The Last Heroes (Men at War 1)

‘‘He knows we found the body in Mr. Whittaker’s shower,’’ Douglass said.

‘‘Then the one weak link in this is Cynthia Chenowith?’’ Donovan asked.

‘‘She’s no weak link, Colonel,’’ Ellis volunteered. ‘‘That’s one tough little lady.’’

"Take us to the house on Q Street," Donovan ordered. ‘‘She’s there?’’

‘‘Yes, sir,’’ Douglass said. ‘‘She thought the

re might be something else you might want her to do.’’

When they passed through the gate in the wall, Chesley Haywood Whittaker’s Packard was parked on the brick drive. Donovan found Edward, the chauffeur, with Cynthia Chenowith in the kitchen of the main house. She had made something to eat, and then given him several drinks. Edward had been close to Chesty Whittaker, and there were signs that he had wept.

‘‘Edward,’’ Donovan asked, ‘‘how is the Packard fixed for gas?’’

‘‘I’ll see if I can find a station open,’’ Edward said, obviously welcoming the chance to make himself useful.

‘‘I think that would be a good idea,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘Thank you.’’

Edward found his chauffeur’s cap and went out the kitchen door.

Donovan saw that Cynthia Chenowith was still calm, although her face remained pale and there was a strange look in her eyes.

‘‘The thing to do, Cynthia, is to decide how we’re going to handle this,’’ Donovan said, ‘‘before I call Barbara.’’

She looked at him and met his eyes and nodded.

‘‘I think the thing to do is send Chesty home as soon as we can. The way to do it is see if we can get a hearse somewhere tonight.’’

‘‘Or a panel truck from Hertz,’’ Ellis said. ‘‘Getting a hearse might be difficult this time of night. People would wonder why we couldn’t wait until tomorrow, or send the body on the train.’’

‘‘Baker has a station wagon,’’ Douglass said. ‘‘Will a casket fit in a station wagon?’’

‘‘What kind of a station wagon, Captain?’’ Ellis asked.

‘‘Ford,’’ Douglass said. ‘‘Four-door. A ’41.’’

‘‘You’ll probably have to run the seat all the way forward, ’’ Ellis said with certainty. ‘‘But it’ll take a casket.’’

Donovan believed him. It was extraordinary that Ellis had such obscure knowledge at his fingertips, but he was not surprised.

‘‘The question is,’’ Donovan said, ‘‘whether we want to bring Baker in on this.’’

‘‘I think it might be a good idea,’’ Douglass said. ‘‘I’m not very experienced in such matters. Baker might be able to see if we’ve made any mistakes.’’

‘‘The duty officer should know where he is.’’

Douglass called the office. Baker was there.

‘‘Are you driving your station wagon?’’ Douglass asked. ‘‘Good. I would like to borrow it,’’ Douglass said. ‘‘Could you drop what you’re doing and come right away?’’

He gave the address and hung up.

‘‘He’ll be right here,’’ he said.

‘‘What’s he doing in the office?’’ Donovan asked.

‘‘I guess he feels that he should be doing something besides sitting in his apartment listening to the radio,’’ Douglass said.