Chapter 8
I felt then, and I still feel, that it was a waste of
money to have Saul and Fred and Orrie there; and
since we had no client it was Wolfe's money. When
Saul phoned in at five o'clock I could just as well have
told him to call it a day. I do not claim that I can handle
five people all having a fit at once, even if one of them is
seventy-five years old and another one is a woman, but
there was no reason to suppose that more than one of
them would really explode, and I could certainly handle
him. But when Saul phoned I followed instructions, and
there went sixty bucks.
They weren't visible when, at eight minutes after six,
the bell rang and I went and opened the door to admit
Rita Sorell, nor when I escorted her to the office, intro-
duced her to Wolfe, and draped her fur coat, probably
milky mink, over the back of the red leather chair. No
one was visible but Wolfe. The fact that she gave Wolfe
a smile and fluttered her long dark lashes at him didn't
mean that she was a snob; I had got mine in the hall.
"I'm not in the habit," she told him, "of going to see
men when they send for me. This is a new experience.
Maybe that's why I came; I like new experiences. Mr.
Goodwin said you wanted to discuss something?"
62 Rex Stout
Wolfe nodded. "I do. Something private and per-
sonal. And since the discussion will be more productive
if it is frank and unreserved, we should be alone. If you
please, Archie? No notes will be needed."
I objected. "Mrs. Sorell might want to ask me—"
"No. Leave us, please."
I went. After shutting the door as I entered the hall,
I turned right, went and opened the door to the front
room, entered, shut that door too, and glanced around.
All was in order. Lament Otis was in the big chair by
a window, the one Ann Paige had left by, and she was on
one side of him and Edey on the other. Jett's chair was
tilted back against the wall to the right. On the couch
facing me was Heydecker, in between Fred Durkin and
Orrie Gather. Saul Panzer stood in the center of the
room. Their faces all came to me and Edey started to
speak.
I cut him off. "If you talk," I said, "you won't hear,
and even if you don't want to hear, others do. You can
talk later. As Mr. Wolfe told you, a speaker behind the
couch is wired to a mike in his office, and he is there
talking with someone. Since you'll recognize her voice I
don't need to name her. Okay, Saul."
Saul, who had moved to the rear of the couch, flipped
the switch and Wolfe's voice sounded.
". . . and she described her problem to Mr. Goodwin
before he came up to me. She said that on Monday
evening of last week she saw a member of the firm in a
booth in a lunchroom in secret conference with you;
that she had concluded that he was betraying the inter-
est of one of the firm's clients to you, the client being
your husband; that for reasons she thought cogent she
would not tell another member or members of the firm;
that she had finally, yesterday afternoon, told the one
she was accusing and asked for an explanation, and got
none; that she refused to name him until she had spoken
with me; and that she had come to engage my services.
Mr. Goodwin has of course reported this to the police."
MRS. SORELL: "She didn't name him?"
WOLFE: "No. As I said, Mrs. Sorell, this discussion
The Homicide Trinity 63
should be frank and unreserved. I am not going to
pretend that you have named him and are committed.
You told Mr. Goodwin on the phone today that you
were with a man in a booth in a lunchroom last Monday
evening, and you said his name is Gregory Jett; but you
could have been merely scattering dust, and at will you
can deny you made the call."
Jett had caused a slight commotion by jerking for-
ward in his tilted chair, but not enough to drown the
voice, and a touch on his arm by me had stopped him.
MRS. SORELL: "What if I don't deny it? What if I repeat
it, it was Gregory Jett?"
WOLFE: "I wouldn't advise you to. If in addition to
scattering dust you were gratifying an animus you'll
have to try again. It wasn't Mr. Jett. It was Mr. Hey-
decker."
Heydecker couldn't have caused any commotion
even if he wanted to, with Fred at one side of him and
Orrie at the other. The only commotion came from
Lamont Otis, who moved and made a choking noise, and
Ann Paige grabbed his hand.
MRS. SORELL: "That's interesting. Mr. Goodwin said I
would find it interesting and I do. So I sat in a booth
with a man and didn't know who he was? Really, Mr.
Wolfe!"
WOLFE: "No, madam. I assure you it won't do. I'll
expound it. I assumed that one of three men—Edey,
Heydecker, or Jett—had killed Bertha Aaron. In view
of what she told Mr. Goodwin it was more than an
assumption, it was a conclusion. But three hours ago I
had to abandon it, when I learned that those three were
in conference together in Mr. Edey's office at 5:45. It
was 5:39 when Mr. Goodwin left Miss Aaron to come up
to me. That they were lying, that they were in a joint
conspiracy, was most unlikely, especially since others
on the premises could probably impeach them. But
though none of them could have killed her, one of them
could have provoked her doom, wittingly or not. Of the
three, only Mr. Heydecker was known to have left
around the same time as Miss Aaron—he had said on a
64 Rex Stout
personal errand, but his movements could not be
checked. My new assumption, not yet a conclusion, was
that he had followed her to this address and seen her
enter my house, had sought a phone and called you to
warn you that your joint intrigue might soon be ex-
Eosed, and then, no doubt in desperation, had scurried
ack to his office, fifteen minutes late at the confer-
ence."
It was Edey's turn to make a commotion and he
obliged. He left his chair, moved to the couch, and stood
staring down at Heydecker. Saul and I were there, but
apparently he had no brilliant idea beyond the stare.
WOLFE: "Now, however, that assumption is a conclu-
sion, and I don't expect to abandon it. Mr. Heydecker
does not believe, and neither do I, that upon receiving
his phone call you came here determined to murder.
Indeed, you couldn't have, since you could have no
expectation of finding her alone. Mr. Heydecker be-
lieves that you merely intended to salvage what you
could—at best to prevent the disclosure, at worst to
leam where you stood. You called this number and she
answered and agreed to admit you and hear you. Mr.
Heydecker believes that when you entered and found
that she was alone and that she had not seen me, it was
o
n sudden impulse that you seized the paperweight and
struck her. He believes that when you saw her sink to
the floor, unconscious, and saw the necktie on this desk,
the impulse carried you on. He believes that you—"
MRS. SORELL: "How do you know what he believes?"
That would have been my cue if I were needed. I had
been instructed to use my judgment. If Heydecker's
reaction made it doubtful I was to get to the office with
a signal before Wolfe had gone too far to hedge. It was
no strain at all on my judgment. Heydecker was
hunched forward, his elbows on his knees and his face
covered by his hands.
WOLFE: "A good question. I am not in his skull. I
should have said, he says he believes. You might have
known, madam, that he couldn't possibly stand the
pressure. Disclosure of his treachery to his firm will
The Homicide Trinity 65
end his professional career, but concealment of guilty
knowledge of a murder might have ended his life. You
might have known—"
MRS. SORELL: "If he says he believes I killed that
woman he's lying. He killed her. He's a rat and a liar. He
phoned me twice yesterday, first to tell me that we had
been seen in the lunchroom, to warn me, and again
about an hour later to say that he had dealt with it, that
our plan was safe. So he had killed her. When Goodwin
told me there had been developments I knew what it
was, I knew he would lose his nerve, I knew he would
lie. He's a rat. That's why I came. I admit I concealed
guilty knowledge of a murder, and I know that was
wrong, but it's not too late. Is it too late?"
WOLFE: "No. A purge can both clean your conscience
and save your skin. What time did he phone you the
second time?"
MRS. SORELL: "I don't know exactly. It was between
five and six. Around half past five."
WOLFE: "What was the plan he had made safe?"
MRS. SORELL: "Of course he has lied about that too. It
was his plan. He came to me about a month ago and said
he could give me information about my husband that I
could use to make—that I could use to get my rights.
He wanted—"
Heydecker jerked his head up and yapped, "That's a
lie! I didn't go to her, she came to me!" That added to my
knowledge of human nature. He hadn't uttered a peep
when she accused him of murder. Edey, who was still
there staring down at him, said something I didn't catch.
Mrs. Sorell was going on: "He wanted me to agree to
pay him a million dollars for it, but I couldn't because I
didn't know how much I would get, and I finally said I
would pay him one-tenth of what I got. That was that
evening at the lunchroom."
WOLFE: "Has he given you the information?"
MRS. SORELL: "No. He wanted too much in advance. Of
course that was the difficulty. We couldn't put it in
writing and sign it."
WOLFE: "No indeed. A signed document is of little
66 Rex Stout
value when neither party would dare to produce it. I
presume you realize, Mrs. Sorell, that your purge will
have to include your appearance on the stand at a
murder trial. Are you prepared to testify under oath?"
MRS. SORELL: "I suppose I'll have to. I knew I would
have to when I decided to come to see you."
Wolfe (in a new tone, the snap of a whip): "Then
you're a dunce, madam."
Again that would have been my cue if I were needed.
The whole point of the set-up, having the four members
of the firm in the front room listening in, was to get
Heydecker committed before witnesses. If his nerve
had held it would have been risky for Wolfe to crack the
whip. But he was done for. He hadn't written out a
confession and signed it, but he might as well have.
MRS. SORELL: "Oh, no, Mr. Wolfe. I'm not a dunce."
WOLFE: "But you are. One detail alone would sink you.
After you rang this number yesterday afternoon, and
Miss Aaron answered, and you spoke with her, you got
here as quickly as possible. Since you were not then
contemplating murder, there was no reason for you to
use caution. I don't know if you have a car and chauf-
feur, but even if you have, to send for it would have
meant delay, and minutes were precious. There is no
crosstown subway. Buses, one downtown and one
crosstown, would have been far too slow. Unquestion-
ably you took a cab. In spite of the traffic that would
have been much faster than walking. The doorman at
the Churchill probably summoned one for you, but even
if he didn't, it will be a simple matter to find it. I need
only telephone Mr. Cramer, the police inspector who
was here this afternoon, and suggest that he locate the
cab driver who picked you up at or near the Churchill
yesterday afternoon and drove you to this address. In
fact, that is what I intend to do, and that will be enough."
Ann Paige stood up. She was in a fix. She wanted to
go to Gregory Jett, where her eyes already were, but
she didn't want to leave Lamont Otis, who was slumped
in his chair, his head sagging and his eyes shut. Luckily
Jett saw her difficulty and went to her and put an arm
The Homicide Trinity 67
around her. It scored a point for romance that he could
have a thought for personal matters at the very mo-
ment his firm was getting a clout on the jaw.
WOLFE: "I shall also suggest that he send a man here
to take you in hand until the cab driver is found. If you
ask why I don't proceed to do this, why I first announce
it to you, I confess a weakness. I am savoring a satis-
faction. I am getting even with you. Twenty-five hours
ago, in this room, you subjected me to the severest
humiliation I have suffered for many years. I will not
say it gives me pleasure, but I confess it—"
There was a combination of sounds from the speaker:
a kind of cry or squeal, presumably from Mrs. Sorell, a
sort of scrape or flutter, and what might have been a
grunt from Wolfe. I dived for the connecting door and
went with it as I swung it open, and kept going, but two
paces short ofWolfe's desk I halted to take in a sight I
had never seen before and never expect to see again:
Nero Wolfe with his arms tight around a beautiful
young woman in his lap, pinning her arms, hugging her
close to him. I stood paralyzed.
"Archie!" he roared. "Confound it, get her!"
I obeyed.
Chapter 9
I would like to be able to report that Wolfe got
somewhere with his effort to minimize the damage
to the firm, but I have to be candid and accurate.
He tried but there wasn't much he could do, since
Heydecker was the chief witness for the prosecution at
the trial and was cross-examined for six hours. Of
course that finished him professionally. Wolfe had bet-
ter luck with another effort; the DA finally conceded
that I w
as competent to identify Exhibit C, a brown silk
necktie with little yellow curlicues, and Wolfe wasn't
68 Rex Stout
called. Evidently the jury agreed with him, since it only
took them five hours to bring in a verdict of guilty.
At that, the firm is still doing business at the old
stand, and Lament Otis still comes to the office five
days a week, and I hear that since Gregory Jett's mar-
riage to Ann Paige he has quit being careless about the
balance between income and outgo. I don't know if his
eleven-percent cut has been boosted. That's a confiden-
tial matter.
DEATH OF A
DEMON
Chapter 1
The red leather chair was four feet away from the
end of Nero Wolfe's desk, so when she got the
gun from her handbag she had to get up and
take a step to put it on the desk. Then she returned to
the chair, closed the bag, and told Wolfe, "That's the
gun I'm not going to shoot my husband with."
Sitting facing her with my back to my desk, which
was at right angles to Wolfe's, I raised my brows. I
hadn't expected her to put on an act. When she had
phoned the previous afternoon to ask for an appoint-
ment she had of course sounded a little jumpy, as most
people do when they call the office of a private detec-
tive, but she had been quite matter-of-fact in giving the
details. Her name was Lucy Hazen, Mrs. Barry Hazen.
She gave her address, on East 37th Street between
Park and Lexington. All she wanted was thirty minutes
with Nero Wolfe, to tell him something confidential.
Homicide Trinity Page 9
