door behind Andy when he left, then waited a few minutes to be sure he wasn’t coming back. When he went into the living room he stood so that he could watch the hall door and would know the moment it was opened.
    “Miss Shirl, there’s something you should know.”
    She was on her third large drink, but the alcohol did not seem to be having any effect. “What is that?” she asked tiredly.
    “I’m not trying to be personal or anything, and I don’t know anything about Mr. O’Brien’s will …”
    “You can put your mind at rest. I’ve seen it and everything goes to his sister. I’m not mentioned in it—and neither are you.”
    “I wasn’t thinking about myself,” he said coldly, his face suddenly hard. She was sorry at once.
    “Please, I didn’t mean it that