photographs, would go the rounds of shops, from dry cleaners to drugstores, in the neighborhood of the Jarrett houses, town and country; Saul would try anything that occurred to him, from old telephone directories to the charge-account records of mid-town stores; and I would put an ad in all New York papers.
After lunch I did that, taking it to an agency instead of phoning it in, because it was to be a display, not a classified, two columns wide and three inches high. Wolfe had drafted it:
$500
will be paid for any verifiable information regarding the whereabouts
and movements of CARLOTTA VAUGHN
alias
ELINOR DENOVO between April 1,1944 and October 1, 1944 Box
Wolfe had drafted it, but not without an argument. He wanted to make it six inches high, not three, with the bottom half a reproduction of the three-quarters-face photograph. My objection was that that would bring us stacks of answers from people who would grab at any chance to collect five hundred dollars and I would have to spend a week or so following some of them up on a-million-to-one odds, and a good percentage of them would develop into pests. I won. Another objection, from Saul, not me, was that we would be hooked by people who had seen her in circumstances that wouldn’t help, for instance, servants who had been at Jarrett’s then, but Wolfe overruled that one. It might cost five or ten grand, but there was plenty in the twelve savings banks. Of course another objection was that Raymond Thome wouldn’t like it, with its public implication that there was something about the past of
Elinor Denovo that needed to be investigated, but that was just mentioned, not argued.
At the agency, Green and Best, they said four inches high would be better than three, but I won that argument too.
It was 6:08 when Bertram McCray arrived. He looked as if he needed a weekend; his whole face was pinched, not just the corner of an eye, and his feet dragged as he walked down the hall. It’s enough to wear a man out, helping to decide what to do with a couple of billion dollars’ worth of other people’s money. After presenting him to Wolfe and motioning him to the red leather chair, I asked if he would like to have a drink and he said no, he was going to drive eighty miles. He sat and blinked at Wolfe and said he hoped it wouldn’t take long. “I don’t want to be blunt,” he said, “but I’ve had a hard week and I want some air. I didn’t ask you on the phone, but I assume it’s about Jarrett.”
Wolfe nodded. “We’ve been balked. It’s highly probable that he is not the father of Elinor Denovo’s daughter.”
“What?” McCray’s mouth stayed open. “But& why'He sent those checks.”
“Yes, that’s established, thanks to Mr. Ballou and you. But the daughter was born on the twelfth of April, nineteen forty-five, so she was conceived the preceding summer, and Mr. Jarrett says he spent it abroad on a mission for the Production Allotments Board. He spent the month of July in an army hospital in Naples. He says.”
“My God.” McCray looked at me. “Didn’t I tell you that?”
I shook my head. “And I didn’t ask you. I should have, but I didn’t. I apologize. So Mr. Wolfe is asking you now. Jarrett told me that he went to England in late May nineteen forty-four and then to Egypt and Italy and Africa, and came back on September sixth. We’re checking it, and maybe you can help. He called me a liar. Can you call him one?”
“I can call him anything, but& ” He looked at Wolfe. “Are you sure about the date'The birth?”
“Yes. That can’t be challenged. Mr. Goodwin has seen the birth certificate.”
“Then I guess we& you& my God. He was out
of the country all that summer. I can check the exact dates he left and returned, but does that matter?”
“No. But we need to know if Elinor Denovo, then Car-lotta Vaughn, was also out of the country that summer, however briefly. Can you help on that?”
“Of course not. I didn’t& I only
After lunch I did that, taking it to an agency instead of phoning it in, because it was to be a display, not a classified, two columns wide and three inches high. Wolfe had drafted it:
$500
will be paid for any verifiable information regarding the whereabouts
and movements of CARLOTTA VAUGHN
alias
ELINOR DENOVO between April 1,1944 and October 1, 1944 Box
Wolfe had drafted it, but not without an argument. He wanted to make it six inches high, not three, with the bottom half a reproduction of the three-quarters-face photograph. My objection was that that would bring us stacks of answers from people who would grab at any chance to collect five hundred dollars and I would have to spend a week or so following some of them up on a-million-to-one odds, and a good percentage of them would develop into pests. I won. Another objection, from Saul, not me, was that we would be hooked by people who had seen her in circumstances that wouldn’t help, for instance, servants who had been at Jarrett’s then, but Wolfe overruled that one. It might cost five or ten grand, but there was plenty in the twelve savings banks. Of course another objection was that Raymond Thome wouldn’t like it, with its public implication that there was something about the past of
Elinor Denovo that needed to be investigated, but that was just mentioned, not argued.
At the agency, Green and Best, they said four inches high would be better than three, but I won that argument too.
It was 6:08 when Bertram McCray arrived. He looked as if he needed a weekend; his whole face was pinched, not just the corner of an eye, and his feet dragged as he walked down the hall. It’s enough to wear a man out, helping to decide what to do with a couple of billion dollars’ worth of other people’s money. After presenting him to Wolfe and motioning him to the red leather chair, I asked if he would like to have a drink and he said no, he was going to drive eighty miles. He sat and blinked at Wolfe and said he hoped it wouldn’t take long. “I don’t want to be blunt,” he said, “but I’ve had a hard week and I want some air. I didn’t ask you on the phone, but I assume it’s about Jarrett.”
Wolfe nodded. “We’ve been balked. It’s highly probable that he is not the father of Elinor Denovo’s daughter.”
“What?” McCray’s mouth stayed open. “But& why'He sent those checks.”
“Yes, that’s established, thanks to Mr. Ballou and you. But the daughter was born on the twelfth of April, nineteen forty-five, so she was conceived the preceding summer, and Mr. Jarrett says he spent it abroad on a mission for the Production Allotments Board. He spent the month of July in an army hospital in Naples. He says.”
“My God.” McCray looked at me. “Didn’t I tell you that?”
I shook my head. “And I didn’t ask you. I should have, but I didn’t. I apologize. So Mr. Wolfe is asking you now. Jarrett told me that he went to England in late May nineteen forty-four and then to Egypt and Italy and Africa, and came back on September sixth. We’re checking it, and maybe you can help. He called me a liar. Can you call him one?”
“I can call him anything, but& ” He looked at Wolfe. “Are you sure about the date'The birth?”
“Yes. That can’t be challenged. Mr. Goodwin has seen the birth certificate.”
“Then I guess we& you& my God. He was out
of the country all that summer. I can check the exact dates he left and returned, but does that matter?”
“No. But we need to know if Elinor Denovo, then Car-lotta Vaughn, was also out of the country that summer, however briefly. Can you help on that?”
“Of course not. I didn’t& I only
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