I tried another one. 'Then tell me this. How long has Muir been trying to get her away from Perry?'
Her eyes got dark again, and the color stayed. She stared at me a minute, then all at once rose to her feet and stood there squeezing her handkerchief. Her voice trembled a little, but it didn't seem to bother her.
'I don't know whether that's any of your business, Mr. Goodwin, but it's none of mine. Don't you see… don't you see how this is a temptation to me? Couldn't I have said I saw her carrying something out of that room?' She squeezed the handkerchief harder. 'Well… I didn't say it. Don't I have to keep my self-respect? I'll go out of my way too, I don't know any-thing about it, but I don't believe Clara Fox has ever been anybody's mistress. She wouldn't have to be, she's too clever. I don't know anything about that money either, but if you want to ask me questions to see if I do, go ahead.'
I said, 'School's out. Go on home. I may want you again in the morning, but I doubt it.'
She turned pale as fast as she had turned red. She certainly was a creature of moods. I got up from Perry's chair and walked all the way across the room to open the door and stand and hold it. She went past, still squeezing the handkerchief and mumbling good night to me, and I shut the door. Feeling for a cigarette and finding I didn't have any, I went back to the windows and stood surveying the view. As I had suspected, the thing wasn't a good clean theft at all, it was some kind of a mess. From the business standpoint, it was obvious that the thing to do was go back and tell Nero Wolfe it was a case of refusing to let the administrative heads of the Seaboard Products Corporation use our office for a washtub to dump their dirty linen in. But what reined me up on that was my professional curiosity about Clara Fox. If sneak thieves came as cool and sweet as that, it was about time I found it out. And if she wasn't one, my instinctive dislike of a frame-up made me hesitate about leaving her parked against a fireplug. I was fairly well disgusted, and got more disgusted, after gazing out of the window for a while, when I felt in my pockets again for a cigarette with no results.
I wandered around The Office Beautiful a little, sightseeing and cogitating, and then went out to the corridor. It was empty. Of course, it was after office hours. All its spacious width and length, there was no traffic, and it was dimmer than it had been when I entered, for no more lights were turned on and it was getting dark outdoors. There were doors along one side, and at the farther end the double doors, closed, of the directors' room. I heard a cough, and turned, and saw Miss Vawter, the executive reception clerk, sitting in the comer under a light with a magazine.
She said in a vinegar voice, 'I'm remaining after hours because Mr. Perry said you might want to speak to me.'
She was a pain all around. I said, 'Please continue remaining. Which is Muir's room?'
She pointed to one of the doors, and I headed for it I was reaching out for the knob when she screeched at me, 'You can't go in there like that! Mr. Muir is out.'
I called to her, 'Do tell. If you want to interrupt Mr. Perry in his conference, go to the directors' room and give the alarm. I'm investigating.'
I went on in, shut the door, found the wall switch, and turned on the lights. As I did so, a door in another wall opened, and Miss Barish appeared. She stood and looked without saying anything.
I observed, 'I thought I told you to go home.'
'I can't.' Her color wasn't working either way. 'When Mr. Muir is here I'm not supposed to go until he dismisses me. He is in conference.'
'I see. That your room? May I come in?'
She stepped back and I entered- It was a small neat room with one window and the usual stenographic and filing equipment. I let the eyes rove, and then asked her, 'Would you mind leaving me here for a minute with the door shut, while you go to Muir's desk and open and dose a couple of drawers? I'd like to see how much din it makes.'
She said, 'I was typing.'
'So you were. All right, forget it. Come and show me which drawer the money was in.'
She moved ahead of me, led the way to Muir's desk, and pulled open one of the drawers, the second one from the top on the right. There was nothing in it but a stack of envelopes. I reached out and closed it, then opened and closed it again, grinning as I remembered Perry's suggestion about fingerprints. Then I left the desk and strolled around a little. It was just a vice-president's office, smaller and modester than Perry's but still by no means a pigpen. I noticed one detail, or rather three, a little out of the ordinary. There was no portrait of Abraham Lincoln nor replica of the Declaration of Independence on the walls, but there were three different good-sized photographs of three different good-looking women, hanging framed.
I turned to Miss Barish, who was still standing by the desk. 'Who are all the handsome ladies?'
'They are Mr. Muir's wives.'
'Nol Honest to God? Mostly dead?'
'I don't know. None of them is with him now.'
'Too bad. It looks like he's sentimental.'
She shook her head. 'Mr. Muir is a sensual man.'
She was having another frank spell. I glanced at my watch. It was a quarter to six, giving me another five minutes, so I thought I might as well use them on her. I opened up, friendly, but although she seemed to be willing to risk a little more chat with me, I didn't really get any facts. All I learned was what I already knew, that she had no reason to suppose that Clara Fox had lifted the jack, and that if there was a frame-up she wasn't in on it. When the five minutes was up I turned to go, and at that moment the door opened and Muir came in.
Seeing us, he stopped, then came on again, to his desk. 'You may go, Miss Barish. If you want to talk with me, Goodwin, sit down.'
