moment than she ordinarily was, but even discounting for that there was plenty to go on. In my detached impersonal way I warmed to her completely at exactly that moment when she stood up and looked at Anthony D. Perry. She had brown hair, neither long nor boyish bob, just a swell lot of careless hair, and her eyes were brown too and you could see at a glance that they would never tell you anything except what she wanted them to.
She spoke. 'May I go now, Mr. Perry? It's past five o'clock, and I have an appointment.'
Perry looked at her with no surprise. Evidently he knew her. He said, 'Mr. Goodwin will want to talk with you.'
'I know he will. Will the morning do? Am I to come to work tomorrow?'
'Of course. I refer you to Goodwin. He is in charge of this now, and the responsibility is his.'
I shook my head. 'Excuse me, Mr. Perry. Mr. Wolfe said he would decide whether he'd handle this or not after my preliminary investigation. As far as Miss Fox is concerned, tomorrow will suit me fine.' I looked at her. 'Nine o'clock?'
She nodded- 'Not that I have anything to tell you about that money, except that I didn't take it and never saw it. I have told Mr. Perry and Mr. Muir that. I may go then? Good night.'
She was perfectly cool and sweet. From the way she was handling herself, no one would have supposed she had any notion that she was standing on a hot spot. She included all of us in her good-night glance, and turned and walked out as self-possessed as a young doe not knowing that there's a gun pointed at it and a finger on the trigger.
When the door was shut Perry turned to me briskly. 'Where do you want to start, Goodwin? Would fingerprints around the drawer of Muir's desk do any good?'
I grinned at him and shook my head. 'Only for practice, and I don't need any. I'd like to have a chat with Muir. He must know it won't do to have Miss Fox arrested just because she was in his room. Maybe he thinks he knows where the money is.'
Perry said, 'Miss Barish is Mr. Muir's secretary.'
'Oh.' I looked at the woman with the flat nose still standing there. I said to her, 'It was you that typed the cablegram while Miss Fox waited in Muir's room. Did you notice-'
Perry homed in. 'You can talk with Miss Barish later.' He glanced at the clock on the wall, which said 5:20. 'Or, if you prefer, you can talk with her here, now.' He shoved his chair back and got up. 'If you need me, I'll be in the directors' room, at the other end. I'm late now, for a conference. It won't take long. I'll ask Muir to stay, and Miss Vawter also, in case you want to see her.' He had moved around to the front of his desk, and halted there. 'One thing, Goodwin, about Muir. I advise you to forget his ridiculous outburst. He's jerky and nervous, and the truth is he's too old for the strain business puts on a man nowadays. Disregard his nonsense. Well?'
'Sure.' I waved a hand. 'Let him rave.'
Perry frowned at me, nodded, and left the room.
The best chair in sight was the one Perry had just vacated, so I went around and took it. Miss Barish stood with her shoulders hanging, squeezing her handkerchief and looking straight at me. I said, friendly, 'Move around and sit down-there, where Muir was. So you're Muir's secretary.'
'Yes, sir.' She got onto the edge of the chair.
'Been his secretary eleven years.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Cut out the sir. Okay? I'm not gray-headed. So Muir looked through your belongings last Friday and didn't find the money?'
Her eyes darkened. 'Certainly he didn't find it.'
'Right. Did he make a thorough search of your room?'
'I don't know. I don't care if he did.'
'Now don't get sore. I don't care either. After you copied the cablegram and took the original back to Miss Fox in Muir's room, what was she carrying when she left there?'
'She was carrying the cablegram.'
'But where did she have the thirty grand, down her sock? Didn't it show?'
Miss Barish compressed her lips to show that she was putting up with me. 'I did not see Miss Fox carrying anything except the cablegram. I have told Mr. Muir and Mr. Perry that I did not see Miss Fox carrying anything except the cablegram.'
I grinned at her. 'And you are now telling Mr. Goodwin that you did not see Miss Fox carrying anything except the cablegram. Check. Are you a friend of Miss Fox's?'
'No. Not a real friend. I don't like her.'
'Egad. Why don't you like her?'
'Because she is extremely attractive, and I am homely. Because she has been here only three years and she could be Mr. Perry's private secretary tomorrow if she wanted to, and that is the job I have wanted ever since I came here. Also because she is cleverer than I am.'
I looked at Miss Barish more interested, at all the frankness. Deciding to see how far down the frankness went, I popped at her, 'How long has Miss Fox been Perry's mistress?'
She went red as a beet. Her eyes dropped, and she shook her head. Finally she looked up at me again, but didn't say anything.
