can't see you conniving at murder.'
'Give Mr Stebbins my regards,' Wolfe said, 'and my thanks for the compliment.'
'I will. Is that all you have to say?'
Wolfe slapped a palm on the desk. 'What the devil do you expect me to say'Did you come here for the pleasure of screwing from me an admission that I bungled'I'll oblige you. I bungled. Anything else?'
'You're not a bungler.' Cramer waved it away with the cigar. 'Okay, we'll skip that; we might as well. What's bothering me is that the theory of the case the way we're going at it is based on something you know about and we don't. I've read Goodwin's statement three times. According to him, you decided that the three stories were all written by the same person, and it wasn't Alice Porter or Simon Jacobs or Jane Ogilvy. Is that correct?'
'It is.'
'And you decided that by comparing them with books two of them had written and a transcript of Jane Ogilvy's testimony in court.'
'Yes.'
'Then we'd like to check it. I agree with Sergeant Stebbins that you're smart, I ought to know, but the whole approach depends on that, and naturally we want to check it. I understand that you have all that stuff here-the stories and the transcript and the books-and we want them. I'm no expert on writing myself, but we know a man who is. If this theory is right they'll probably be needed as evidence sooner or later. You have them?'
Wolfe nodded. 'And I intend to keep them.'
Cramer stuck the cigar between his lips and clamped his teeth on it. I had seen him light one only once, years ago. The cigar had a specific function, the idea being that with his teeth closed on it he couldn't speak the words that were on his tongue, and that gave him time to swallow them and substitute others. In five seconds he removed the cigar and said, 'That's not reasonable.'
'Mr Cramer,' Wolfe said. 'Let's avoid a squabble if possible. The books are mine; you can get other copies elsewhere. The transcript and manuscripts belong to others and are in my care. I will surrender them only upon request from the owners. You can get them by court order only by establishing that they are material evidence, and I doubt if you can do that as things now stand. You can try.'
'You goddam arrog-' Cramer stuck the cigar in his mouth and set his teeth on it. In four seconds he took it out. 'Listen, Wolfe. Just answer a question. Would I be a sap if I worked a homicide case on a theory that rested entirely on something you and Goodwin said, not under oath?'
A corner of Wolfe's mouth twitched. That was his smile. 'Yes,' he said, 'I must concede that. Perhaps we can resolve the difficulty. I offer a trade. In twenty-four hours you have doubtless gathered information that I would like to have. Give it to me. Then I will lend you what you came for, provided you sign an agreement to return it to me within twenty-four hours, intact.'
'It would take all night to tell you all we've gathered.'
'I don't want it all. Half an hour should do it, maybe less.'
Cramer eyed him. 'Forty-eight hours.'
Wolfe's shoulders went up an eighth of an inch and down again. 'I won't haggle. Very well, forty-eight. First and most important, have you discovered anything that contravenes the theory?'
'No.'
'Have you discovered anything that suggests some other theory?'
'No.'
'Have you discovered anything that supports the theory?'
'Only that the members of that committee verify Goodwin's statement. That doesn't prove you were right in the conclusion you made from reading that stuff, and that's why I want it. The widow knows nothing about it. She says. She also says that Jacobs had no enemies, that there couldn't have been anybody who had a reason to kill him except maybe one person, and that was a man named Goodwin who came to see him last Thursday. Because Jacobs told her to shut the door on him if he came again. We haven't asked Goodwin where he was Monday night from nine to eleven.'
'I'm sure he appreciates your forbearance. Mr Stebbins told Mr
'Give Mr Stebbins my regards,' Wolfe said, 'and my thanks for the compliment.'
'I will. Is that all you have to say?'
Wolfe slapped a palm on the desk. 'What the devil do you expect me to say'Did you come here for the pleasure of screwing from me an admission that I bungled'I'll oblige you. I bungled. Anything else?'
'You're not a bungler.' Cramer waved it away with the cigar. 'Okay, we'll skip that; we might as well. What's bothering me is that the theory of the case the way we're going at it is based on something you know about and we don't. I've read Goodwin's statement three times. According to him, you decided that the three stories were all written by the same person, and it wasn't Alice Porter or Simon Jacobs or Jane Ogilvy. Is that correct?'
'It is.'
'And you decided that by comparing them with books two of them had written and a transcript of Jane Ogilvy's testimony in court.'
'Yes.'
'Then we'd like to check it. I agree with Sergeant Stebbins that you're smart, I ought to know, but the whole approach depends on that, and naturally we want to check it. I understand that you have all that stuff here-the stories and the transcript and the books-and we want them. I'm no expert on writing myself, but we know a man who is. If this theory is right they'll probably be needed as evidence sooner or later. You have them?'
Wolfe nodded. 'And I intend to keep them.'
Cramer stuck the cigar between his lips and clamped his teeth on it. I had seen him light one only once, years ago. The cigar had a specific function, the idea being that with his teeth closed on it he couldn't speak the words that were on his tongue, and that gave him time to swallow them and substitute others. In five seconds he removed the cigar and said, 'That's not reasonable.'
'Mr Cramer,' Wolfe said. 'Let's avoid a squabble if possible. The books are mine; you can get other copies elsewhere. The transcript and manuscripts belong to others and are in my care. I will surrender them only upon request from the owners. You can get them by court order only by establishing that they are material evidence, and I doubt if you can do that as things now stand. You can try.'
'You goddam arrog-' Cramer stuck the cigar in his mouth and set his teeth on it. In four seconds he took it out. 'Listen, Wolfe. Just answer a question. Would I be a sap if I worked a homicide case on a theory that rested entirely on something you and Goodwin said, not under oath?'
A corner of Wolfe's mouth twitched. That was his smile. 'Yes,' he said, 'I must concede that. Perhaps we can resolve the difficulty. I offer a trade. In twenty-four hours you have doubtless gathered information that I would like to have. Give it to me. Then I will lend you what you came for, provided you sign an agreement to return it to me within twenty-four hours, intact.'
'It would take all night to tell you all we've gathered.'
'I don't want it all. Half an hour should do it, maybe less.'
Cramer eyed him. 'Forty-eight hours.'
Wolfe's shoulders went up an eighth of an inch and down again. 'I won't haggle. Very well, forty-eight. First and most important, have you discovered anything that contravenes the theory?'
'No.'
'Have you discovered anything that suggests some other theory?'
'No.'
'Have you discovered anything that supports the theory?'
'Only that the members of that committee verify Goodwin's statement. That doesn't prove you were right in the conclusion you made from reading that stuff, and that's why I want it. The widow knows nothing about it. She says. She also says that Jacobs had no enemies, that there couldn't have been anybody who had a reason to kill him except maybe one person, and that was a man named Goodwin who came to see him last Thursday. Because Jacobs told her to shut the door on him if he came again. We haven't asked Goodwin where he was Monday night from nine to eleven.'
'I'm sure he appreciates your forbearance. Mr Stebbins told Mr
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