Igoe's strong baritone. "You would drag her in!"
"You're damn right I would. He would drag her in, he always did, you know that, you ought to. Or he would drag her out."
Back to Wolfe. "That slip of paper. If one of us handed him a slip of paper, it wouldn't have been about Nixon and tapes. That was what we were talking about, Nixon and tapes, why hand him a slip of paper, why not just say it? Evidently you think that slip of paper had something to do with his being murdered. If it did, it wasn't about tapes. I know nothing about it, I never heard of it until Ben Igoe told me what Goodwin told him, but when he did I- What did I say, Ben?"
"You said it was probably about Dora. Huh. You would."
"I think," Roman Vilar said, "that we should stick to what brought us here. That list of questions, Mr. Wolfe. You say they'll be asked either by you or by the police. Asked by you now? Here and now?"
"No," Wolfe said. "It would take a night and a day. I didn't invite you to come in a body; you invited yourselves. I intended to see you, but singly, after getting reports from the men I sent to make inquiries. I suggest that-" "You won't see me singly."
Ackerman, the Washington lawyer. He sounded like John Mitchell, too-at [87] least the way Mitchell sounded on television. "You won't see me at all. I'm surprised that you don't seem to realize what you're trying to do. You're trying to get us to go along with you on a cover-up, and not a cover-up of a break-in to look at some papers, a cover-up of a murder. You say two murders. Of course I don't want to be involved in a murder investigation, nobody does, but at least I'm not guilty. But the way you're playing it, if I go along with you, I would be guilty. A cover-up of a murder. Obstruction of justice. Urquhart asked you if this is being recorded. I hope it is. When I talk to the District Attorney I would enjoy being able to tell him that this is on tape and he can-" "No," Hahn, the banker, said. You wouldn't think such a low, soft voice could cut in, but it did. "You're not going to talk to the District Attorney or anyone else. I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think we'll be charged with obstruction of justice merely because a private detective told us that a man said something about a slip of paper, and I do not want to be involved in a murder investigation. I don't think any of us -" Two or three voices, not soft and low, stopped him. I could try to sort it out and report it, but I won't because it wouldn't decide anything. Wolfe just sat and took it in. I got his eye and asked a question by pointing to my notebook and then the typewriter, but he shook his head.
But it did decide something. When it became obvious that they were all stringing along with Hahn, and Ackerman was a minority of one, Wolfe stopped the yapping by raising his voice.
"Please! Perhaps I can help. Mr. Ackerman is a member of the bar, and I am not, but his position is not tenable. Probably Watergate has made him excessively sensitive about cover-ups. Four lawyers have been disbarred, and more will be. But you can't be [88] charged with obstruction of justice when all you have is hearsay. Perhaps I can be charged, but my taking that risk is of no concern to you. If Mr. Ackerman talks to the District Attorney, I'll be in a pickle, but he'll probably regret it, guilty or not."
He looked at the wall clock. "It's past ten o'clock. As I said, I must see each of you singly. Mr. Ackerman, you may want to get back to Washington. Why not stay now and let the others go?"
"No," Hahn said. "I repeat my offer. One hundred thousand dollars."
That started them off again, all of them but Ackerman and Vilar, and again I won't try to sort it out. But three of them got to their feet, and soon Urquhart left the red leather chair and made it four, and I got up and crossed to the door to the hall. Again there was a clear majority, and when Vilar and Igoe joined me at the door Wolfe spoke up.
"You will hear from me. All of you. From Mr. Good-win. He will telephone and make appointments to suit your convenience-and mine. The best hours for me are eleven in the morning, six in the afternoon, and nine in the evening, but for this I would trim. I don't want to protract it, and neither do you. There will -" I missed the rest because Igoe had headed for the front and I went to help with his coat and hat.
When all five of them were out and the door shut, and I returned to the office, Ackerman was in the red leather chair, leaning back with his legs crossed. He was big and broad, and the yellow chairs were much smaller. As I crossed to my desk he was saying, ". . . but you don't know anything about me except that I look like John N. Mitchell."
He not only admitted it, he even put the N in. I liked that.
"I have been told," Wolfe said, "that you are a reputable and respected member of the bar."
[89] "Certainly. I haven't been indicted or disbarred. I have had an office in Washington for twenty-four years. I'm not a criminal lawyer, so I haven't been invited to act for Dean or Haldeman or Ehrlichman or Colson or Magruder or Hunt or Segretti. Or even Nixon. Do you actually expect to put me through that catechism you dictated?"
"Probably not. Why were you included in that gathering?"
"It's complicated. Albert Judd was and is chief counsel for NATELEC. Five years ago he was acting on a tax matter for them and needed a Washington man and got me. That's how I met Harvey Bassett. Bassett thought he needed a good lobbyist, and I got Ernest Urquhart, one of the best. I have known him for years. He disappointed me here tonight. He is usually a wonderful talker, I know that, but I guess this wasn't his pitch. I had never met the other three -Hahn, the banker, or Vilar, the security man, or Igoe. I knew Igoe is a vice-president of the corporation."
"Then you know nothing about Hahn's comment about Mrs. Bassett. And Igoe."
I raised a brow. What did that have to do with Watergate and tapes? "No. Yes, nothing. I -" He flipped a hand. "Except hearsay."
"Whom did you hear say what?"
I have tried to talk him out of that "whom."
Only highbrows and grandstanders and schoolteachers say "whom," and he knows it. It's the mule in him.
Ackerman's chin was up. "I'm submitting to this, Wolfe, only because of them. Especially Urquhart and Judd. Judd called me last night-Igoe had talked to him-and I took a plane to New York this mom-ing and we had lunch. He told me things about Basset that I hadn't known, and one of them was his- he didn't say 'obsession,' he said 'fix' about his wife.
[90] I don't peddle hearsay; you can ask Judd."
"I shall. Did you know how Bassett felt about Nixon and tapes?"
"Yes. A few months ago he and Judd were in Washington about some patents-1 know something about patents-and we spent a whole evening on Nixon and tapes. Bassett had the wild idea that Nixon could be sued for damages-ten million dollars-for slandering and defaming manufacturers of electronic recorders by using them for criminal and corrupt purposes. We couldn't talk him out of it. He was a nut. I don't know if he was balmy about his wife, but he was about that. Of course that was a part of how he made it big in business-his drive. He had that.
"What was said-decided-about it at that meeting?"
"Nothing was decided. Bassett wanted Vilar to say that it was difficult to persuade corporation executives to contract for security appliances and personnel because they thought Nixon had given electronic equipment a bad name. He wanted Urquhart to say that if you tried to lobby for anybody connected in any way with electronics, no one on the Hill would listen to you. He wanted Igoe to say that men working in electronics-all levels, top to bottom-were quitting and you couldn't get replacements. He wanted Judd and me to say that all of that was actionable and we would act. God only knows what he wanted Hahn to do-maybe lend him a couple of million without interest to back the crusade."
Wolfe was eying him. "And you grown men, presumably sentient, soberly discussed that drivel? Or were you tipsy?"
"No. Judd and I hadn't even had martinis, because we knew Bassett would buy Montrachet and Chateau Latour. He always did. But you didn't know [91] Harvey Bassett. He could sell ice cubes to an Eskimo. Also, of course, he was a source of our income - for at least two of them a major source-and you don't spit in the ey
e of the source of your income. You take a bite of roast pheasant and a sip of La-tour and pretend to listen hard. Most men do. I do. From what I've heard of you, maybe you don't."
"It's a matter of style. I have mine. I have due regard for my sources of income. Is one-" "Like me, you have different clients for different cases. Who's your client in this one?"
"I am. Myself. I have had my nose pulled. Spat upon. Pierre Ducos was murdered in a bedroom of my house. The man who did it will pay. Is one-" "Then why are you withholding evidence from the police?"
"Because it's my job. And it may not be evidence; I'm finding out I start a question the third time: Is one of your clients connected in any way with Water-gate?"
"Everyone in Washington is connected in some way with Watergate. That's stretching it, but not much. The members of all those juries have thousands of relatives and friends. No present or former client of mine is or has been actually involved in Watergate. You're supposed to be asking the questions, but 111 ask another one. Do you really believe one of us six men killed Harvey Bassett? Or was implicated in his murder or the other one?"
"Of course I do. I'm paying three men forty dollars an hour to inquire about you. To your knowledge, have any of them been connected in any way with Watergate?"
"To my knowledge, no. If I were Haldeman, I would say not to my recollection, but I'm not Haldeman."
[92] "Where were you and what were you doing last Friday night, October twenty-fifth, from six P.M. to two A.M.?"
"By god, you ask it. I remember because that was the night Bassett died. I was at home in Washington. From nine P.M. on I was playing bridge with my wife and two friends until after midnight. I sleep late most Saturdays. At nine o'clock my wife woke me to tell me that Bassett had been murdered. What was the other one? Monday? I was at my office. In Washington. Next question."
Wolfe likes to say that no alibi is impregnable, but I hoped he wouldn't send me to crack that one. Wives and bridge-playing friends can lie, but there was Monday too, and for us that was the one we really wanted.
He looked at the wall clock. Eight minutes past eleven. "I'm short on sleep," he said. "Are you going to see the District Attorney?"
Ackerman shook his head. "You heard what they said, especially Judd. He agrees with you; all we have is hearsay-from you. I'll be short on sleep too. I'd like to make the midnight to Washington."
"Then you'll excuse me."
Wolfe pushed his chair back and rose. "I'm going to bed."
He headed for the door. Ackerman got up, told me, "He's a goddam freak," and walked out.
[93] 10 When Wolfe came down to the office at eleven o'clock Friday morning, Roman Vilar was sitting in the red leather chair. It had been a busy morning-for me-starting with the routine phone calls from the hired hands. I told them about the party we had had-that nothing had been learned to change the program, they were to carry on, Saul on Judd and Fred on Vilar. Orrie's day at Rusterman's had been a blank; no one had seen a stranger in the dump room Monday, day or night. Having been instructed by Wolfe-summoned on the house phone when I went to the kitchen for breakfast-I sicked Orrie on Benjamin Igoe.
There had been three phone calls. From Lon Cohen to say that they had been sorry not to get my usual contribution at the poker game-which was libel, since I win as often as he does and nearly as often as Saul Panzer-and to ask when I would spill a bean. From Bill Wengert of the Times to insinuate that he might let me have a short paragraph on page 84 if I would bring it gift-packaged, addressed to him personally. From Francis Ackerman in his Washington office to say that if Wolfe wanted to see him again, tell him a day in advance, and to warn us that our phone might be tapped or our office bugged. Watergate had certainly got on lawyers' nerves.
Not a peep from Cramer or the DA's office. I had [94] got Roman Vilar the third try, a little before ten, and he said he would have to cancel two appointments to come at eleven, and he would.
I had also done the chores, including drawing a check for three grand for Wolfe to sign because the fifteen hundred had about cleaned out the reserve cash box, and clipping November 1 coupons from some municipal bonds-in the tidy pile in the upper compartment of the safe with its own lock. I made a face as I clipped, because the rate on those bonds was 5.2 per cent, and high-grade tax-exempt municipals then being issued returned close to 8 per cent. Life is no joke if you're in or above the 50-percent bracket, as Wolfe was. Equal to 15 per cent on your money, and you only have to clip coupons-or have Archie Goodwin do it if you're busy nursing orchids.
Roman Vilar was not Just a security errand boy. Fred had told me that Vilar Associates was maybe the biggest and best-known outfit in industrial security, and on the phone I had to go through two secretaries to get him. And he didn't start the conversation by inviting questions, far from it. He offered Wolfe a job, and me too.
"Before we get onto Harvey Bassett and your problem," he said, "I'd like to make a suggestion. One of my associates suggested it when I told him I was coming here, and three of us discussed it. We have some good investigators on our staff-two of them are absolutely top drawer-but as my associate said, think what it would mean if we were going after a contract with a big corporation, if we could say that if a really tough situation turned up we would put our best man on it, Nero Wolfe. Think what just the name would do. Of course there would be a certain amount of work for you, not too much, we know how you feel about work, but the main thing will be the name. I don't have to tell you how famous [95] you are, you know that, and that's not all. There is also Archie Goodwin. We want him too, and the starting figure will be a hundred and twenty thousand for you, ten thousand a month, and thirty-six thousand for Goodwin, three thousand a month. We would prefer a five-year contract, but it could be three years if you prefer that, or even an option to terminate it at the end of a year if you would rather have it that way. Starting the first of the year, two months from now, but of course we could announce it immediately. I can see it, nothing loud or flashy, just a simple one-sentence announcement: 'If a major problem arises, our Nero Wolfe will be available.'
" He was leaning forward in the chair, all his points pointing-chin, nose, ears. "Of course," he said, "I don't expect an immediate answer. You'll want to consider it. You'll want to find out about us. But it's a firm offer. I would sign a contract here and now."
"Yes," Wolfe said, I'll want to find out about you. Where were you and what were you doing last Friday night, October twenty-fifth, from six P.M. to two A.M.?"
Vilar slid back in the chair. He grinned. 1 didn't expect that" Wolfe nodded. "A fair exchange. Near the end of my talk with Mr. Ackerman last evening he asked if I really believe one of you six men killed Harvey Bassett, and I said of course, I am paying three men forty dollars an hour to inquire about you. That isn't ten thousand dollars a month, but it's a thick slice. It shouldn't take a month. You're in the security business. Richard Nixon's main buoy, in his frantic effort to keep himself afloat, was his plea of national security. Have you been involved in any way with any of the phenomena included in the term "Water-gate'?"
"No."
[96] "Have you had any connection with anyone who has been involved?"
"One of the technicians who examined that tape with an eighteen-and-a-half-minute gap has done some work for me. Look, Wolfe. In my business I don't answer questions, I ask them. Forget it. Where I was last Friday night, for instance. Go fly a kite. We should have gone along with Ackerman. I may go to the DA myself. Why don't you? Why did you turn Hahn down? What are you trying to sell?"
Wolfe wiggled a finger. Regression again. Water-gate had really loosened his hinges. "I'm not selling anything, Mr. Vilar."
Vi-lar. "I'm buying satisfaction. Harvey Bassett wanted you to say that Richard Nixon had made it harder for you to sell your services. Had he in fact made it easier?"
"Well."
Vilar stood up, no rush, taking his time. He looked down at Wolfe. It gives you an edge to look down at a man. "Well," he said, "111 go to th
e DA myself."
"I doubt it," Wolfe said. He turned to me. "What odds, Archie?"
I pursed my lips. "Four to one."
Back to Vilar. "I'll make it five to one. A hundred dollars to twenty that you won't."
Vilar turned and marched out. "Marched" is wrong. Marching takes good full steps, and his legs weren't long enough. I followed him out and to the front with the idea of asking for a raise, four grand a month instead of three, but decided it wasn't the right moment. Back in the office I told Wolfe, "Actually it's ten to one. He's the kind that lets out all his sail and then puffs to make his own wind."
His eyes narrowed at me. "Who wrote that? Or said it?"
"I did. I've been looking through that book you just bought. The Southern Voyages, by that admiral, and I feel nautical. Is Vilar a murderer?"
[97] "No. Possibly Bassett, but not Pierre. He wouldn't risk getting that bomb. Security. Confound it, I doubt if any of them would; they have all submitted to the constraint of prudence. Do you agree?"
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