"
Penny nodded, her face very white and her brown eyes big with misery.
"I have every reason to believe that Nita Selim was a blackmailer, that
she came to Hamilton for the express purpose of bleeding someone she had
known before, or someone on whom she had 'the goods' from some
underworld source or other.... At any rate, Nita banked ten thousand
mysterious dollars--$5,000 on April 28, and $5,000 on May 5. I talked to
Drake last night, and I have his word for it that the money was in bills
of varying denomination--none large--when Nita presented it for deposit.
Therefore it seems clear to me that Nita got the money right here in
Hamilton; otherwise it would have come to her in the form of checks or
drafts or money orders. And it seems equally clear to me that she did
not bring that large amount of cash from New York with her, or she would
have deposited it in a lump sum in the bank immediately after her
arrival."
"Yes," Penny agreed. "But why are you telling _me_?... Of course I'm
interested--"
"Because I want you to tell me the financial status of each of your
friends," Dundee said gently. "I know how hard it is for you--"
"You could find out from others, so I might as well tell you," Penny
interrupted, with a weary shrug.
Pages:
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247