"Milk, Archie?"
"No. Keep it low. The hole's uncovered. Tricks "
"Ah!" His eyes gleamed. He loved conspiracies and sinister things. "Good case?"
"Case hell. The second World War. It started this afternoon up on 48th Street. We'd better not talk "
I sat on the edge of the table for two minutes by my watch and then went to the house phone on the wall and buzzed the office. Wolfe answered.
"Well?"
"Mr Goodwin speaking. Green says he has got to talk with you "
"I'm busy "
"I told him that. He said what the hell."
"You can give him the programme as well as I can, and the reports we got yesterday-"
"I told him that too. He says he wants to hear it from you I'll switch him on to your line."
"No, no, don't do that. Confound him anyway. You know I'm not alone-and that's a confidential-tell him to hold the wire. He's an unspeakable nuisance. I'll come there and take it "
"Okay."
I hung up and tiptoed back to the wood carving in the hall. In a moment the office door opened and Wolfe came out and shut the door. He got to me fast, whispered to me, "Quick on the signal," and glued his eyes to the peephole.
And I nearly missed connexions. Rudolph Faber must have been in a hurry. Wolfe hadn't been at the peephole more than ten seconds before he jerked his hand up and waved it. I wasn't supposed to jump or run, so I trod the three paces to the office door, giving my steps plenty of weight, and flung the door open and kept going on in. Faber, in an attitude of arrested motion, was standing across the room from where his chair was, with his back to the book shelves, but his hands were empty. He blinked at me once, but otherwise his face was impassive except for its inborn expression of superior and bullheaded meanness. With only one swift glance at him, I went to my desk and sat down, opened a drawer and took out a file of papers, and began going through them to look for something.
He didn't say a word and neither did I. I finished going through the file and started on another one, and was prepared to continue with that indefinitely, but it wasn't necessary. I was half-way through the second one when noises filtered in through the door to the hall, and pretty soon the door opened and I looked up and got another shock. Nero Wolfe was there, in overcoat, muffler, hat and gloves, with his applewood stick in his hand. I gawked at him.
"I'm sorry," he told Faber. "I must go out on business. If you want to go on with this, come to-morrow between eleven and one, or two and four, or six and eight. Those are my hours. Archie, we'll take the sedan. If you please. Fritz! Fritz, if you will help Mr Faber with his coat. "
This time Faber's heels did click. I suppose they're more apt to when you're upset. He went, without having committed himself on the question of going on with it to-morrow.
When Fritz came back in Wolfe said, "Here, take these, please," and handed him stick, hat, gloves, muffler and overcoat. "Two bottles of beer " Hearing that, I put the files away in the drawer and went to the kitchen and got a glass of milk. When I returned to the office he was back at his desk, leaning back with his eyes closed. I sat and sipped the milk until the arrival of the beer made him straighten up, and then said:
"Genius again. He was going for United Yugoslavia "
Wolfe nodded. "He had his fingers on it when you opened the door "
"Lucky guess "
"Not a guess, an experiment. He was stalling. He wasn't saying anything and had no intention of saying anything. But he wanted you out of the room. Why?"
"Sure. Very good. But how did he figure on getting you out of the room too?"
"I don't know." Wolfe emptied the glass. "I don't manage his mind for him, thank God. I did go out, didn't I?"
"Yeah. Okay. So, did one of the Balkans send him to get that paper, or has he got Miss Tormic in his power because he's her alibi on the murder, or did he-by jiminy!" I slapped my thigh. "I've got it! He's Prince Donevitch!"
"Don't be amusing. I'm in no humour for it "
"I realize you're not " I sipped some more milk. "Where do we stand, anyway? Are we on a case or not? If so, what kind of a case?"
"I don't know. I don't like it I don't like that paper. I don't like having that thing in the refrigerator disguised as a cake. We'll either have to find out who used it or turn it over to Mr Cramer, and neither prospect is pleasing. And I have a responsibilty. I adopted that girl "
"You don't even know whether it's her or not "
"I intend to find out. I sent you back to bring her here. You didn't do it "
"Well, boil my bones!" I glared at him. "Am I to infer that you insinuate that I should have lugged her along when I sneaked through the basement and fell over the fence and so forth? No. You're being aggravating, and God knows you're good at it Do you want me to get her right now?"
"Yes "
I gaped. "You do?"
"Yes "
I looked at him. He wasn't stringing me; he meant it And not one red cent involved. It was at that moment that I decided never under any circumstances to adopt a daughter. Without another word I finished the milk and got up, and the next minute would have been gone if the phone hadn't rung.
I sat down and took it. "Office of Nero Wolfe. Archie Goodwin speaking."
"Ah, Meesturrr Gudwinnnn? Zees ees Madame Zorrrka."
"Oh, yeah." I passed Wolfe the sign to listen in on his phone. "I saw you up there this afternoon."
"Yes. Zat ees why I phone. What happen zis afternoon, eet ees terrible!"
"Right. Awful."
"Yes. Zee police, zey kestion me long time. I tell zem everyzing but one sing. I deed not tell zem how I see Mees Tormic put somesing in your pocket."
"No?"
"But no. I sink eet ees not my beesiness, and I do not want any tr-rrrouble. But I am worried. Now I sink eet ees a mur-rrrder, and I owe a duty. I must now tell zee police or I cannot sleep. I am duty bound."
"Sure, I see. Duty bound."
"Yes. But also I sink eet ees only fair I tell you before I tell zee police. Now I tell you. Now I tell zee police."
"Wait a minute, please. Let me get this straight. You're going to phone the police now?"
"Yes."
"And exactly what are you going to tell them?"
"Zat I see Mees Tormic put somesing in your pocket in zee coat hanging on zee rack and trying not to have anybody see. Zen pretty soon you take zee coat and go."
"Now, listen." I tried to laugh. "You sure are seeing things. Where are you now?"
"Zey let me go home. I am at my apartment, 78th Street. 542 East."
"Well, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll get hold of Miss Tormic and we'll drop in to see you. If you think we're murderers, which we're not-"
"Oh, I'm not afraid. But I am worried."
"Don't you worry for a minute. We'll be there in less than an hour. You're sure you'll be there?"
"Certainly I will."
"The police can wait that long."
"But not longer, Meesturr Gudwinnnn."
"Okay. Absolutely."
I shoved back the phone and stood up.
"There," I said, with no feeling because my feelings were too deep. "There you are. What else could I say?"
"Nothing," Wolfe muttered. "Now be quiet."
He shut his eyes and his lips began to push in and out. That went on for ten minutes. I sat and tried to figure out something milder than kidnapping, but my brain wouldn't work because I was too damn disgruntled. Finally he said quietly:
"Get Mr Cramer."
That took a little doing, because the saps Cramer had left up at Miltan's studio had to go into a huddle before they would even admit he wasn't there. Next I tried his office at headquarters, and got him; apparently the base of operations had been moved down there. Wolfe took it:
"Mr Cramer? I have a little something on that Ludlow case. No, it's somewhat complicated. I think the best idea would be for you to have a man collect Madame Zorka and Miss Tormic and bring them to my office as soon as possible. No, I want to co-operate, but I hardly think any other procedure would be feasible. No, I haven't solved the case, but this is a development that I am sure will interest you. You know whether I may be depended on for that sort of thing. You'll come yourself? Fine."