ago, to show him the document and consult him as to the method of putting in his claim immediately after June thirtieth, his former wife's birthday, when she would come into possession of property worth millions. Blanco got me on the phone, and I checked at this end-chiefly Priscilla's father's will, which of course is on record. With that, and with the details supplied by Hagh, Blanco advised him not to wait for June thirtieth, when the property would pass to Priscilla, but to file his claim immediately with the trustee, Perry Helmar, demanding that half of the property be transferred to Hagh instead of Priscilla, and warning Helmar that he would be held responsible for any default.'
Irby raised his shoulders and dropped them. 'That may have been good advice for Venezuela. Whether it was for here I don't say. Anyhow Hagh took it, and a communication was sent to Helmar which Blanco wrote and Hagh signed, and a copy of it was sent to Priscilla. A copy came to me too, with photostats of the basic document and a full report of the situation, and instructions from Blanco that I should proceed with an action to restrain Helmar from making the transfer to Priscilla. I know a little law and I know where to find more, but I couldn't find any that would do that trick. Even granting that Hagh's claim was legally valid-'
'I'll take your conclusion, Mr. Irby.'
'Very well. I so advised Blanco. He got no reply from Helmar, and none from Priscilla. I finally got to see Helmar-that was last week, Tuesday-and had a long talk with him, but it was completely unsatisfactory. He took no position at all; I couldn't pin him down to a thing. I decided that under the circumstances it would not be unethical for me to see Priscilla Eads. I had already phoned to ask her if Helmar was her personal attorney, and she didn't say yes or no. She refused to see me, but I persuaded her, and called at her apartment Friday afternoon. She admitted that she had signed the document in good faith, but soon afterward had changed her mind and asked Hagh to give it back, and he had refused. She offered to pay a hundred thousand dollars cash in settlement of the claim, and said that if Hagh didn't accept that he would get nothing unless a court ordered it.'
'She made you that offer?'
'Yes, and I phoned Blanco in Caracas to report it. June thirtieth was only ten days away, and if Blanco's strategy was sound there was no time to spare. But right there everything died. Blanco called Priscilla's offer contemptible and wouldn't discuss it. Helmar and Priscilla were both away over the weekend, and I couldn't even locate them. Monday morning I started in again, but couldn't get to either one, and I quit trying. Tuesday morning came the news that Priscilla had been murdered. Yesterday.'
Irby slid back in the chair for the first time. The movement had no effect on the dewdrops. He extended his hands as in appeal. 'Think of it!' he pleaded. 'The situation!'
Wolfe nodded. 'Unsatisfactory.'
'Utterly,' the lawyer agreed. He repeated it. 'Utterly. I saw no point in spending nine dollars on a phone call to Caracas; frankly, it seemed quite possible that there would be no reimbursement for outlay. I did try to get in touch with Helmar, but without success until noon today. I finally got him on the phone, and do you know what he does?' Irby slid forward again. 'He impeaches the document! He denies she ever signed it! He implies that my client forged it! And only last Friday she admitted to me unequivocally that she wrote it with her own hand and signed it, and Margaret Caselli witnessed it!'
Irby hit the arm of the chair with his fist. 'I phoned Blanco in Caracas!' He hit it again. 'I told him to put Eric Hagh on the first plane for New York!' He hit it again. 'And bring the original document with him!' He hit it again. 'And I decided to see you!'
Abruptly and surprisingly he calmed down. The fist opened and was only a chubby little hand. 'Of course,' he said, 'if millions ever were at stake in this, which is open to question, it is very doubtful if they are now. But even ignoring the Softdown stock, Priscilla's estate is probably substantial, and I do not grant that the stock must be ignored. Even if title to it passes legally to the five persons named in Eads's will, that document is still a powerful moral weapon, especially in view of the time and circumstances of Priscilla's death. And it occurred to me that you can probably speak to the authenticity of the document. She came to consult you that day and spent hours with you. Surely the document was mentioned, and surely she acknowledged that she had signed it. Helmar was here that evening, and he too could have mentioned it and either assumed or acknowledged its validity.'
He glanced at me and back at Wolfe. 'If Mr. Goodwin was present and can also speak, that will clinch it, and in that case I am prepared to make a concrete offer after discussing it with Blanco on the phone. Such assistance in authentication would be of great value to Mr. Hagh, amounting to five per cent of the total sum received by him in settlement of his claim under the terms of the document.'
There were at least two things seriously wrong with it. One, the offer was on a contingent basis, which, while not necessarily disreputable, was against Wolfe's principles. Two, it was an offer to pay us either for telling the truth, which was rather coarse, or for telling a lie, which was downright vulgar.
'Naturally,' Dewdrop Irby said, with his voice dripping sugary syrup, 'the best form would be affidavits, one from each of you. I'll be glad to draw them, glad and proud, on your information. As for the arrangement for payment to you, I invite your suggestion, with the comment that it is probably inadvisable to put it in writing.'
It was a perfect out for Wolfe, and I fully expected to be told to steer the lawyer to the door, but Wolfe is nothing if not contrary. He snapped a question. 'Mr. Hagh is coming to New York?'
'Yes.'
'When will he arrive?'
'Tomorrow afternoon. Three o'clock.'
'I want to see him.'
'Certainly. I want you to. I'll bring him straight here from the airport. Meanwhile, with the affidavits-'
'No.' Wolfe was blunt. 'There will be no affidavits until I have talked with your principal, and then we'll see. Don't bring him here from the airport; phone me first. I have in mind a step that you won't like but will probably have to assent to. I think there should be a meeting of those concerned in this matter, both sides, with you present, that it should take place tomorrow, and that it should be held in this room. I'll undertake to get Mr. Helmar and his associates here.'
Irby was concentrating so hard he was squinting his eyes into narrow slits. 'What makes you think I won't like it?'
'The fact that lawyers are convinced that no quarrel involving a substantial sum of money should
