'A full confession. Betrayal of his partner, O'Malley, three murders-the works.'
'Very well. I'll wash my hands.'
He went to the sink and turned the faucet on.
20
WTPHIS,' Wolfe told Inspector Cramer, 'is correct not only
J- in substance but also in text.'
He held in his hand a typed copy, brought by Cramer, of what Corrigan had said to us on the phone just before the bang, as reported by Wolfe to Sergeant Auerbaeh.
Cramer looked at me. 'You were on the line too, Goodwin? You heard it?'
I nodded, arose, got the paper from Wolfe, read it, and handed it back. 'Right. That's what he said.'
'I want a statement to that effect signed by both of you.'
'Certainly,' Wolfe acceded. –
Cramer was in the red leather chair, leaning back comfortably, like a man intending to stay a while. 'Also,' he said, not belligerently, 'I want a statement from Goodwin giving all details of his trip to California. But first I would like to hear him tell it.'
'No,' Wolfe said firmly.
'Why not?'
'On principle. Through habit you put it as a demand, and it's a bad habit, I don't like it.'
'What he did in California led to a violent death in my jurisdiction.'
'Establish that.'
'Nuts,' Cramer growled. 'I ask it as a favor. Not to me, to the People of the State of New York.'
'Very well. Having had an authentic discovery of mine, the notation in Corrigan's handwriting on Dykes's letter, denounced by them and you as a trick, I thought it only fair to even up by contriving a trick. I needed-'
'So you still claim that notation was made by Corrigan?'
'No. I never made that claim. I only denied that it was made by Mr. Goodwin or me. I needed to demonstrate that someone in that office was involved in Baird Archer's manuscript and therefore in the murders, and I proceeded to do so. Tell him about it, Archie.'
'Yes, sir. Leaving out what?'
'Nothing.'
If I had been alone with Cramer and he had told me to leave out nothing I would have had some fun, but under the circumstances I refrained. I gave it to him straight, accurate and complete, from my checking in at the Riviera to my last view of Corrigan's rear at La Guardia Airport as he trotted out to a taxi. When I finished he had a few questions, and I answered them straight too.
He was chewing an unlit cigar. He took it from his mouth and turned to Wolfe. 'What it amounts to, you tricked-'
'If you please,' Wolfe interposed. 'Since you have part you should have all. Yesterday morning, less than three hours after Corrigan's return, they came here-all five of them. They demanded that I tell them what was in the manuscript, and I refused. I would have had to refuse in any case, since I didn't know, but I told them that I wasn't quite ready to act, that I needed one or two more facts. I permitted them to assume that my preparations were all but complete.'
Cramer nodded. 'You tricked him into killing himself.'
'Did I? Did he kill himself?'
'Goddam it, didn't he?'
'I don't know. You have investigated, I haven't. What have you concluded?'
Cramer scratched his ear. 'There's nothing against suicide. It was his gun, fired at contact. Smudges on it, no clear prints. His prints on the phone. He had been dead less than an hour when the examiner arrived. No evidence safar of anyone else being there. He had been struck a hard blow on the side of the head but could have got it from the corner of the table when he fell, and probably did. There was-'
Wolfe waved it away. 'From you, 'nothing against suicide' is enough. On that sort of thing you are not to be impugned. But it is still open?'
'It's not closed. That's why I'm here. I just said you tricked him into killing himself, and you may or may not hear more about that, but right now I want a lot more than you've given
me. If it was suicide, why? Because he thought you knew what was in that damn manuscript? Because he thought you had him? For what? Murder? I want a lot more, a hell of a lot, and I'm here to get it.'
Wolfe pursed his lips. 'Well.' He opened a desk drawer. 'This came in my morning mail.' He took a fat envelope from the drawer. 'See if that answers your questions.' He held it out.
