The Stars Shine Down

S: Yeah. It was an accident.

M: How long had you been on that job?

S: I don't remember.

M: Let me refresh your memory. You were on that job seventy-two hours. You flew in from Chicago the day before the accident with the crane, and flew back to Chicago two days later. Is that correct?

S: I guess so.

M: According to American Airlines' records, you flew from Chicago to New York again two days before Philip Adler was attacked, and you returned to Chicago the following day. What was the purpose of such a short trip?

S: I wanted to see some plays.

M: Do you remember the names of the plays you saw?

S: No. That was awhile ago.

M: At the time of the accident with the crane, who was your employer?

S: Cameron Enterprises.

M: And who is your employer on the construction job you're working on in Chicago?

S: Cameron Enterprises.

Howard Keller was in a meeting with Lara. For the past hour they had been talking about damage control to offset the bad publicity the company was receiving. As the meeting was about to break up, Lara said, "Anything else?"

Howard frowned. Someone had told him to tell Lara something, but he could not remember what it was. Oh, well, it's probably not important.

Simms, the butler, said, "There's a telephone call for you, Mr. Adler. A Lieutenant Mancini."

Philip picked up the telephone. "Lieutenant. What can I do for you?"

"I have some news for you, Mr. Adler."

"What is it? Did you find the man?"

"I'd prefer to come up and discuss it with you in person. Would that be all right?"

"Of course."

"I'll be there in half an hour."

Philip replaced the receiver, wondering what it was that the detective did not want to talk about on the telephone.

When Mancini arrived, Simms showed him into the library.

"Afternoon, Mr. Adler."

"Good afternoon. What's going on?"

"We caught the man who attacked you."

"You did? I'm surprised," Philip said. "I thought you said it was impossible to catch muggers."

"He's not an ordinary mugger."

Philip frowned. "I don't understand."

"He's a construction worker. He works out of Chicago and New York. He has a police record - assault, breaking and entering. He pawned your watch, and we got his prints." Mancini held up a wrist watch. "This is your watch, isn't it?"

Philip stared at it, not wanting to touch it. The sight of it brought back the horrible moment when the man had grabbed his wrist and slashed it. Reluctantly, he reached out and took the watch. He looked at the back of the case where some of the letters had been scratched off. "Yes. It's mine."

Lieutenant Mancini took the watch back. "We'll keep this for the moment, as evidence. I'd like you to come downtown tomorrow morning to identify the man in a police lineup."

The thought of seeing his attacker again, face-to-face, filled Philip with a sudden fury. "I'll be there."

"The address is One Police Plaza, Room Two-twelve. Ten o'clock?"

"Fine." He frowned. "What did you mean when you said he wasn't an ordinary mugger?"

Lieutenant Mancini hesitated. "He was paid to attack you."

Philip was staring at him, bewildered. "What?"

"What happened to you wasn't an accident. He got paid fifty thousand dollars to cut you up."

"I don't believe it," Philip said slowly. "Who would pay anyone fifty thousand dollars to cripple me?"

"He was hired by your wife."

Chapter Thirty-four

He was hired by your wife! Philip was stunned. Lara? Could Lara have done such a terrible thing? What reason would she have?

"I don't understand why you practice every day. You're not giving a concert now..."

"You don't have to go. I want a husband. Not a part-time...It's not as though you were some kind of traveling salesman..."

"She accused me of stealing the diamond bracelet you gave her...She would do anything to hold on to you..."

And Ellerbee: "Are you thinking of cutting back on your concerts?...I had a talk with Lara."

Lara.

At 1 Police Plaza a meeting was in progress with the district attorney, the police commissioner, and Lieutenant Mancini.

The district attorney was saying, "We're not dealing here with Jane Doe. The lady has a lot of clout. How much solid evidence do you have, Lieutenant?"

Mancini said, "I checked with personnel at Cameron Enterprises. Jesse Shaw was hired at the request of Lara Cameron. I asked them if she had ever personally hired anyone on the construction crew before. The answer was 'no.' "

"What else?"

"There was a rumor that a construction boss named Bill Whitman was bragging to his buddies that he had something on Lara Cameron that was going to make him a rich man. Shortly after that he was killed by a crane operated by Jesse Shaw. Shaw had been pulled off his job in Chicago to go to New York. After the accident he went right back to Chicago. There's no question but that it was a hit. Incidentally, his airline ticket was paid for by Cameron Enterprises."

"What about the attack on Adler?"

"Same MO. Shaw flew in from Chicago two days before the attack and left the next day. If he hadn't gotten greedy and decided to pick up a little extra money by pawning the watch, instead of throwing it away, we never would have caught him."

The police commissioner asked, "What about motive? Why would she do that to her husband?"

"I talked to some of the servants. Lara Cameron was crazy about her husband. The only thing they ever quarreled about was his going away on concert tours. She wanted him to stay home."