Three Men Out

I can't believe that such a blow could be struck--' 'Skip it,' Cramer growled. 'Neither can we.' 'You think he was killed elsewhere?' 'Yes.' 'But you don't know where?' 'No.' Mandelbaum exploded, 'What do you think this is, Wolfe, twenty questions?' Wolfe ignored him. 'My second comment. If he was killed elsewhere, why was the body moved? Because the murderer didn't want it found where it was. How was it moved? That's the real question. For vertical transport there was the elevator, but to and from the elevator, how? Was it dr agged- That would leave marks, and of course you have looked for them. Have you found any?' 'No.' 'Then it wasn't dragged. Carried? By whom? None of these women would be up to it. Lewent was undersized, but he weighed more than a hundred pounds. By Mr. Huck? It has been established that his legs will take him, with no burden, only a few steps. Then Mr. Thayer? He's all we have left, but why? That's another question I must ask you, Mr. Cramer, Why did Mr. Thayer kill Mr. Lewent?' T don't know.' 'i 'Have you even a decent surmise?' 'i 'At present no.' ? 'Neither have I. But there's another reason for excluding him, at least provisionally--that he's not a lunatic. Only a lunatic would carry the body of a man he had just murdered up and down these halls at that ^me of day, with so great a probability of 'eing seen. No, I think we may conclude '^t the body was neither dragged nor car^d. It only remains--' ?i By God!' That was me. It popped out. It is not ^ten ^at I let myself interrupt Wolfe when e 'fls steam up and is rolling, but that time 89 it hit me so hard that I didn't even know I was speaking. Eyes came to me, and Wolfe turned his head to inquire, 'What is it Archie?' I shook my head. 'I'll save it.' 'No, we're through saving. What is it?' 'Nothing much, only that I suddenly realized that I actually saw the murderer in the act of transporting the corpse. I stood and looked straight at him while he was moving it, and we exchanged words. I don't like to brag, but don't you agree?' 'Yes, I think it likely--' 'This is one hell of a time to realize it,' Sergeant Stebbins blurted at me. 'I suggest,' Wolfe told him, 'that you post yourself near Mr. Huck. He could have almost anything hidden around that chair, especially under that quilt, and I don't--' 'Just a minute, Wolfe.' Mandelbaum had left the couch and was marching. 'If y011 have any evidence against anyone, including Mr. Huck, we want to hear it or see it first.' 'This is the man,' Huck said in a voice not very steady, 'who tried to extort one hundred thousand dollars from me!' ^'m 'And succeeded,' Wolfe declare 90 no means sure I couldn't collect, u ' though-- He stopped, startled. So was I, and the others. Purley Stebbins, who knew Wolfe from away back, had quietly moved to Huck's chair, at his right elbow, and all of a sudden Huck had jerked his head around and snarled at him in a spasm of fury, 'Get away!' It was such a nasty snarl that Mandelbaum, also startled, forgot about Wolfe to stare at Huck. Purley, who had been snarled at by experts in his day, was unmoved. 'I offered comments, not evidence,' Wolfe reminded them. 'Here is one regarding the location and nature of the wound on Mr. Lewenfs head, and the direction of the blow. Suppose I am Mr. Huck; here I am in my wheelchair, in my study. It is shortly before five in the afternoon, and my brotherin-law, Mr. Lewent, is with me. I have decided that he must die because I believe 'lat he is a deadly menace to me. He has ^gaged Nero Wolfe, a detective who does not ^ste his time or talent on inanities, to sw an investigation in my household on a pretext ^ absurd that it is manifestly a fake. Got only know that my wife would not we left a sum of money secretly to be I 91 given to her brother; I also know that he knows she would not have done that. in addition, Wolfe's assistant, Goodwin, in talking with my secretary and housekeeper and nurse, has dwelt on the possibility that one of them poisoned my wife, pretending that he is merely being facetious. One of them has told me about it. You might check that detail by inquiry.' 'We have,' Cramer admitted. 'It was Miss Riff.' 'Good. So I am convinced that my brother-in-law has become suspicious about his sister's death and therefore mortally threatens me. For the purpose of this comment, let us say the threat is possible disclosure of the fact that I poisoned his sister --my wife--by putting toxic material into a dish of artichokes. The inducement, which I realized, was inheritance of her wealth, amounting to millions. By the way, I don't suppose Mr. Huck can prove that Mr. Lewent did not come to his study between four and five o'clock?' 'No. He sent Miss Riff for him about half-past four. He says Lewent w;is with him about ten minutes and then left. 'Was Miss Riff present?' 'No. She left the house on an ern ^d. 92 yolfe nodded. 'Good again. And in fair(o you, Mr. Cramer and gentlemen, it ^ould be said that I have had one big ad- ^ntage which you lacked. You haven't seen Ur Huck propel himself in that vehicle, have you?' They said no. 'I haven't either, but I have heard Mr. Goodwin describe the operation and was impressed. It was my memory of that description that put me on the path of these comments. At present Mr. Huck does not look as if he would care to demonstrate his machine, but you can manage that later. To go back: I am now Mr. Huck, here in my chair in my study, shortly before five o'clock.' Wolfe pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wadded it in his right hand. 'This is a paperweight, a heavy ball of green marble with a segment sliced off. Actually it isnt in my hand, not quite yet, I merely have it ready, here on a shelf of my chair, holding down some papers. Archie, you are Mr- Lewent. Stand there in front of me, Please--of course you could be either stand^S or sitting. A little closer would be more natura1- Now I lift the paperweight with my lght ^d, and with my left pick up a per to show you, but it slips from my 93 fingers and falls to the floor. It's quite likgi,, that before sending for you I practiced dronping that paper. Of course you bend over to retrieve it for me--that would be automatic with me a cripple--and when you do so I strike with the paperweight.' I bent over, and he tapped me on the nape. I wasn't in the mood to ham it by dropping dead, but it didn't seem fitting to straighten up immediately, so I compromised by sinking to a knee. 'God save us,' muttered Mrs. O'Shea, and there was no other sound. Wolfe went on. 'In our relative positions, me sitting and you stooping, the impact would be upward on your skull. I must now move as fast as my disability will permit. Twenty seconds is enough to satisfy me that no second blow is needed; you are dead. I am sound and strong from the hips up, and in another twenty seconds I have you lifted and draped over my legs and covered with the shawl that I am never without. I push a button and grasp the lever, and off we go. 1 must dump you on another floor. It is a risk, certainly, but I must take it.' 'Evidence, damn it,' Mandelbauin growled. . 'By all means,' Wolfe conceded, '<alld 94 , sooner the better. You might start by laming if the paperweight fits the dent in e sl^ull; I think you'll find that it does. p gamine the plaid shawl that was used for a hroud; you may find hairs of Lewenfs head. You had already concluded that the murder was not committed in Lewent's room; I challenge you to explain how the body was transported if not on Mr. Huck's chair. I confess it is a pity that the day was dying and the light in the hall was dim when Mr. Goodwin stood at the door of Lewent's room and saw Mr. Huck, in his chair, emerge from the elevator and head for his room. Mr. Goodwin has sharp eyes, and in better light he would probably have noticed that the hump under the shawl was larger than it should have been. Of course his presence forced Mr. Huck to retreat to his own room with his cargo temporarily, but Mr. Goodwin left almost at once?left the house to phone me?and Mr. Huck finished the transport. That must have been the hardest part for him, since the door to ^went's room was too narrow for his chair.' Wolfe tilted his head to Mandelbaum, who ^as still standing. 'But I like this for evice- To me, in fact, this alone is abso- 95 lutely conclusive. You have questioned all of us at length, and you know what was said in this room immediately prior to the discovery of the body. You know that in the presence of five witnesses I extorted from Mr. Huck a promise to pay me a large sum of money-- for what? For my reciprocal promise that Mr. Lewent would not again pester any of them with accusations! It is inconceivable that Mr. Huck could be such an ass as to agree to any such bargain if he had thought Lewent was still alive. Word of it, from Mr. Thayer if no one else, was sure to reach Lewent, and he, thinking I had betrayed him by taking a bribe from the enemy, would have had his suspicions redoubled instead of stilled.' Wolfe shook his head. 'No. Unquestionably Huck knew then that Lewent was dead; that certainty struck me the moment I saw the corpse. Not only that; by agreeing to my preposterous proposal Huck was confessing to his guilt. He thought I was blackmailing him, and, momentarily at least, he thought he had to submit. I had tackled him before witnesses, and he would have to get me alone to find out how much I knew and how I might be dealt with. But for the terror of his guilt, he would have ; orned 96 as a witling; when I made my proposal rn demand, he would have sent for his . (.ther-in-law and denounced me to him. Instead--but you know what he did, and look at him now.' Most of those present did look at him, but three did not, and it went to show how men's minds work. The three were Assistant District Attorney Mandelbaum, Deputy Police Commissioner Boyle, and Inspector Cramer. They, three high-ranking officers of the law, were gazing resentfully and indignantly, not at the murderer who had just been exposed, but at the man who had exposed him. Not that you could blame them much. They would have to charge Huck and take him, that was clear, but they were by no means ready for a judge and jury; and Huck had enough dough to hire the ten best lawyers in town. Cramer rose to his feet, shot a glance to his right to make sure Sergeant Stebbins ^s standing by, and moved to plant him- ^infrontofWolfe. ^ Yeah, look at him now,' he growled, ^d look at you! You and your helpful ^nunems! That bargain you offered him-- you ^y ^'s inconceivable that he could have een ^h an ass as to agree to it if he had 97 thought Lewent was still alive. Okay, bm what about you? It's also inconceivable that you could have been such an ass as to offer it if you had thought Lewent was still alive God knows I could call you plenty of things but not an ass. That stunt Goodwin pulled to get you up here--don't try to tell me he would have pulled it, or that you would have come, if you hadn't both known Lewent had been murdered! I want a comment on that!' 'Pfui,' Wolfe said mildly. 'Don't you think you have enough on your hands