with her head tilted up. 'You're Archie Goodwin,' she stated.
I nodded. 'And you're the Queen of Egypt?'
'I'm a baboon,' she declared. 'I don't know how they ever taught me to talk.' She looked around for something to put the glass on, and I moved a step and reached for it. 'Look at my hand shake,' she complained. 'I'm all to pieces.'
She kept her hand out, looking at it, so I took it in mine and gave it some friendly but gentle pressure. 'You do seem a little upset,' I conceded. 'I doubt if your hand usually feels clammy. When I saw you upstairs --'
She jerked the hand away and blurted, 'I want to see Nero Wolfe. I want to see him right away, before I change my mind.' She was gazing up at me, with the moist brown eyes. 'My God, I'm in a fix now all right! I'm one scared baboon! I've made up my mind, I'm going to get Nero Wolfe to get me out of this somehow --why shouldn't he? He did a job for Dazy Perrit, didn't he? Then I'm through. I'll get a job at Mac/s or marry a truck driver! I want to see Nero Wolfe!'
I told her it couldn't be done until the party was over.
She looked around. 'Are people coming in here?'
I told her no.
'May I have another drink, please?'
I told her she should give the first one time to settle, and instead of arguing she arose and got the glass from the corner of Wolfe's desk, went to the cupboard, and helped herself. I sat down and frowned at her. Her line sounded fairly screwy for a member of the Manhattan Flower Club, or even for a daughter of one. She
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ae back to her chair, sat, and met my eyes. Looking straight like that could have been a nice way to i the time if there had been any chance for a meet; of minds, but it was easy to see that what her mind t fighting with was connected with me only acciden-
'I could tell you,' she said, hoarse again. 'Many people have,' I said modestly. 'I'm going to.' 'Good. Shoot.'
'I'm afraid I'll change my mind and I don't want ?
'Okay. Ready, go.' 'I'm a crook.'
'It doesn't show,' I objected. 'What do you do, it at canasta?'
'I didn't say I'm a cheat.' She cleared her throat the hoarseness. 'I said I'm a crook. Remind me icday to tell you the story of my life, how my hus got killed in the war and I broke through the :. Don't I sound interesting?' 'You sure do. What's your line, orchid-stealing?' 'No. I wouldn't be small and I wouldn't be dirty-- ,'s what I thought, but once you start it's not so . You meet people and you get involved. You can't alone. Two years ago four of us took over a hun grand from a certain rich woman with a rich hus . I can tell you about that one, even names,
she couldn't move anyhow.' nodded. 'Blackmailers' customers seldom can.
Tm not a blackmailer!' Her eyes were blazing. 'Excuse me. Mr. Wolfe often says I jump to conclu
18.'
'You did that time.' She was still indignant. 'A
148 Rex Stout
blackmailer's not a crook, he's a snake! Not that it really matters. What's wrong with being a crook is the other crooks--they make it dirty whether you like it or not. I've been up to my knees in it. It makes a coward of you too-- that's the worst. I had a friend once--as close as a crook ever comes to having a friend--and a man killed her, strangled her, and if I had told what I knew about it they could have caught him, but I was afraid to go to the cops, so he's still loose. And she was my friend! That's getting down toward the bottom. Isn't it?'
'Fairly low,' I agreed, eyeing her. 'Of course I don't know you any too well. I don't know how you react to two stiff drinks. Maybe your hobby is stringing private detectives. If so, why don't you wait for Mr. Wolfe? It would be more fun with two of us.'
She simply ignored it. 'I realized long ago,' she went on as if it were a one-way conversation, 'that I had made a mistake. I wasn't what I had thought I was going to be--a romantic reckless outlaw. You can't do it that way, or anyhow I couldn't. I was just a crook and I knew it, and about a year ago I decided to break loose. A good way to do it would have been to talk to someone the way I'm talking to you now, but I didn't have sense enough to see that. And so many people were involved. It was so involved! You know?'
I nodded. 'Yeah, I know.'
'So I kept putting it off. We got a good one in December and I went to Florida for a vacation, but down there I met a man with a lead and we followed it up here just a week ago. That's what I'm working on now. That's what brought me here today. This man--'
She stopped abruptly.
'Well?' I invited her.
She looked dead serious, not more serious, but a
Curtains for Three 149
erent kind. 'I'm not putting anything on him,' she Blared. 'I don't owe him anything and I don't like a, but this is strictly about me and no one else--only [ to explain why I'm here. I wish to God I'd never ne!'
| There was no question about that coming from her t, unless she had done a lot of rehearsing in front , mirror.
'It got you this talk with me,' I reminded her. She was looking straight through me and beyond, f only I hadn't come! If only I hadn't seen him!' She toward me for emphasis. 'I'm either too smart jnot smart enough, that's my trouble. I should have Iked away from him, turned away quick, when I real11 knew who he was, before he turned
