suspicion, of a certain-uh-episode in which I had been involved. An episode of which Mr. Otis would have violently disapproved. You said my explanation must account both for my concern and for Miss Paige's leav- ing through a window. It does.'
'What was the episode?'
Jett shook his head. 'I wouldn't tell you that even in confidence.'
'What was its nature?'
'It was a personal matter.'
'Did it bear on the interests of your firm or your partners?'
'No. It was strictly personal.'
'Did it touch your professional reputation or integ- rity?'
'It did not.'
'Was a woman involved?'
'Yes.'
'Her name?'
Jett shook his head. 'I'm not a cad, Mr. Wolfe.'
'Was it Mrs. Morton Sorell?'
Jett's mouth opened, and for three breaths his jaw muscles weren't functioning. Then he spoke. 'So that was it. Miss Paige was right. I want-I demand to see that statement.'
'Not yet, sir. Later, perhaps-or not. Do you main- tain that the episode involving Mrs. Sorell had no rela- tion to your firm's interests or your professional integrity?'
'I do. It was purely personal, and it was brief.'
'When did it occur?'
'About a year ago.'
'When did you last see her?' 'About a month ago, at a party. I didn't speak with her.'
'When were you last with her tete-a-tete?'
'I haven't been since-not for nearly a year.'
'But you are still seriously perturbed at the chance that Mr. Otis has learned of the episode?'
'Certainly. Mr. Sorell is our client, and his wife is our opponent in a very important matter. Mr. Otis might suspect that the episode is-was not merely an episode. He has not told me of the statement you showed him, and I can't approach him about it because he has or- dered Miss Paige not to mention it to anyone, and she didn't tell him she had already told me. I want to see it. I have a right to see it!'
'Don't start barking again.' Wolfe rested his elbows on the chair arms and put his fingers together. 'I'll tell you this: there is nothing in the statement, either ex- plicit or allusive, about the episode you have described. That should relieve your mind. Beyond that-'
The doorbell rang.
Chapter 5
I was wrong about them. As soon as I got a look at them through the one-way panel I guessed who they were, but I had the labels mixed. My guess was that the big broad-shouldered one in a dark blue chesterfield tailored to give him a waist, and a homburg to match, was Edey, fifty-five, and the compact little guy in a brown ulster with a belt was Heydecker, forty-seven, but when I opened the door and the ches- terfield said they wanted to see Nero Wolfe, and I asked for names, he said, 'This gentleman is Frank Edey and I am Miles Heydecker. We are-' 'I know who you are. Step in.' Since age has priority I helped Edey off with his ulster, putting it on a hanger, and let Heydecker man- age his chesterfield, and then took them to the front room and invited them to sit. If I opened the connecting door to the office Jett's voice could be heard and there was no point in his trusting Wolfe's discretion if he couldn't trust mine, so I went around through the hall, crossed to my desk, wrote 'Edey and Heydecker' on my memo pad, tore the sheet off, and handed it to Wolfe. He glanced at it and looked at Jett.
'We're at an impasse. You refuse to answer further questions unless I tell you the contents of the state- ment, and I won't do that. Mr. Edey and Mr. Heydecker are here. Will you stay or go?'
'Edey?' Jett stood up. 'Heydecker? Here?'
'Yes, sir. Uninvited and unexpected. You may leave unseen if you wish.'
Evidently he didn't wish anything except to see the statement. He didn't want to go and he didn't want to stay. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to decide, Wolfe decided for him by giving me a nod, and I went and opened the connecting door and told the new- comers to come in. Then I stepped aside and looked on, at their surprise at seeing Jett, their manners as they introduced themselves to Wolfe, the way they handled their eyes. I had never completely squelched the idea that when you are in a room with three men and you know that one of them committed a murder, especially when he committed it in that room only eighteen hours ago, it will show if you watch close enough. I knew from experience that the idea wasn't worth a damn, that if you did see something that seemed to point you were probably wrong, but I still had it and still have it. I was so busy with it that I didn't go to my desk and sit until Jett was back in the red leather chair and the newcom- ers were on two
