“You did.”

“Huh? What’s the matter? You simple?”

“There’s a gun in my left hand,” I warned him.

“But look here⁠—didn’t he tell the broad that Whisper done it? What’s the matter with you?”

“He didn’t say ‘Whisper.’ I’ve heard women call Thaler ‘Max,’ but I’ve never heard a man here call him anything but ‘Whisper.’ Tim didn’t say ‘Max.’ He said ‘MacS’⁠—the first part of ‘MacSwain’⁠—and died before he could finish it. Don’t forget about the gun.”

“What would I have killed him for? He was after Whisper’s⁠—”

“I haven’t got around to that yet,” I admitted, “but let’s see: You and your wife had busted up. Tim was a ladies’ man, wasn’t he? Maybe there’s something there. I’ll have to look it up. What started me thinking about you was that you never tried to get any more money out of the girl.”