Anyone who thinks the phone booths in that building are not tapped has a right to his opinion, but so have I. Therefore when I got Wolfe and told him where I was we kept it on a high plane. I reported the encounter with Stebbins and said that as usual Cramer and the DA thought I was withholding information they had a right to, which, as he knew, was absurd. He said that he already knew of the encounter with Stebbins, that Mrs. Yeager had phoned and he had requested her to come to the office, and they had discussed the matter. He asked if it would be advisable for Fritz to keep the casseroled kidneys warm, and I said no, I was on a diet. They finally turned me loose at a quarter to one, and when I got home the house was dark and there was no note on my desk.
When I had taken on a satisfactory amount of the bread and sturgeon and cheese, and learned from the Times that the District Attorney hoped he would soon be able to report progress in the Yeager murder investigation, I dragged myself up the two flights to my room. I had promised my dentist years ago that I would brush my teeth every night, but that night I skipped it.
Since I had done all my errands and there had been no note on my desk, and I was behind on sleep, I didn't turn the radio alarm on, and when I pried my eyes open enough to see the clock it said 9:38. Wolfe would have finished breakfast and gone up to the orchids. I thought another ten minutes wouldn't hurt, but I hate to dash around in the morning fog, so I turned on my will power and rolled out. At 10:17 I entered the kitchen, told Fritz good morning, and got my orange juice. At 10:56 I finished my second cup of coffee, thanked Fritz for the bacon and apricot omelet, went to the office, and started opening the mail. The sound came of the elevator and Wolfe entered, said good morning, went to his desk, and asked if there was any word from Hewitt about the Lycaste delicatissima. True to form. Granting that he knew they hadn't tossed me in the can as a material witness, since I was there, and that I had nothing urgent to report, since I wouldn't have waited until eleven o'clock, he might at least have asked how long they had kept me. Slitting envelopes, I said there was nothing from Hewitt.
"How long did they keep you?" he asked.
"Only three hours more after I phoned. I got home a little after one."
"It must have been rather difficult."
"There were spots. I refused to sign a statement."
"That was wise. Satisfactory. Mrs. Yeager told me of your impromptu explanation to Mr. Stebbins. She was impressed. Satisfactory."
Two satisfactories in one speech was a record. "Oh," I said, "just my usual discretion and sagacity. It was either that or shoot him.'' I took the mail to him. "Anything on the program?"
"No. We are suspended." He pushed the buzzer button, one long and one short, for beer, and got at the mail. In a moment Fritz came with a bottle and a glass. I sat and yawned, and got my notebook out. There would be letters. The phone rang. It was Lon Cohen, wanting to know if I had spent a pleasant evening at the DA's office and how had I got bail in the middle of the night. I told him bail wasn't permitted on a murder one charge; I had jumped out a window and was now a fugitive. When I hung up Wolfe was ready to dictate, but as I picked up my notebook and swiveled, the phone rang again. It was Saul Panzer. He wanted Wolfe. Wolfe didn't give me the off signal, so I stayed on.
"Good morning, Saul."
"Good morning, sir. I've got it. Tight."
"Indeed?"
"Yes, sir. A little place on Seventy-seventh Street near First Avenue. Three-sixty-two East Seventy-seventh Street. His name is Arthur Wenger." Saul spelled it. "He picked him from the photograph and he's positive. He's not sure of the day, but it was last week, either Tuesday or Wednesday, in the morning. I'm in a booth around the corner."
"Satisfactory. I want him here as soon as possible."
"He won't want to come. He's alone in the place. Ten dollars would probably do it, but you know how that is. He'll be asked if he was paid."
"He won't be asked - or if he is, I'll be foundered anyway. Ten dollars, twenty, fifty, no matter. When will you have him here?"
"Half an hour."
"Satisfactory. I'll expect you."
We hung up. Wolfe glanced up at the clock and said, "Get Mr. Aiken."
I dialed Continental Plastic Products. Mr. Aiken was in conference and couldn't be disturbed. I got that not only from a female who was polite, but also from a male who thought he shouldn't have been disturbed. The best I could get was that a message would be conveyed to Mr. Aiken within fifteen minutes, and I made the message brief: "Call Nero Wolfe, urgent." In nine minutes the phone rang and the polite female asked me to put Mr, Wolfe on. I don't like that, even with a president, so I told her to put Mr. Aiken on, and she didn't make an issue of it. In a minute I had him and signed to Wolfe.
"Mr. Aiken? Nero Wolfe. I have a report to make and it's exigent. Not on the telephone. Can you be here with Miss McGee by a quarter past twelve?"
"Not conveniently, no. Can't it wait until after lunch?"
"It shouldn't. Sometimes convenience must bow to necessity. Delay would be hazardous."
"Damn it, I… " Pause. "You say with Miss McGee?"
"Yes. Her presence is required."
"I don't know." Pause. "All right. We'll be there."
Wolfe hung up. He cleared his throat. "Your notebook, Archie. Not a letter, a draft of a document. Not for mailing."
16
On the wall of the office, at the right as you enter, is a picture of a waterfall, not large, 14 by 17. Its center is one inch below my eye level, but I'm just under six feet tall. The picture was made to order. On the wall of the alcove at the end of the hall is a hinged wood panel. Swing it open, and there's the back of the picture, but your eyes go on through and you are looking into the office. At twenty minutes past twelve the eyes that were doing that belonged to Mr. Arthur Wenger of 362 East 77th Street, a skinny guy past fifty with big ears and not much hair, who had been delivered by Saul Panzer in a little less than the specified half hour. The object in the office nearest him was the red leather chair, and its occupant, Mr. Benedict Aiken.
I wasn't in the alcove with Wenger; Saul was. Wolfe and I were at our desks in the office. Julia McGee was on a yellow chair facing Wolfe's desk. Wolfe was speaking, but before I submit my conclusion I must tell you how I came by it. When you asked me Tuesday evening who would decide if I have faithfully observed the provision of my employment, I said reason and good faith, applied jointly. You can judge fairly only if you know how I proceeded. Frankly, I am myself not entirely certain. I only know that in the circumstances - Yes, Saul?"
Saul was in the doorway. "It's a perfect fit, Mr. Wolfe."
"Very well. I'll look at it later." Wolfe went back to Aiken. "In the circumstances there was no other course open to me. As I told you, the only way to stop the police investigation of the murder was to reach an acceptable solution of it without involving that room. I have never tackled a task that looked so unpromising. Indeed, knowing as I did that Yeager had been killed in that room, it seemed all but hopeless."
"You didn't know that until you set that trap for Miss McGee yesterday." Aiken was curt.
"No. I knew it much earlier, Tuesday noon, when Mr. Goodwin reported his conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Perez, the janitor of that house and his wife. When Mr. Perez had gone up with refreshments at midnight Sunday he had found the body there, and they had taker it out and put it in that hole."