'No.'
'Is it assumed that he was shot in that alley where the body was found?'
'No. He was shot in the car.'
'Have you any additional facts implicating Mrs. Ha- zen, of any kind? Not conjectures, facts. For example, was she seen in or near the car, driving it, or when it was parked on Twenty-first Street during the night, or when-as you have it-she went there yesterday to put the gun in the dashboard compartment?'
'No. No more facts. I expect to get some from you.'
'You will. Naturally, when you learned that Mrs. Hazen had been to see me you focused on her, but surely not exclusively. Have you inquired into the movements of the dinner guests after they left?'
'Yes.'
'Have any of them been conclusively eliminated?'
'No. Not conclusively.'
Wolfe closed his eyes. In a moment he opened them. 'That seems to cover it.' He took a breath. 'Of course I don't like this. And you're not squeezing it out of me, though you think you are. I would tell you nothing and take the consequences if it weren't that I need some
The Homicide Trinity 117
information that I can get only from you. I have to know where the gun came from that Mrs. Hazen left with me yesterday. If you'll agree-'
'She left a gun with you?'
'Yes. I'll tell you about it, and give it to you, if you will give me its history at the earliest possible moment. I want your word.'
'You won't get it. Mrs. Hazen is charged with mur- der. If she left a gun with you it's evidence in a murder investigation.'
Wolfe shook his head. 'No. It's evidence in my inves- tigation, but not in yours. You have your gun, the one the murderer used. How can it embarrass you to tell me about this one?'
Cramer considered it. 'You're going to tell me what she said about it.'
'I am.'
'Okay. Go ahead.'
'I have your word?'
'Yes.'
'Get the gun, Archie.'
I went to the safe and squatted to twirl the knob. Ordinarily I leave it unlocked when I'm in the office, but with that box in it I was taking no chances, so after I had worked the combination and got the gun I shut the door and turned the knob. As I crossed to Cramer I spoke. 'By the way, I asked a question that wasn't answered.
What make is your gun? The one that killed him.'
'Drexel thirty-two.'
'So's this.' I handed it to him. 'Of course there are millions of Drexel thirty-twos.'
He gave it a look, and darned if he didn't sniff it. As I said, that's automatic. Also he flipped the cylinder open for a glance.
'It was fired yesterday,' Wolfe said, 'by Mr. Good- win, to get a bullet. The bullet I gave you.'
Cramer nodded. 'Yeah. There's nothing on God's earth you wouldn't do. It could have been… What the hell, it wasn't. Okay, let's hear you.'
Wolfe unloaded. He didn't enjoy it and neither did I,
118 Rex Stout
spilling it, but we had to know about the gun and it might have taken us days. He skipped the details, in- cluding no quotes, but gave it straight, both parts, before the news came over the radio and after. He didn't include my reasons for deciding that she hadn't shot her husband, but I didn't mind; it might have got Cramer confused and that would have been a pity. He was a little confused anyhow; toward the end he was frowning, pulling at his lip now and then, a wary look in his eyes. When Wolfe finished he sat looking at it before he spoke.
'What have you left out?' he demanded.
Wolfe shook his head. 'Nothing material. You said you wanted the substance; you have it. How long will it take to trace the gun?'
'I don't get it. After she came to you with that fairy tale, and the news came about her husband, and you learned that we were holding her, you took her for a client? I don't get it. I have never known you to take a murderer for a client. Whether it's just your goddamn luck, or what, I don't know, but you haven't. Why did you take her?'
A corner of Wolfe's mouth turned up. 'I asked Mr. Goodwin's opinion and he said she was innocent. His judgment of women under thirty is infallible. How long will it take to trace the gun?'
