“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
