They approached. Wolfe stopped, and inclined his head. 'Good morning, gentlemen. I believe some of you have met Lord Clivers. Not you, Mr. Perry? No. Mr. Muir. Mr. Skinner, our District Attorney. I want to thank all of you for being so punctual…'
I was seeing a few things. First, Clivers stood staring directly at Perry, reminding me of how Harlan Scovil had stared at him two days before, and Clivers had thrust his right hand into the side pocket of his coat and didn't take it out. Second, Perry was staring back, and his temples were moving and his eyes were small and hard. Third, Inspector Cramer had put his weight forward in his chair and his feet back under him, but he was sitting too far away, the other side of Skinner, to get anywhere quick.
I swiveled and opened a drawer unostentatiously and got out my automatic and laid it on the desk at my elbow. Hombert was starting to belly-ache. 'I don't know, Wolfe, what kind of a high-handed procedure you think-'
Wolfe, who had moved around the desk and into his chair, put up a palm at him. 'Please, Mr. Hombert. I think it is always advisable to take a shortcut when it is feasible. That's why I requested a favor of Lord Clivers.' He looked at Clivers. 'Be seated, sir. And tell us, have you ever met Mr. Perry before?'
Clivers, with his hand still in his pocket, lowered himself into his chair, which was between Hombert and me, without taking his eyes off Perry. 'I have,' he said gruffly. 'By gad, you were right. He's Coleman. Rubber Coleman.'
Perry just looked at him.
Wolfe asked softly, 'What about it, Mr. Perry?'
You could see from Perry's chin that this teeth were damped. His eyes went suddenly from Clivers to Wolfe and stayed there; then he looked at me, and I returned it. His shoulders started going up, slowly up, high, as he took in a long breath, and then slowly they started down again. When they touched bottom he looked at Wolfe again and said, 'I'm not talking. Not just now. You go on.'
Wolfe nodded. 'I don't blame you, sir. It's a lot to give up, to surrender that old secret.' He glanced around the circle. 'You gentlemen may remember, from Miss Fox's story last night, that Rubber Coleman was the man who led that little band of rescuers forty years ago. That was Mr. Perry here. But you do not yet know that on account of that obligation Lord Clivers, in the year 1906, twenty-nine years ago, paid Coleman-Mr. Perry- the sum or one million dollars. Nor that this Coleman-Perry has never, to this day, distributed any of that sum as he agreed to do.'
Cramer grunted and moved himself another inch forward. Skinner was sunk in his chair with his elbows on its arms and his fingertips placed neatly together, his narrowed eyes moving from Wolfe to Clivers to Perry and back again. Hombert was biting his lip and watching Clivers.
Muir suddenly squeaked, 'What's all this about? What has this got to do-'
Wolfe snapped at him, 'Shut up. You are here, sir, because that seemed the easiest way to bring Mr. Perry, and because I thought you should know the truth regarding your charge against Miss Fox. If you wish to leave, do so; if you stay, hold your tongue.'
Clivers put in brusquely, 'I didn't agree to this man's presence.'
Wolfe nodded. 'I think you may leave that to me. After all. Lord Clivers, it was you who originally started this, and if the hen has come home to roost and I am to pluck it for you, I must be permitted a voice in the method.' He turned abruptly. 'What about it, Mr. Perry? You've had a moment for reflection. You were Rubber Coleman, weren't you?'
'I'm not talking.' Perry was gazing at him, and this time he didn't have to strain the words through his teeth. His Bps compressed a little, his idea being that he was smiling. 'Lord Clivers may quite possibly be mistaken.' He tried the smile again. 'It may even be that he will… will realize his mistake.' He looked around. 'You know me, Mr. Skinner. You too, Mr. Hombert. I am glad you are here. I have evidence to present to you that this man Wolfe is engaged in a malicious attempt to damage my reputation and that of my vice-president and the firm I direct. Mr. Muir will bear me out.' He turned small hard eyes on Wolfe. 'I'll give you rope. All you want. Go on.'
Wolfe nodded admiringly. 'Superlative.' He leaned back and surveyed the group. 'Gentlemen, I must ask you to listen, and bear with me. You will reach my conclusion only if I describe my progress toward it. I'll make it as brief as possible.
'It began some forty-five hours ago, when Mr. Perry called here and asked me to investigate a theft of thirty thousand dollars from the drawer of Mr. Muir's desk. Mr. Goodwin called at the Seaboard office and asked questions. He was there from four-forty-five until five-fifty-five, and for a period of thirty-five minutes, from five- twenty until five-fifty-five, he saw neither Mr. Perry nor Mr. Muir, because they had gone to a conference in the directors' room. The case seemed to have undesirable features, and we decided not to handle it. I find I shall need some beer.'
He reached to push the button, and leaned back again. 'You know of Harlan Scovil's visit to this office Monday afternoon. Well, he saw Mr. Perry here. He not only saw him, he stared at him. You know of the phone call, at five-twenty-six, which summoned Mr. Scovil to his death. Monday night, in addition to these things, I also knew the story which Miss Fox had related to us in the presence of Mr. Walsh and Miss Lindquist; and when, having engaged myself in Miss Fox's interest, it became necessary to consider the murder of Harlan Scovil, I scanned the possibilities as they presented themselves at that moment.
'Assuming, until disproven, that Harlan Scovil's murder was connected with the Rubber Band affair, the first possibility was of course Lord Clivers himself, but Tuesday morning he was eliminated, when I learned that the murderer was alone in the automobile. An article in Sunday's Times, which Mr. Goodwin had kindly read to me, stated that Lord Clivers did not know how to drive a car, and on Tuesday, yesterday, I corroborated that through an agent in London, at the same time acquiring various bits of information regarding Lord Clivers. The second possibility was Michael Walsh. I had talked with him and formed a certain judgment of him, and no motive was apparent, but he remained a possibility. The same applied to Miss Lindquist. Miss Fox was definitely out of it, because I had upon consideration accepted her as a client.'
Somebody burst out, 'Ha!' Hombert ventured a comment, while Wolfe poured beer and gulped, but it went unheeded. Wolfe wiped his lips and went on.
'Among the known possibilities, the most promising one was Anthony D. Perry. On account of the phone call which took Mr. Scovil to the street to die, it was practically certain that his murderer had known he was in this office; and because, so far as I was aware, Mr. Perry was the only person who had known that, it seemed at least worth while to accept it as a conjecture. Through Metropolitan Biographies and also through inquiries by one of my men, I got at least negative support for the conjecture; and I got positive support by talking over long distance to Nebraska, with Miss Lindquist's father. He remembered with considerable accuracy the appearance of
