woods, he tossed the bunch of grass among some undergrowth. If he had done that after he reached the fork instead of before, we would know whether he was headed for the highway or for your house. As it is, he bungled badly, either because he figured no crime would be suspected, or because he was stupid, or because he feared someone might come and was in great haste.' r <^t-< '' FR1;72 WHERE THERE'S A WILL 'I don't believe it,' said April Hawthorne. Everyone looked at her. Her pallor had disappeared, and the famous ripple was in her voice again. 'Not any of it.' Skinner faced her. 'What is it you don't believe, Miss Hawthorne? The facts, or the interpretation of them?' 'I simply don't believe that my brother was murdered. I don't believe that we Hawthornes are having this happen to us. I don't believe it.' 'Neither do I.' It was Osric Stauffer backing her up, energetically. The district attorney shrugged and returned to June. 'Do you, Mrs. Dunn? I mean, I earnestly want you to realize that this is what it is, what I said, the cruel and remorseless march of events. I regret it, but I have to deal with it.' June looked at him, said nothing, gave no sign. 'Here,' Skinner said, 'I want to convince you-- I want--I'll have to have--your co-operation in this--and you must understand that your sisters' suspicions, which I suppose you share--are absolutely groundless. No political gossip or slander has anything to do with it. I presume, since you were here consulting him, you regard Nero Wolfe as your friend. He is certainly an expert on crime and evidence.' He pivoted. 'Mr. 'wolfe, is it your opinion that Noel Hawthorne's death was an accident?' FR1;I WHERE THERE'S A WILL 73 I 'wolfe shook his head. 'I'm an onlooker, Mr. Skinner. I happen to be here because this is my office.' 'But your opinion, based on what you have , heard?' 'Well .. . am I to accept your facts?' 'Yes. They are unassailable.' / - ' ; 'Then they're unique. However, postulating them, Mr. Hawthorne was murdered.' ' Skinner turned. But by the time he faced June again, she was on her feet. 'You can find us at our brother's residence,' she told him. 'All of us. I shall telephone my husband from there. You'd bett ter come too, Glenn. This means--I know what it means. We'll have to take it.' She moved. 'Come, I Andy. May . . . April, bring Celia .. .' Wolfe's voice sounded: 'If you please, Mrs. Dunn. Do you wish me to proceed with the little matter we were discussing?' 'I think--' Prescott began, but June cut him off: 'Yes. I do. Go ahead. Come, children.' CHAPTER FIVE wolfe said, 'Move closer. Miss Karn, so we won't have to shout. That red chair is the most comfortable.'
Naomi Karn, without saying anything, got up, crossed to the red chair, recently vacated by May Hawthorne, and sank into it. She was the only one left. Immediately upon the departure of the Hawthornes and Dunns, with entourage, both branches of law and order had deserted us too. Inspector Cramer, noticing the young woman still inconspicuous in her corner, had pampered his curiosity by firing a question at Wolfe, but Wolfe had waved it off and he had abandoned it and hastened after the others. Wolfe regarded her with half-closed eyes. After a moment he murmured, 'Well. Now you're in a pickle.' She lifted her brows a trifle and asked, 'Me? Not at all.' She wasn't pasty-faced, as she had been some half an hour before, but she was nothing like as ycocky as when she had originally made me sore. 'Oh, yes, you are.' Wolfe wiggled a finger at her. 'Let's don't start with caracoles. You know very well you're in a devil of a pickle. Those police74
FR1;WHERE THERE^S A WILL 75 men are going up there and ask interminable questions. Among others, about Mr. Hawthorne's will. Even if it's a political foray, which seems doubtful, they'll inquire about the will for the sake of appearances. They always do. Then they'll question you. I expect Inspector Cramer will take that on himself. Mr. Cramer's weapons are nothing remarkable for penetration, but they can do a lot of bruising.' He pushed a button. 'Will you have some beer?' She shook her head. 'I can't imagine any question anyone could ask me that would be difficult or embarrassing to answer.' ^^?./< 'I'll wager that isn't true. Miss Karn. I don t mean merely that there are thousands of questions which I myself would find it difficult or embarrassing to answer, and that doubtless holds for all the members of our race. I mean, specifically, that you were scared half to death when Mr. Skinner announced that Noel Hawthorne was murdered. The confident and defiant intelligence which had flashed from your eyes a moment before, vanished like that.' He snapped his fingers. 'Also, specifically, what are you here for now?' 'I'm here because you sent for me and I don't intend--' 'No no no. We've turned that page. Mr. Skinner has. That bomb he lugged in here has started a new FR1;76 WHERE THERE'S A WILL chapter. It caused a lull, temporary perhaps but complete, in the hostilities over the will; everyone had forgotten all about it until I asked Mrs. Dunn if she wished me to proceed. Including you. If after the shock of Mr. Skinner's announcement, you had resumed thinking about the will, your face would have gone on the warpath again, but it didn't; to this moment it shows only wariness and concern. Your mind isn't on money. Miss Karn, it's on murder, and I have nothing to do with that. Why didn't you get up and go as soon as the others had left? Why did you stay?' It looked to me as if he had overplayed it, for she wasn't answering him with words, but with action. She had quietly arisen from her chair and started for the door. Wolfe spoke, with no change in his tone or tempo, to her receding back: 'When your mind leaves murder for money again, let me know and we'll talk it over.' I was feeling disgruntled. Granting that Skinner's bomb had filled the air with fragments, after all the trouble I had taken to bring her there I saw no sense in his shoving her off like that just to hear himself talk. At least I wasn't going to aid and abet by opening doors; I sat. Then I saw her feet were dragging, and with her hand on the knob she stopped and stood there with her back to us. After a few FR1;WHERE THERE^S A WILL 79 seconds of that she turned abruptly, marched e^n to the red chair, and sat down. ' She looked at Wolfe and said, 'I stayed because I was sitting there thinking about something.' He nodded. 'Just so,' he said pleasantly. 'Did you get anywhere?' 'Yes. I did. I made a decision. I was going to tell you what it was, and before I got a chance you jumped on me, about my being in a pickle and being scared half to death. I'm not scared, Mr. Wolfe.' Her eyes, leveled at him, certainly didn't look scared, and her voice didn't sound like it. 'You can't browbeat me. The last time I was in a panic was when I swallowed a live frog at the age of two. I wouldn't be now, even if I had murdered Mr. Hawthorne myself.' ^ ^ / .^, -^ ^- r,^'That's fine. I like spunk. What was the decision you made?' 'I'm not sure I'm going to tell you. I'm not sure but what, after all, it would be better to let it be a fight instead of a compromise.' 'Then you haven't really made a decision.' 'Yes, I have. And I think--I'll stick to it. I assure you I wasn't frightened into it, but certainly I made it because of this--this news. I'm not in any pickle now, but I have sense enough to know that with the whole Hawthorne gang for bitter enemies I might be. With their position and influence. They 76 WHERE THERE'S A WILL chap have half the estate. Half of what was left to ^rc.' 'Indeed.' Wolfe closed his eyes, and after a moment partly opened them again. 'So that was your decision.' 'It was.' ^ 'And you think you'll stick to it.' 'I do.' 'That's too bad.' 'Why is it too bad?' 'Because it's quite -likely that if you had made such an offer, say this morning, when Mr. Stauffer called on you, it would have been accepted. Now, unfortunately, it can't be considered. Do you want to hear a counterproposal?' 'What is it?' 'That you get a hundred thousand dollars and my clients get the rest.' Miss Karn got smaller. That was what it looked like, she simply shrank, not back, but in all around. She was smaller. I watched her doing it for ten seconds. But apparently it was only springs coiling tighter inside of her, for all at once she laughed, and it was a pretty good laugh. Then she stopped laughing and said: 'That's very funny.' 'Oh, no, really, it isn't a bit funny.' 'But it is.' A sort of chuckle came out of her, <i WHERE THERE'S A WILL 79 like the laugh's colt trotting along behind. 'I mean, it's funny that Nero Wolfe should be so utterly mistaken. Such an idiotic blunder for you to make! ' You must even be fool enough to think I killed ' Hawthorne myself! That would have been quite a trick, ^dce I was in New York all of Tuesday afternoon.'*
'I'm not a fool. Miss Karn, and I advise you not to be.' 'I'll try not.' She arose from her chair and adjusted the blue linen wrap. 'wliy are you so generous with the hundred thousand? I suppose that's fur me to hire a good defense lawyer. It's sweet of you, simply darling. Will I find a taxi somewhere?' i-- 'Are you going?' 'Yes, I must. Such a nice party.' -- 'I might be able to persuade my clients to double it. Two hundred thousand. You can reach me here -^ at any time. Taxis are hard to find over here by the 1 river. Mr. Goodwin will take you home. Archie, please stop in the kitchen and tell Saul we'll dine , when you return.' I headed off a glance of surprise at him. So the son-of-a-gun had taken steps during my absence uptown. Telling the heiress I'd only be a moment, I left her in the hall and proceeded to the kitchen, and sure enough, there was Saul Panzer playing j pinochle for matches with Fred Durkin at my 80 WHERE THERE S A WILL
breakfast table. His gray eyes, the best eyes for seeing on the face of the globe, looked up at me sharply. 'Where you bound for?' I asked him. 'Tail on a woman named Karn?' 'Yes.' 'She's off. I'm taking her home. 787 park Avenue, 12D. It's just possible she'll am me to let her out before we get there. You goti^cailp? Good. I'll take it easy. Across 34th to Park and then uptown. If you get close to her, lash yoursettto the mast and count ten. Her middle name is D?lah.' I went back to the hall arid go| her to the roadster. She made 'er and escorted 'ort at small talk as I took my time going crosstown on 34th, dawdling until I caught sight, in the driving mirror, of Saul's coupe
