The Thanksgiving Day Murder by Lee Harris

account came to us, we’d holler and scream. We’d go out to dinner and celebrate. There was a lot of good feeling that went around, a sense that we were all in on the beginning of something wonderful.”
    “Is it possible that Arlene Hopkins removed the missing documents from Natalie’s file?” I asked, hoping she would give a little now that she was feeling nostalgic.
    She looked troubled. “It’s possible,” she said, “but I can’t think why she would. When I say it’s possible I mean that she had a key to the office, she could have come in early, gone through the files, taken what she wanted, and been at her desk by the time anyone else arrived. Or she could have stayed late.”
    “I assume everything you’ve said would apply to Mr. Jewell, too.”
    “Every word. Applies to me, too, but I didn’t take anything.”
    “But those cabinets must have been locked.”
    “Miss Bennett, we were using hand-me-down every-things. There were locks with no keys, there were locks that didn’t work. We felt that what was important was our clients’ materials. We didn’t want anyone breaking in and stealing our business and our ideas. Who would want a secretary’s resumé? We saved the locks and keys for the stuff that had commercial value.”
    “You’re sure it wasn’t Mr. Gordon’s detective who took those papers last year.”
    “They were missing when Natalie was still here. That’s a couple of years ago. More. Those papers were missing a year or so after we opened up. I went to put her first evaluation in the file and I saw it was practically empty.”
    “Who else had the key to the office?”
    “I did.”
    “And—?”
    “Arlene and Marty.”
    “No one else?”
    “No one else was entitled. You can’t go giving out keys and hope to keep your office secure.”
    “Did you check any of the references in Natalie’s file?”
    “As a matter of fact, I did. She asked that I not call herpresent employer—that’s not unusual; people don’t want their bosses to know they’re looking for another job—so I called the one before that. I don’t remember who they were, but their reference was glowing.”
    “Could Hopkins or Jewell have known Natalie’s employer or former employer? Could there have been something between them that would provide a reason to remove their existence from Natalie’s file?”
    “You’re asking me what’s possible. Sure it’s possible. Lots of things are possible.”
    She was right, of course. And if there was one item in the file someone didn’t want on record, it would be smart to remove other things so no one would know which piece of paper was the object of the search. “So you think the documents were taken about a year after the agency opened and Natalie started working here.”
    “I didn’t say that. I said I discovered they were missing a year later. They weren’t files I checked very often. That stuff could have been taken the day after we hired her.”
    “I see.” I hesitated a moment. “Do you get along well with Arlene Hopkins?”
    “I get along the same with everyone. I do a spectacular job here as I’ve done in all my jobs. If I rub people the wrong way, they learn how to avoid me.”
    It sounded a little evasive, but she was talking about her employer, and I sensed this was a woman with a strong sense of loyalty. “What about Martin Jewell?”
    “I’ve known Marty all my life and there isn’t a straighter, more honest human being on the face of this earth.”
    There didn’t seem to be any point in continuing that line of questioning, not with a woman for whom honorable meant something. “Are Hopkins and Jewell married?” I asked.
    “What makes you ask that?”
    Interesting answer. “Curiosity.”
    “They’ve never married,” she said, a trifle nervously, I thought “I mean they haven’t married each other. Marty’s married to someone else.”
    “But there’s something between them,” I suggested.
    “Look, I’m here to answer