Bang went another illusion I wouldn't have supposed that a man of Barrett's appearance and breeding, and especially with the clothes he was wearing, could do or say anything mean But the look in his eyes at that moment, and the tone of his voice, were plain mean and you could even say nasty All he said was, "Don't try it, Mr Wolfe. Don't try interfering with my business."
He turned to go.
Fortunately I had noticed the sound of Fritz in the hall and, passing Wolfe a signal to hold Barrett a moment, I bounced up and out, shutting the office door behind me, not in Barrett's face, for he had turned at a remark from Wolfe. As I trotted down the hall Fritz was holding the street door open and three people were entering in the shape of a sandwich: a dick, Zorka, and another dick. Without ceremony or apology I hustled them into the front room and shut them in, then trotted back to the office and nearly knocked Barrett off his pins swinging the door against him.
"Sorry, sir, I did it unwittingly."
He gave me a frosty eye and departed. I stayed there on the threshold until I saw Fritz had got him accoutred and dispatched on his way, and then told Wolfe who had come and asked him if he thought Cramer would prefer to go on looking at orchids. He told me to phone up and tell Horstmann to bring the inspector down, and I did so, and then returned to the front room for Zorka. The two dicks started to come along, and I waved them back and said I would take her to Inspector Cramer.
"We'll help you, buddy," they said, as if they were twins, and stayed as close to her as they could without being vulgar. Wolfe frowned as the four of us cluttered into the office. In a minute we were a neat half-dozen when Cramer joined us, five full-grown men against one dressmaker. One of the dicks got out a notebook and I arranged myself at my desk with mine. Wolfe leaned back with his clasped hands resting on his meal container, looking at Zorka with his eyes half shut. Cramer was scowling at her.
I had remembered the name of a girl in the Bible she resembled-Delilah. But right then she looked crumby, with puffs under her eyes, scared and nervous, and altogether anything but carefree. I was glad to notice, for Wolfe's sake, that she had snared a dark red woollen suit somewhere, and some shoes and stockings, but it was just like Wolfe to pick on that as the first means of harassing her. Naturally he was sore at her for using his fire escape.
He growled at her, "Where did you get those clothes?"
She looked at the skirt as if she hadn't realized she had it on. "Zeeze-" She stopped, frowning at him.
"I mean the clothes you're wearing. When you left here last night-this morning-all you had on was a red thing. Under your coat. Those things you're wearing now were in the bag and suitcase you took to Miss Reade's apartment. Is that right?"
"You say zey waire."
"Weren't they? Who took them to you at the Hotel Brissenden? Mr Barrett?"
She shrugged.
Cramer barked, "We can prove that; and that's not all we can prove! After those clothes were delivered to you this morning, you put them on and left the hotel, and you were followed."
"Zat ees not true." She set her teeth on her lower lip for a moment, and then went on: "For one sing, if you had me followed, you would know where I was and you would not wait so late to get me and bring me here. For anozzer sing, I did not leave zee hotel, not once until zee men came-"
"That won't get you anywhere! Now, look here-"
"Please, Mr Cramer?" Wolfe opened his eyes. "If you don't mind? Remember what you said, that you'd be no better off if you had stood across the street yourself and seen her go in with him and emerge without him. There's no point in running her up a tree if you have no ammunition to bring her down again."
"Have you?" the inspector demanded.
"I don't know, but I'd like to find out."
Cramer pulled out a cigar and stuck it between his teeth. "Go ahead."
Wolfe cleared his throat and focused on her. "Madame Zorka-is that your name?"
"Of course eet ees."
"I know it's the name on your letterheads and in the telephone book. But were you christened Zorka?"
"Eet ees my name."
"What's the rest of it?"
She fluttered a nervous hand. "Zorka."
"Now, my dear young lady. Last night, inferentially at least, you were drunk. But you're not drunk now, you're merely bedraggled. Do you intend to tell us the rest of your name or not?"
"I. " She hesitated, and then said with sudden determination, "No. I can't."
"Why can't you?"
"Because I-it would be dangerous."
"Dangerous to whom? To you?"
"No, not to me-as much as uzzer people." She took a deep breath. "I am a refugee. I escaped."
"Where from?"
She shook her head.
"Come, come," Wolfe said brusquely. "Not the place, the city, the village, if you think you can't. What country? Germany? Russia? Italy? Yugoslavia?"
"All right. Zat much. Yugoslavia."
"I see. Croatia? Serbia? Montenegro?"
"I said Yugoslavia."
"Yes, but. Very well." Wolfe shrugged. "How long ago did you escape?"
"About one year ago."
"And came to America? To New York?"
"First Paris. Paris some time, then America."
"Did you bring a lot of money with you?"
"Oh, no." She spread out her hands to reject an absurdity. "No money. No refugee could have money."
"But I understand you have a business here in New York which must have cost a good deal to set up."
She almost smiled at him. "I knew you would ask zat. A friend was very kind to me."
"Is the friend's name Donald Barrett?"
She sat silent a moment, just looking at him, and then said, "But I am foolish. Zaire is no disgrace. Anyway, eet ees known to a few people, and you would ask and find out. Zee kind friend who lent me money ees Mr Barrett. He ees, what you call eet, silent partner."
"You're in debt to Mr Barrett, then?"
"Debt?" She frowned. "Oh, debt. Yes, very much."
Wolfe nodded. "I sympathize with you, madame. I hate being in debt. Some people don't seem to mind it. By the way, those people in Yugoslavia-those who might be in danger if you told us the rest of your name-are they relatives of yours?"
"Yes, some. Some relatives."
"Are you Jewish?"
"Oh, no. I am very old Yugoslavian family."
"Indeed. Nobility?"
"Well. " She pulled her shoulders up and together, and released them again.
"I see. I won't press that. The danger to your relatives-would that be on account of your activities in New York?"
"But I have no activities in New York, except my business."
"Then I don't understand how revealing your name would place your relatives in peril."
"Zat ees. eet would be suspect."
"What would be suspect?"
She shook her head.
Cramer growled, "We know damn well she's not normal. I could have told you that much. When we went through her apartment this morning-"
Zorka's head jerked around at him and she squeaked in indignation, "You went through my apartment!"
"Yes, ma'am," he said calmly. "And your place of business. Anybody that stages the kind of performance you did last night can expect some unwelcome attention. You're lucky you're not down at headquarters right now phoning for your kind friend to furnish bail for you, and that's exactly where you'll be when we're through here, maybe." He resumed to Wolfe, "There's not a thing, not a scratch of anything, at her home or office either, that takes you back further than a year ago, the time she came to New York. That's why I say we already knew she wasn't normal."
"Did you find a passport?"
"No. That's another thing-"
"Where is your passport, madame?"