"Matthew, my boy," D'Amata said, smiling. "Don't tell me you did this."
"I came in to get a dozen eggs."
"You see what happened?"
"No. But I know who owns this car, the one he ran into."
"Oh?"
"She's a librarian at U of P. Nice lady. She saw the body and she' s nearly hysterical."
"I would be too," D'Amata said. "Do you think she saw anything?"
"She saw what I saw, zilch. We were in the back of the store."
"We'll need your statements," D'Amata said. "But I don't see why you couldn't take her to the Roundhouse before the mob gets there. I' ll let them know you're coming."
"I owe you one, Joe."
"Yeah. Don't forget."
****
Matt went back to his Bug and got behind the wheel and turned to Mrs. Glover.
"What happens now?" she asked.
"I know one of the Homicide detectives. He's fixed it so that we can go to the Roundhouse now, before the crowd gets there, and make our statements."
"But I didn't see anything."
"That's your statement. And they'll want to know about your car."
"What am I going to do about my car?"
"They'll want to take pictures of it. Maybe, if we're lucky, we can get them to turn it loose when they're finished. We can ask."
"What would have happened if you weren't here?"
"They'd have taken you, when they got around to it, to the Roundhouse in a car."
"What's this 'Roundhouse' you keep talking about?"
"The Police Administration Building. At 8^th and Race. That's where Homicide is." He paused. "You all right, Mrs. Glover?"
"I'll be all right," she said.
He started the Bug and drove downtown to the Roundhouse.
****
It was quarter to twelve when they left. Captain Quaire, the commanding officer of Homicide, had come in, and he authorized the release of Mrs. Glover's car to her when the Mobile Crime Lab was through with it.
When they got back to the Acme parking lot, they were told that it would be at least an hour before the car could be released.
"I'm sorry," Matt told Mrs. Glover. "But that's the way it is. I' ll take you home and then bring you back in an hour."
"You're sweet, Matt. I appreciate all this," Mrs. Glover said, and touched his arm.