by Rex Stout
“No.”
“Goodwin?”
“No.”
“Then what was it?”
Wolfe shook his head. “You have a right to expect answers only to questions that are relevant to a crime. What crime are you investigating?”
“That’s typical. That’s you. I’m investigating the possibility that Jimmy Vail didn’t die by accident.”
“Then you aren’t satisfied that he did.”
“Satisfied, no. The District Attorney may be, I don’t know, you can ask him. I say I have a right to expect Goodwin to answer that question. Or you.”
Wolfe tilted his chair back, then his head, pursed his lips, and examined the ceiling. Cramer took a cigar from a pocket, rolled it between his palms, which was silly with a cigar that wasn’t going to be lit, held it at an angle with his thumb and forefinger, frowning at it, and returned it to his pocket. Evidently he had asked it an impertinent question and it had refused to answer. Wolfe let his chair come forward and said, “The paper, Archie.” I went to the safe and got it from the shelf and took it to him. He put it on his desk pad and turned to Cramer.
“I think you have the notion that I have withheld information from you on various occasions just to be contrary. I haven’t. I have reserved details only when I wanted them, at least temporarily, for my exclusive use, or when you have been excessively offensive. Today you have been reasonably civil, though of course not affable; imparting it will not make it less useful to me; and if it furthers your investigation, though I confess I don’t see how it can, it will serve a double purpose.” He picked up the paper. “I’ll read it. I won’t hand it to you because you would probably say it may be needed as evidence, which would be absurd, and pocket it.”
He read it, ending, “Signed by Noel Tedder. It isn’t holograph; Mr Goodwin wrote it. I answered that question by Mr Draper ambiguously because if I had told him of my arrangement with Mr Tedder he would have kept me up all night, thinking that I had some knowledge, at least an inkling, of where the money might be found. I have no commitment to Mrs Vail, but I do have a client: Noel Tedder.”
“Yeah.” It came out hoarse, and Cramer cleared his throat. He always gets a little hoarse when he talks with Wolfe, probably a certain word or words sticking in his throat. “And either you have some idea where the money is or this is a cover for something else. Does Mrs Vail know about that agreement?”
“Yes.”
“And that’s what Goodwin and Tedder were discussing last night?”
“Yes.”
“What else were they discussing?”
Wolfe turned. “Archie?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. We touched on mothers some, his and mine, but that was in connection with the agreement.”
“So your question is answered,” Wolfe told him. “I’m aware that you’ll pass it on to Mr Draper, but he isn’t here, and if he comes he won’t get in. We have given him all the information we possess about the kidnaping, with no reservations. I do have an idea where the money is, but it is based-”
“By God, you admit it.”
“I state it. It’s based on deductions and assumptions I have made, not on any evidence I’m withholding. That applies not only to the kidnaping and the whereabouts of the money, but also to the death of Mr Vail. What would you say if I told you that I’m convinced that he was murdered, with premeditation, and that I think I know, I’m all but certain that I know, who killed him and why?”
“I’d say you were grandstanding. It wouldn’t be the first time. I know you. God, do I know you! When you’ve really got something you don’t say you’re convinced and you’re all but certain. You say you know. If you’ve got any evidence that he was murdered and that points to the murderer, I want it, and I want it now. Have you got any?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll leave you to your deductions and assumptions.” He picked up his hat. “You’re damn right I’ll tell Draper.” He rose. “But if he knew you as well as I do- Oh, nuts.” He turned and marched out.
I stepped to the hall and saw him close the front door behind him, stepped back in, and asked Wolfe, “So you’re all but certain? Do you know what ‘grandstanding’ means? Where did you get the idea-”
“Get Saul.”
He snapped it. I went and opened the door to the front room and told Saul to come. As he entered, Wolfe spoke. “Mr Frost has gone?”
Saul nodded. “He bent his ear for five minutes trying to hear you, found that he couldn’t on account of the sound-proofing, and left.”
“I want Fred. If Mr Purcell is at home, he will of course be nearby. Bring him as soon as possible.” His eyes came to me. “Archie, I want Mr Tedder, and Orrie with him. Also as soon as possible. Don’t stop to tell Fritz about the door. I’ll see that it’s bolted.”
“You want me back,” Saul said.
“Yes. Go.”
We went.
Chapter 12
It wouldn’t do, of course, for me to ring the Vail house and get Noel and tell him Wolfe wanted to see him. One, he might not come without some fancy persuading. Two, Wolfe wanted Orrie too, and Orrie, tailing him, might possibly lose him on the way downtown. Three, Saul had to go there to get Fred, and the taxi fare is the same for two as for one. So we walked to Tenth Avenue and flagged a cab.
It was 11:23 of a sunny Sunday morning, nice and warm for the last of April, when we stopped at the kerb in front of 994 Fifth Avenue, paid the hackie, and got out. When we’re going on with the program, the method of getting in touch with a tail, understood by all of us, is a little complicated, but in that case it was simple. We merely raised an arm to wave at a squirrel in a tree in the park and started to stroll downtown. Before we had taken twenty steps Fred appeared from behind a parked car across the street and came over to us and said if we had come an hour sooner he could have gone to church.
“It would take more than church to square you,” I told him. “Purcell hasn’t shown?”
“No.”
“What about Orrie?”
“His subject showed at ten fifty-one and led him away.” Fred looked at Saul. “And yours came at eleven-fifteen in a cab and went in. So you got shook for once?”
“No,” I said, “he got called off. Did Tedder ride or walk?”
“Walked. Turned east at Seventy-eighth Street. Orrie was keeping distance. Something happened? What’s up?”
“God doesn’t know, but Mr Wolfe does. Everybody in for a conference.” I turned to Saul. “If you and Fred go on down, you can read the Bible until I bring Tedder and Orrie. There are five versions in four different languages on the second shelf from the top near the left end. I’m thinking where to start looking for him. I think better when I talk.”
“We can’t help you think,” Saul said, “because you know him and we don’t, but we can help you look. Of course, if he wanted a taxi, it’s Sunday and he could have got one here on Fifth, or if he thought he’d get one quicker on Madison he wouldn’t have gone to Seventy-eighth to turn east. But if he has a car and it’s garaged on Seventy-eighth, he-”
“No,” Fred said. “Four cars garaged on Eighty-second Street. I’ve seen three of them.” As I said, Fred was a little too solid for quick reactions, but give him time and he would collect a lot of miscellaneous information that might be useful.
“Okay,” I said, “thanks a lot for doing my thinking. Now I know where he is, maybe. If you’ve thought wrong and he’s not there, we might as well go back to Thirty-fifth Street and sing hymns until Orrie phones. Come along.”
It was one chance in a thousand, but it was the only chance there was. I led them south to Seventy-eighth Street and east to Madison Avenue, halted in front of Barney’s, and told them, “We might as well give Orrie the high sign first and have him join us. Then when I bring-”
“There he is,” Saul said.
I turned. Orrie had emerged from a doorway across the street and was crossing the sidewalk. “All I need,” I said, “is someone to do
my thinking,” and stepped to Barney’s door and entered.
There was no one at the bar, since it was Sunday morning, and there weren’t many at the tables or in the booths, but the top of a head was showing in the booth at the far end and I went to it. It was Noel, with a plate of roast turkey and trimmings in front of him, untouched, and a nearly empty glass in his hand. He looked up at me, blinked, and squeaked, “Well, for God’s sake!”
I gave him a friendly grin, hero to hero. “This isn’t luck,” I said, “it’s fate. When I learned you had gone out, it wasn’t that I had a hunch, I just started to walk, and there I was in front of Barney’s, and I came in, and here you are. Have you-uh-spoken to your mother?”
“No.” He emptied the glass and put it down. “I was going to go up to her room right after breakfast, but then I thought I’d better wait. I thought I’d better kind of work up to it. I wanted to go over everything you said. So I came here to this booth where you said it. Sit down and oil your throat.”
“Thanks, but I’m on an errand. You won’t have to tell your mother you’re big enough to shave; she knows it. Andrew Frost came to see Mr Wolfe this morning, and Mr Wolfe showed him the paper you signed, and Frost went to see your mother. He’s there now.”
“The hell he is. Holy Christ.”
“And Mr Wolfe sent me to bring you. I think he has an idea where the money is, but if so he didn’t tell me; he wants to tell you. He said as soon as possible, which means now. You haven’t touched your turkey.”
“To hell with the turkey. Frost is with my mother?”
“Right.”
“And Wolfe wants to see me?”
“Right.”
He slid out of the booth and got erect. “Look. You see me?”
“I do.”
“Am I standing on my own two feet?”
“You are.”
“Check. Let’s go.”
The waiter was approaching, and as Noel didn’t seem to see him, I asked him how much. He said four-twenty, and I gave him a finiff and followed Noel to the door.
Outside, Saul had performed as usual. There were two taxis at the kerb. The one in front was empty, and the trio were in the one in the rear. He had even arranged for a signal so the hackie wouldn’t take the wrong passengers; as Noel and I crossed the sidewalk the horn of the cab in the rear let out a grunt.
When we stopped in front of the old brownstone at ten minutes past noon, and I paid the hackie and climbed out after Noel, the other taxi wasn’t in sight. Saul again. He didn’t know whether Wolfe wanted Noel to know that the whole army was mobilized, so he was hanging back to give us time to get inside. I had to ring, since the bolt was on. Fritz let us in, and I took Noel to the office. It had been just sixty-five minutes since Wolfe had told Saul and me to fetch. If I may say so, I would call that as soon as possible.
Wolfe did something remarkable: he left his chair and took two steps to offer Noel a hand. Either he was telling me that Noel was not a murderer, or he was telling Noel that he was with friends and since he could count on us we would expect to count on him. Of course Noel didn’t appreciate it; a man who will some day be in the top bracket without trying has plenty of hands offered to him. He took the red leather chair and said, “Goodwin says you know where the money is.”
“Correction,” I objected. “I said I think he has an idea where it is.”
Wolfe grunted. He eyed Noel. “The truth is somewhere between. I’m fairly certain. Call it a presumption. To test it we need your cooperation, your active assistance. Even with it, it may be difficult-”
The doorbell rang. I told Wolfe, “Three of my friends,” and stood. “I’ll put them in the front room.”
“No,” he said, “bring them.”
So it was to be a family party. I went and let them in, told them they could come and sit with the quality if they would behave themselves, and followed them to the office. Wolfe greeted them and turned to the client. “Mr Tedder, shake hands with Mr Panzer. Mr Durkin. Mr Cather.”
The very best corn. I had seldom seen him sink so low. I moved chairs up, and they sat. Wolfe’s eyes took them in, left to right, then back to focus on Noel. “Time may be of vital importance, so I won’t waste it. The money, all of it, half a million dollars in cash, is at your house in the country. If not in the house, it’s on the premises.”
“Jesus,” Noel said.
“It would take all afternoon to explain fully all the circumstances that have led me to that conclusion, and I don’t want to take even half an hour. You think I have sagacity, or you wouldn’t have come to me with your problem. You’ll accept that-”
“Wait a minute. How did the money get there?”
“Mr Vail took it there. He took the suitcase from your mother at Iron Mine Road. You’ll accept that-”
“But my God, why did he-”
“Mr Tedder. You could ask a thousand questions; I said it would take all afternoon. Do you want that money?”
“You’re damn right I want it.”
“Then take my conclusion on my word, tentatively at least. I say the money is there. Who is at that house now?”
“No one. Only the caretaker.”
“No other servants?”
“No. We don’t use it before the middle of May. Usually later.”
“This is Sunday. Not on weekends?”
“We did when my father was alive, but not now. My mother says it’s too cold until June.”
“Mr Vail went there last weekend. Saturday morning. What for?”
“To see about the roof and some other things. The caretaker said the roof was leaking.”
“What’s the caretaker’s name?”
“Waller. Jake Waller.”
“Are you on amicable terms with him?”
“Why, I guess so. Sure.”
“A leaky roof should be attended to. How likely is it that your mother or sister or uncle will go there today to see to it?”
“My mother certainly won’t. It’s possible that my sister or my uncle will, but they haven’t said anything about it so far as I know.”
“Is the house locked up?”
“I suppose the doors are locked, yes.”
“Have you a key?”
“Not now I haven’t. I have one in the summer.”
“Would the caretaker let you in?”
“Certainly he would. Why wouldn’t he?”
Wolfe turned. “Archie. Will anyone be guarding that place? County or state or federal?”
I shook my head. “What for? Not unless someone has got to the same conclusion as you, which I doubt.”
Back to Noel. “Mr Tedder. I suggest that if you want that money you go there and get it. Now. Mr Goodwin will drive my car. Mr Panzer, Mr Durkin, and Mr Cather will go with you. They are competent, reliable, and experienced. My chef has prepared a hamper of food which you can eat on the way; it will be acceptable to your palate and your stomach. I have no suggestions as to your procedure when you get there; I didn’t know Mr Vail; you did. He returned to that house Wednesday morning with the suitcase in his car, and his time was rather limited. He wanted to act naturally, and naturally he would want to come to New York, where his wife was, without undue delay. According to the caretaker, in the published reports, he arrived about half past seven, and he left for New York around nine o’clock. Meanwhile he had bathed, shaved, changed his clothes, and eaten, so he hadn’t spent much time on disposal of the suitcase; but it is highly likely that he had known on Saturday that he would bring it there for concealment and he had probably made preparations. You knew him and you must have some notion of how his mind worked, so ask yourself: where on those premises would he hide the suitcase? He anticipated no intensive search for it, since he thought it would never be suspected that he had got it and brought it there; what he had to make sure of was that it would not be accidentally discovered by a member of the family or a servant. I presume you know what the suitcase looked like?”
“Sure. Who doesn’t?”<
br />
Wolfe nodded. “From the published descriptions. I think you may safely expect to find that suitcase. There was no reason for him to transfer the money to another container, and there was good reason not to; he would have had the added problem of disposing of the suitcase.” Wolfe’s head turned to take us in. “There it is, gentlemen, unless you have questions. If you have, let them be to the point. I wish you luck.”
Noel squeaked, “I hope to God…” He let it hang.
“Yes, Mr Tedder?”
“Nothing.” Noel stood up. “Hell, what can I lose that I’ve got? Let’s go.”
I went to the kitchen to get the hamper.
Chapter 13
About two miles northeast of Katonah you turn off the highway, right, pass between two stone pillars, proceed up the graveled drive, an easy slope, winding, about four hundred yards, and there is the house, old gray stone with high, steep roofs. At a guess, not as many rooms as Frost’s on Long Island-say twenty-five, maybe less. Trees and other things with leaves, big and little, were all around, and a lot of lawn, but although I can’t qualify as an expert I had the impression that they weren’t getting quite enough attention. Saul eased the Heron to a stop a foot short of the bushes that bordered a surfaced rectangle at the side of the house, and we climbed out. He was at the wheel because at Hawthorne Circle I had decided that I could use some of the contents of the hamper, which they had all been working on, and I don’t like one-handed driving.
Noel, in between bites of sturgeon or cheese or rhubarb tart, or swallows of wine, had briefed us on the prospect and answered questions. The house itself looked like the best bet. Not only was there no likely spot in the stable, which no longer held horses, or the kennels, which no longer held dogs, but also Jimmy would have risked being seen by the caretaker if he had lugged a suitcase to one of them in the open. Nor was there any likely spot in the garage, which was connected with the house. The only other outbuilding was a six-room stone structure in the rear, living quarters for servants, occupied now only by the caretaker. Something really fancy, like wrapping the suitcase in plastic and burying it somewhere on the grounds, was of course out, with the caretaker around. The house was the best bet, and not the cellar, since there was no part of it that the caretaker might not poke around in, or, later, if the suitcase was to stay put for a while, a servant or even a member of the family.
