A lifetime of continual nagging over little things, while the big things had been left to adjust themselves, had fixed upon Jack the habit of attending first to his mother's whims.

Mrs.Singleton Corey made it a point to drive her own car.

She liked the feeling of power that it gave her, and she loved the flattery of her friends.

Therefore, even a murder problem must wait until her automobile was beautifully ready to back out of the garage into a critical world.
Jack gave a sigh of relief when he wiped his hands on the bunch of waste and tossed it into a tin can kept for that purpose.

Time was precious to him just now.