'I was giving Mr Ludlow a lesson.'
'Fencing?'
'Yes, йpйe.'
'In the large room?'
'No, the small one at the end.'
'Who is Mr Ludlow?'
'He is a man who comes to take lessons with the йpйe.'
'Are you sure you were with him at the time Driscoll says he saw you frisking the coat?'
'Yes. Mr Driscoll went to Miltan at twenty minutes to five. He said it had taken about fifteen minutes to dress. I began the lesson with Mr Ludlow at four o'clock, and we were still there when Miltan sent for me.'
'And you didn't leave that room during that time?'
'No, I did not.'
Carla Lovchen put in, 'But Neya! Do you forget that Belinda Reade says she saw you outside, in the hall, a little before half past four?'
'She lies,' Neya said calmly.
'But the man that was with her saw you too!'
'He also lies.'
My God, I thought, it's a good thing Wolfe isn't here to see his daughter put on an exhibition like this. It looked very much as if the family reunion would take place in jail.
'How about Ludlow?' I demanded. 'Does he lie too?'
She hesitated, her brow wrinkling, and before she got her answer ready another voice broke in. It was a male voice, and its owner had appeared from around the corner which led to the stairs. He was about my age and size, with a good pair of light-coloured eyes, and a grey suit of a distinctive weave hung on him in a way that made it obvious the fit had not been managed by waving a piece of chalk at a stock job.
'I was looking for you.' He came up to us, with a conventional smile. 'Miltan wants you in the office. This ridiculous affair.'
Carla Lovchen said, 'Mr Ludlow, this is Mr Goodwin.'
We shook, and I met his eyes and liked them, not on account of any candour or friendliness, but because they showed sense.
I inquired, 'Ludlow?'
'Right. Percy Ludlow.'
'Miss Tormic gave you a fencing lesson yesterday afternoon?'
'That's right.'
'Then you're the man I want to see. Was she with you continuously from four o'clock till half past?'
His brow went up and he smiled. 'Well, really. All I know about you is that your name is Goodwin.'
'I represent Miss Tormic. She has engaged Nero Wolfe. I'm his assistant.'
He glanced at her and caught her nod. 'Well! Nero Wolfe? That ought to do it. I was told that Miss Tormic said yesterday that she was with me continuously.'
'Yeah. What do you say?'
His brow went up again. 'I couldn't very well call Miss Tormic a liar. Could I? Let's go down to the office. Driscoll isn't there yet, but he should be, any minute-'
'Then she was with you? You realize that in that case she can't possibly be held on Driscoll's charge?'
'Oh, yes, I quite realize that. But unfortunately there are those two people who claim to have seen her in the hall.' He pointed. 'Right there, not ten feet from the door of the locker room. And of course Driscoll too.'
He was moving. I obstructed him. 'Look here, Mr Ludlow, if you'll assure me that you'll stick to it-'
'My dear chap! Assure you? This sort of thing must be handled-anyhow, a dozen or more people have been made acquainted with this charge against Miss Tormic, and whatever is said they should hear. To clear it up, you know.'
They were all moving, for the stairs, and I couldn't obstruct all of them, so I went with the current. It was so loony that it dazed me. Carla looked worried and Ludlow looked bland. As for Neya, her attitude could have come only from the sublime assurance of innocence, or the sublime asininity of a nincompoop, or mix it yourself. Here she had a witness who might have been wheedled into standing fast with a class A alibi and she wasn't even bothering to toss him a suggestion. As I trailed them downstairs and entered the office with them, I was trying to figure out a method of enticing Driscoll down to 35th Street, for it certainly seemed likely it would come to that.
The office was the big room at the rear of the ground floor. There was a large red carpet and a
