District Attorney's office.'
I did so, and Wolfe got on again. In the past Skinner had had his share of moments of irritation with Wolfe, but at least he hadn't had the door slammed in his face the preceding evening and therefore was not boorish. When he learned that Wolfe was on the Keyes case he wanted to know plenty, but Wolfe stiff-armed him
Curtains for Three 103
tout being too rude and soon had what he was af r. Upon Wolfe's assurance that he would keep Skin posted on developments at his end, which they th knew was a barefaced lie, the Assistant D.A. even fered to ask headquarters to arrange for me to see cop. And did so. In less than ten minutes after Sfolfe and he were finished, a call came from Centre et to tell me that Officer Hefferan would meet me ; 11:45 at the corner of Sixty-sixth Street and Central rk West.
During the less than ten minutes, Wolfe had drunk er, asked Saul about his family, and told me what I expected to find out from the cop. That made me |gore, but even more it made me curious. When we're fern a case it sometimes happens that Wolfe gets the fnotion that I have got involved on some angle or with I' eome member of the cast, and that therefore it is nec iessary to switch me temporarily onto a siding. I had about given up wasting nervous energy resenting it. |;But what was it this time? I had bought nobody's version and was absolutely fancy free, so why should he send me out to chew the rag with a cop and keep Saul and Orrie for more important errands? It was beyond me, and I was glaring at him and about to open up, when the phone rang again.
It was Ferdinand Pohl, asking for Wolfe. I was going to keep out of it, since the main attack was to be entrusted to others, but Wolfe motioned me to stay on. 'I'm at the Keyes office,' Pohl said, 'Forty-seventh and Madison. Can you come up here right away?'
'Certainly not,' Wolfe said in a grieved tone. It always riled him that anybody in the world didn't know that he never left his house on business, and rarely for anything whatever. 'I work only at home. What's the matter?'
104 Rex Stout
'There's someone here I want you to talk to. Two members of the staff. With their testimony I can prove that Talbott took those designs and sold them to Broadyke. This clinches it that it was Talbott who killed Keyes. Of us five, the only ones that could possibly be suspected were Miss Rooney and that stable hand, with that mutual alibi they had, and this clears her-^-and him too, of course.'
'Nonsense. It does nothing of the sort. It proves that she was unjustly accused of theft, and an unjust accusation rankles more than a just one. Now you can have Mr. Talbott charged with larceny, at least. I'm extremely busy. Thank you very much for calling. I shall need the cooperation of all of you.'
Pohl wanted to prolong it, but Wolfe got rid of him, drank more beer, and turned to me. 'You're expected there in twenty minutes, Archie, and considering your tendency to get arrested for speeding--'
I had had one ticket for speeding in eight years. I walked to the door but turned to remark bitterly, 'If you think you're just sending me out to play, try again. Who was the last to see Keyes alive? The cop. He did it. And who will I deliver him to--you? No. Inspector Cramer!'
VIII
It was sunny and warm for October, and the drive uptown would have been pleasant if I hadn't been prejudiced by my feeling that I was being imposed on. Parking on Sixty-fifth Street, I walked around the corner and up a block, and crossed Central Park West to where a man in uniform was monkeying with his horse's bridle. I have met a pack of guardians of the
Curtains for Three 105
: on my rounds, but this rugged manly face with a ished-in nose and bright big eyes was new to me. I ntroduced myself and showed credentials and said it i nice of him, busy as he was, to give me his time. Of ourse that was a blunder, but I've admitted I was ejudiced.
'Oh,' he said, 'one of our prominent kidders, huh?' I made for cover. 'About as prominent,' I declared, 'as a fish egg in a bowl of caviar.' 'Oh, you eat caviar.'
'Goddam it,' I muttered, 'let's start over again.' I ked four paces to a lamp post, wheeled, returned to i, and announced, 'My name's Goodwin and I work or Nero Wolfe. Headquarters said I could ask you a ouple of questions and I'd appreciate it.' 'Uh-huh. A friend of mine in the Fifteenth Squad i told me about you. You damn near got him sent to tie marshes.'
'Then you were already prejudiced. So was I, but jjiiot against you. Not even against your horse. Speak|ing of horses, that morning you saw Keyes on his |horse, not long before he was killed, what time was it?'
'Ten minutes past seven.' _ 'Within a minute or two?' %: 'Not within anything. Ten minutes past seven. I f| was on the early shift then, due to check out at eight. iRAs you say, I'm so busy that I have no time, so I was f| hanging around expecting to see Keyes go by as per liedule. I liked to see his horse--a light chestnut piwith a fine spring to him.'
'How did the horse look that morning--same as I? Happy and healthy?' Seeing the look on his I added hastily, 'I've sworn off kidding until to norrow. I actually want to know, was it his horse?'
106 Rex Stout
'Certainly it was! Maybe you don't know horses. I do.'
'Okay. I used to too, when I was a boy on a farm in Ohio, but we haven't corresponded lately. What about Keyes that morning, did- he look sick or well or mad or glad or what?'
'He looked as usual, nothing special.'
'Did you speak to each other?'
'No.'
'Had he shaved that morning?'
'Sure he had.' Officer Hefferan was controlling himself. 'He had used two razors, one on the right side and another one on the left, and he wanted to know which one did the best job, so he asked me to rub his cheeks and tell him what I thought.'
'You said you didn't speak.'
