Why don't you for Christ's sake say something?"
"How is she?"
"Oh, she's all right, I suppose.
Fast asleep. She always goes to sleep.
What did you do to her?"
"Not a thing.
I came out of the house after seeing your father and she was out in front. She had been throwing darts at a target on a tree. I went down to speak to her because I had something that belonged to her.
A little revolver Owen Taylor gave her once.
She took it over to Brody's place the other evening, the evening he was killed. I had to take it away from her there.
I didn't mention it, so perhaps you didn't know it."
The black Sternwood eyes got large and empty.
It was her turn not to say anything.
"She was pleased to get her little gun back and she wanted me to teach her how to shoot and she wanted to show me the old oil wells down the hill where your family made some of its money.
So we went down there and the place was pretty creepy, all rusted metal and old wood and silent wells and greasy scummy sumps. Maybe that upset her.
I guess you've been there yourself.
It was kind of eerie."
"Yes — it is." It was a small breathless voice now.
"So we went in there and I stuck a can up in a bull wheel for her to pop at. She threw a wing-ding. Looked like a mild epileptic fit to me."
"Yes." The same minute voice. "She has them once in a while.
Is that all you wanted to see me about?"
"I guess you still wouldn't tell me what Eddie Mars has on you."
"Nothing at all.
And I'm getting a little tired of that question," she said coldly.
"Do you know a man named Canino?"
She drew her fine black brows together in thought.
"Vaguely. I seem to remember the name."
"Eddie Mars' trigger man.
A tough hombre, they said.
I guess he was.
Without a little help from a lady I'd be where he is — in the morgue." "The ladies seem to — " She stopped dead and whitened.
"I can't joke about it," she said simply.
"I'm not joking, and if I seem to talk in circles, it just seems that way.
It all ties together — everything.
Geiger and his cute little blackmail tricks, Brody and his pictures, Eddie Mars and his roulette tables, Canino and the girl Rusty Regan didn't run away with.
It all ties together."
"I'm afraid I don't even know what you're talking about."
"Suppose you did — it would be something like this.
Geiger got his hooks into your sister, which isn't very difficult, and got some notes from her and tried to blackmail your father with them, in a nice way.
Eddie Mars was behind Geiger, protecting him and using him for a cat's-paw.
Your father sent for me instead of paying up, which showed he wasn't scared about anything.
Eddie Mars wanted to know that.
He had something on you and he wanted to know if he had it on the General too.
If he had, he could collect a lot of money in a hurry.
If not, he would have to wait until you got your share of the family fortune, and in the meantime be satisfied with whatever spare cash he could take away from you across the roulette table.
Geiger was killed by Owen Taylor, who was in love with your silly little sister and didn't like the kind of games Geiger played with her.
That didn't mean anything to Eddie.
He was playing a deeper game than Geiger knew anything about, or than Brody knew anything about, or anybody except you and Eddie and a tough guy named Canino.
Your husband disappeared and Eddie, knowing everybody knew there had been bad blood between him and Regan, hid his wife out at Realito and put Canino to guard her, so that it would look as if she had run away with Regan.
He even got Regan's car into the garage of the place where Mona Mars had been living.
But that sounds a little silly taken merely as an attempt to divert suspicion that Eddie had killed your husband or had him killed.