“The closest I’ve got to an idea is to dig up any and all the dirty work I can that might implicate the others, and run it out. Maybe I’ll advertise⁠—‘Crime Wanted⁠—Male or Female.’ If they’re as crooked as I think they are I shouldn’t have a lot of trouble finding a job or two that I can hang on them.”

“Is that what you were up to when you uncooked the fight?”

“That was only an experiment⁠—just to see what would happen.”

“So that’s the way you scientific detectives work. My God! for a fat, middle-aged, hard-boiled, pig-headed guy, you’ve got the vaguest way of doing things I ever heard of.”

“Plans are all right sometimes,” I said. “And sometimes just stirring things up is all right⁠—if you’re tough enough to survive, and keep your eyes open so you’ll see what you want when it comes to the top.”

“That ought to be good for another drink,” she said.