“Oh, stop worrying. I don’t make it a habit to pry into the financial condition of members of my family, but in Noreen’s case, I happen to know — and only because she told me — that on her twenty-first birthday she came into the first payment of a trust fund, and that it brought her something over a million. And there is plenty more on the way a few years down the line in another installment. Unlike my case, it hasn’t spoiled her, though; she’s worked, by choice, from the day she got out of school, and she is by no means a reckless spender. She does buy nice clothes, though, despite the way she looked this morning. Anyway, the bottom line is that you and Wolfe can charge your usual outrageous fees without having to worry about guilty consciences.”
“I never have a guilty conscience,” I said, trying to sound offended. “Also, you are not spoiled. Lazy — maybe. Spoiled — never.”
“You sweet-talker,” she purred. “If you don’t hear from me in the next ten minutes, Noreen will be on your doorstep promptly at three.”
It was actually seven minutes after three when the doorbell sounded. “That would be Miss James,” I said to Wolfe, who gave no sign from behind his book that he had heard me.
Viewed through the one-way panel in our front door, Noreen James looked like a different person from the one I had seen earlier in her mother’s apartment. Granted, she had now been awake for several hours, had made up her face and fixed her hair, and was clad in a crisp blue shirtdress with a white belt and white pumps. As Lily said, she does dress well.
“Good afternoon, and please come in,” I said with a smile as I swung the door open.
“Hello, again, Mr. Goodwin,” she responded primly, returning the smile. “And thank you for getting me such a fast appointment.”
“Call me Archie, and thanks aren’t necessary. Part of my role is to see that my employer doesn’t get rusty from disuse.” I ushered Noreen into the office and made the introductions. Lily must have primed her, because she seemed to know that Wolfe is not a hand-shaker.
“I appreciate your seeing me,” she said, easing into the red leather chair and keeping her eyes on Wolfe. “I have my checkbook here, and—”
“A moment, Miss James.” Wolfe raised a palm. If he was rankled by having a young woman as a prospective client — something that has unsettled him on occasion — he didn’t let it show. The man never ceases to amaze me. “My agreeing to talk to you does not necessarily signify a contract between us. That may result, but not until I know considerably more than is now the case.”
“All right,” Noreen said, folding her hands in her lap and meeting his eyes squarely. She seemed undaunted by Wolfe and his size, which endeared her to me. “But first, I have to tell you both the news: Michael is out on bond. My father took your advice, Mr. Goodwin — Archie. His attorney recommended a criminal lawyer, his name is Hargrove, and this man argued that Michael has no record and that his family is well-known. So now he’s free.”
“At least for the moment,” I remarked. “But, hey, that’s a victory of sorts. And from what little I know about Hargrove, you’ve got yourself a top-flight man.”
Wolfe snorted, which was meant to reflect his opinion of lawyers in general. “Before we begin, Miss James, may I offer you something to drink? I’m having beer, but Mr. Goodwin can get you any one of a variety of beverages.” She said no thanks and Wolfe rang for beer, readjusting his bulk.
“Very well. Mr. Goodwin has supplied me with some basic information, but I have myriad questions, a few of a personal nature.”
“I’m ready.”
“First, how did you meet Mr. Linville?”
“Through my roommate — Polly Mars. She and I went to college together, at Smith, and for the last two years we’ve shared an apartment on the Upper West Side. She’s a fashion model, kind of struggling at it, but getting herself a few jobs.”
“And where did Miss Mars make the acquaintance of Mr. Linville?”
“At Orion — that’s a bar up on Second Avenue where a lot of people our age hang out.”
“You among them?”
She colored slightly. “Oh, I’ve been there a couple of times with Polly,” she said, brushing her hair back from her forehead. “But I’m not really into those places. They’re awfully noisy for one thing, and most of the people are phonies, if you know what I mean.”
Wolfe didn’t know, and didn’t care. “So Miss Mars brought you together?”
“Not directly,” Noreen said, crossing one slim leg over the other and smoothing her skirt. “Actually, she had several dates with... Sparky, and the first time I met him was when they came back to our apartment one night after hitting a few of the places. I could tell he was interested in me, and a couple days later he called and asked me to go out.”
“How did Miss Mars react to this?”
“That was the first thing that occurred to me, as you might imagine,” Noreen said. “She knew before she ever went out with him that he had a reputation for being pretty wild, but from what I could tell, and from our talks, she was having a good time with him. Anyway, when he called me and asked me out, I didn’t say yes right away; I put him off, asked him to call back later. And then I told Polly about it. She said it didn’t bother her at all, that she was getting tired of going to the same places with him — like Orion and Morgana’s. You should see Polly, Mr. Wolfe. She’s really beautiful, tall and blond. She’s never had trouble getting dates. She’s gone out with guys just as rich and well-known as Sparky, so being around him was no big deal with her.”
“Did she warn you about anything?” Wolfe asked.
“You mean...” She took a deep breath, then shook her head vigorously. “No. And I got the impression nothing much went on between them. But I didn’t ask her during the time they were seeing each other, and she didn’t volunteer any details. We’re pretty good friends, but we don’t talk about... that with each other, never have.”
I knew Wolfe was uncomfortable with the subject. But I also was aware, given his respect and admiration for Lily, that he was willing to tough it out, at least for a while.
“So you agreed to an engagement with Mr. Linville?”
“Yes, and we had a very good time that first night. To be honest, I was a little worried beforehand. Most of the guys I’ve gone out with, at least until recently, have been, you know, fairly conservative. Maybe that’s because I’m what you’d call conservative too, I guess. And I’d have to say I was flattered by the attention. Anyway, on our first date we went to a comedy revue down in the Village, which was very funny. Then we had a couple of drinks at Morgana’s, where we ran into some of his friends, and then he took me home — all very innocent. God, was I fooled. Talk about a babe in the woods.”
Wolfe drank beer and glowered at his nearly empty glass. “So there was a second engagement?”
Noreen nodded. “Right. By now, I was thinking Sparky Linville was just an exuberant rich young guy whose activities had gotten blown out of proportion by the papers. And there was even something about him in People or Us one time, I think. Anyway, yes, I did go out with him again — once.”
Wolfe contemplated her but said nothing. She returned the look, then glanced my way. Only a stone-heart could fail to have sympathy for her at this point, and even Wolfe isn’t a stone-heart. We both waited for her to continue.
“So the second time we went out, on a Saturday night, it was just for drinks, to — where else? — Orion and then Morgana’s. He took me home early and invited himself up. Polly was gone for the weekend, staying with her folks up in Bronxville.”