I told him I'd be. right down. After he had gone and his footsteps had faded away Wolfe said, 'You might con- fine yourself to direct evidence. That you rubbed your hand and I endeavored to make you stop is our affair.'
I told him that I regarded it as such and left him to his book.
5
AT THE FOOT of the stairs I was met by Pratt; standing with his hands stuck deep in his pockets and his wide jaw clamped tight. He made a motion with his head without saying anything, and led m. mto the big living room and to where a long-legged gentleman sat on a chair biting his lip, and letting it go, and biting it again. This latter barked at me when I was still five paces short of him, without waiting for Pratt or me to arrange contact:
'Your name's Goodwin, is it?'
It stuck out all over him, one of those born-to-command guys. I never invite them to parties. But I turned on the control and told him quietly, 'Yep. Archie Goodwin.'
'It was you that drove the bull off and fired the shots?'
'Yes, doctor.'
'I'm not a doctor! I'm Frederick Osgood. My son has been killed. My only son.'
'Excuse me, I thought you looked like a doctor.'
Pratt, who had backed off and stood facing us with his hands still in his pockets, spoke: 'The doctor hasn't got here yet. Mr. Osgood lives only a mile away and came in a few minutes.'
Osgood demanded, 'Tell your story. I want to hear it.'
'Yes, sir.' I told him. I know how to make a brief but complete report and did so, up to the point where the others had arrived, and ended by saying that I presumed he had had the rest of it from Mr. Pratt.
'Never mind Pratt. Your story is that you weren't there when my son entered the pasture.'
'My story is just as I've told it.'
'You're a New York detective.'
I nodded. 'Private.'
'You work for Nero Wolfe and came here with him.'
'Right. Mr. Wolfe is upstairs.'
'What are you and Wolfe doing here?'
I said conversationally, 'If you want a good sock in the jaw, stand up.'
He started to lift. 'Why, damn you-'
I showed him a palm. 'Now hold it. I know your son has just been killed and I'll make all allowances within reason, but you're just making a damn fool of yourself. What's the matter with you, anyway? Are you hysterical?'
He bit his lip. In a second he said, with his tone off a shade, 'No, I'm not hysterical. I'm trying to avoid making a fool of myself. I'm trying to decide whether to get the sheriff and the police here. I can't understand what happened. I don't believe it happened the way you say it did.'
'That's too bad.' I looked him in the eye. 'Because for my part of it I have a witness. Someone was with me all the time. A… a young lady.'
'Where is she? What's her name?'
'Lily Rowan.'
He stared at me, stared at Pratt, and came back to me. He was beyond biting his lip. 'Is she here?'
'Yes. I'll give you this free: Mr. Wolfe and I had an accident to our car and walked to this house to telephone. Everyone here was a stranger to us, including Lily Rowan. After dinner she went for a walk and found me guarding the pasture and stayed to keep me company. She was with me when I found the bull and drove him off. If you get the police and they honor me with any attention they'll be wasting their time. I've told you what I saw and did, and everything I saw and did.'
Osgood's fingers were fastened onto his knees like claws digging for a hold. He demanded, 'Was my son with this Lily Rowan?'
'Not while she was with me. She joined me on the far side of the pasture around nine-thirty. I hadn't seen your son since he left here in the afternoon. I don't know whether she had or not. Ask her.'
'I'd rather wring her neck, damn her. What do you know about a bet my son made today with Pratt?'
A rumble came from Pratt: 'I've told you all about that, Osgood. For God's sake give yourself a chance to cool down a little.'
'I'd like to hear what this man has to say. What about it, Goodwin? Did you hear them making the bet?'
'Sure, we all heard it, including your daughter and your son's friend-name of Bronson.' I surveyed him with decent compassion. 'Take some advice from an old hand, mister, from one who has had the advantage of watching Nero Wolfe at work. You're rotten at this, terrible. You remind me of a second-grade dick harassing a dip.
