The Final Deduction (17 page)

It was one chance in a thousand, but it was the only chance there was. I led them south to Seventy-eighth Street and east to Madison Avenue, halted in front of Barney’s, and told them, “We might as well give Orrie
the high sign first and have him join us. Then when I bring—”

“There he is,” Saul said.

I turned. Orrie had emerged from a doorway across the street and was crossing the sidewalk. “All I need,” I said, “is someone to do my thinking,” and stepped to Barney’s door and entered.

There was no one at the bar, since it was Sunday morning, and there weren’t many at the tables or in the booths, but the top of a head was showing in the booth at the far end and I went to it. It was Noel, with a plate of roast turkey and trimmings in front of him, untouched, and a nearly empty glass in his hand. He looked up at me, blinked, and squeaked, “Well, for God’s sake!”

I gave him a friendly grin, hero to hero. “This isn’t luck,” I said, “it’s fate. When I learned you had gone out, it wasn’t that I had a hunch, I just started to walk, and there I was in front of Barney’s, and I came in, and here you are. Have you—uh—spoken to your mother?”

“No.” He emptied the glass and put it down. “I was going to go up to her room right after breakfast, but then I thought I’d better wait. I thought I’d better kind of work up to it. I wanted to go over everything you said. So I came here to this booth where you said it. Sit down and oil your throat.”

“Thanks, but I’m on an errand. You won’t have to tell your mother you’re big enough to shave; she knows it. Andrew Frost came to see Mr. Wolfe this morning, and Mr. Wolfe showed him the paper you signed, and Frost went to see your mother. He’s there now.”

“The hell he is. Holy Christ.”

“And Mr. Wolfe sent me to bring you. I think he has an idea where the money is, but if so he didn’t tell me; he wants to tell you. He said as soon as possible, which means now. You haven’t touched your turkey.”

“To hell with the turkey. Frost is with my mother?”

“Right.”

“And Wolfe wants to see me?”

“Right.”

“He slid out of the booth and got erect. “Look. You see me?”

“I do.”

“Am I standing on my own two feet?”

“You are.”

“Check. Let’s go.”

The waiter was approaching, and as Noel didn’t seem to see him, I asked him how much. He said four-twenty, and I gave him a finiff and followed Noel to the door.

Outside, Saul had performed as usual. There were two taxis at the curb. The one in front was empty, and the trio were in the one in the rear. He had even arranged for a signal so the hackie wouldn’t take the wrong passengers; as Noel and I crossed the sidewalk the horn of the cab in the rear let out a grunt.

When we stopped in front of the old brownstone at ten minutes past noon, and I paid the hackie and climbed out after Noel, the other taxi wasn’t in sight. Saul again. He didn’t know whether Wolfe wanted Noel to know that the whole army was mobilized, so he was hanging back to give us time to get inside. I had to ring, since the bolt was on. Fritz let us in, and I took Noel to the office. It had been just sixty-five minutes since Wolfe had told Saul and me to fetch. If I may say so, I would call that as soon as possible.

Wolfe did something remarkable: he left his chair and took two steps to offer Noel a hand. Either he was telling me that Noel was not a murderer, or he was telling Noel that he was with friends and since he could count on us we would expect to count on him. Of course Noel didn’t appreciate it; a man who will some day be in the top bracket without trying has plenty of hands offered to him. He took the red leather chair and said, “Goodwin says you know where the money is.”

“Correction,” I objected. “I said I think he has an idea where it is.”

Wolfe grunted. He eyed Noel. “The truth is somewhere between. I’m fairly certain. Call it a presumption. To test it we need your cooperation, your active assistance. Even with it, it may be difficult—”

The doorbell rang. I told Wolfe, “Three of my friends,” and stood. “I’ll put them in the front room.”

“No,” he said, “bring them.”

So it was to be a family party. I went and let them in, told them they could come and sit with the quality if they
would behave themselves, and followed them to the office. Wolfe greeted them and turned to the client. “Mr. Tedder, shake hands with Mr. Panzer. Mr. Durkin. Mr. Cather.”

The very best corn. I had seldom seen him sink so low. I moved chairs up, and they sat. Wolfe’s eyes took them in, left to right, then back to focus on Noel. “Time may be of vital importance, so I won’t waste it. The money, all of it, half a million dollars in cash, is at your house in the country. If not in the house, it’s on the premises.”

“Jesus,” Noel said.

“It would take all afternoon to explain fully all the circumstances that have led me to that conclusion, and I don’t want to take even half an hour. You think I have sagacity, or you wouldn’t have come to me with your problem. You’ll accept that—”

“Wait a minute. How did the money get there?”

“Mr. Vail took it there. He took the suitcase from your mother at Iron Mine Road. You’ll accept—”

“But my God, why did he—”

“Mr. Tedder. You could ask a thousand questions; I said it would take all afternoon. Do you want that money?”

“You’re damn right I want it.”

“Then take my conclusion on my word, tentatively at least. I say the money is there. Who is at that house now?”

“No one. Only the caretaker.”

“No other servants?”

“No. We don’t use it before the middle of May. Usually later.”

“This is Sunday. Not on weekends?”

“We did when my father was alive, but not now. My mother says it’s too cold until June.”

“Mr. Vail went there last weekend. Saturday morning. What for?”

“To see about the roof and some other things. The caretaker said the roof was leaking.”

“What’s the caretaker’s name?”

“Waller. Jake Waller.”

“Are you on amicable terms with him?”

“Why, I guess so. Sure.”

“A leaky roof should be attended to. How likely is it that your mother or sister or uncle will go there today to see to it?”

“My mother certainly won’t. It’s possible that my sister or my uncle will, but they haven’t said anything about it so far as I know.”

“Is the house locked up?”

“I suppose the doors are locked, yes.”

“Have you a key?”

“Not now I haven’t. I have one in the summer.”

“Would the caretaker let you in?”

“Certainly he would. Why wouldn’t he?”

Wolfe turned. “Archie. Will anyone be guarding that place? County or state or federal?”

I shook my head. “What for? Not unless someone has got to the same conclusion as you, which I doubt.”

Back to Noel. “Mr. Tedder. I suggest that if you want that money you go there and get it Now. Mr. Goodwin will drive my car. Mr. Panzer, Mr. Durkin, and Mr. Cather will go with you. They are competent, reliable, and experienced. My chef has prepared a hamper of food which you can eat on the way; it will be acceptable to your palate and your stomach. I have no suggestions as to your procedure when you get there; I didn’t know Mr. Vail; you did. He returned to that house Wednesday morning with the suitcase in his car, and his time was rather limited. He wanted to act naturally, and naturally he would want to come to New York, where his wife was, without undue delay. According to the caretaker, in the published reports, he arrived about half past seven, and he left for New York around nine o’clock. Meanwhile he had bathed, shaved, changed his clothes, and eaten, so he hadn’t spent much time on disposal of the suitcase; but it is highly likely that he had known on Saturday that he would bring it there for concealment and he had probably made preparations. You knew him and you must have some notion of how his mind worked, so ask yourself: where on those premises would he hide the suitcase? He anticipated no intensive search for it, since he thought it would never be suspected that he had got it and brought it there; what he had to make sure of was that it would not be accidentally discovered by a member of the family
or a servant. I presume you know what the suitcase looked like?”

“Sure. Who doesn’t?”

Wolfe nodded. “From the published descriptions. I think you may safely expect to find
that
suitcase. There was no reason for him to transfer the money to another container, and there was good reason not to; he would have had the added problem of disposing of the suitcase.” Wolfe’s head turned to take us in. “There it is, gentlemen, unless you have questions. If you have, let them be to the point. I wish you luck.”

Noel squeaked, “I hope to God …” He let it hang.

“Yes, Mr. Tedder?”

“Nothing.” Noel stood up. “Hell, what can I lose that I’ve got? Let’s go.”

I went to the kitchen to get the hamper.

About two miles northeast of Katonah you turn off the highway, right, pass between two stone pillars, proceed up the graveled drive, an easy slope, winding, about four hundred yards, and there is the house, old gray stone with high steep roofs. At a guess, not as many rooms as Frost’s on Long Island—say twenty-five, maybe less. Trees and other things with leaves, big and little, were all around, and a lot of lawn, but although I can’t qualify as an expert I had the impression that they weren’t getting quite enough attention. Saul eased the Heron to a stop a foot short of the bushes that bordered a surfaced rectangle at the side of the house, and we climbed out. He was at the wheel because at Hawthorne Circle I had decided that I could use some of the contents of the hamper, which they had all been working on, and I don’t like one-handed driving.

Noel, in between bites of sturgeon or cheese or rhubarb tart, or swallows of wine, had briefed us on the prospect and answered questions. The house itself looked like the best bet. Not only was there no likely spot in the stable, which no longer held horses, or the kennels, which no longer held dogs, but also Jimmy would have risked
being seen by the caretaker if he had lugged a suitcase to one of them in the open. Nor was there any likely spot in the garage, which was connected with the house. The only other outbuilding was a six-room stone structure in the rear, living quarters for servants, occupied now only by the caretaker. Something really fancy, like wrapping the suitcase in plastic and burying it somewhere on the grounds, was of course out, with the caretaker around. The house was the best bet, and not the cellar, since there was no part of it that the caretaker might not poke around in, or, later, if the suitcase was to stay put for a while, a servant or even a member of the family.

As we climbed out a man appeared from around a corner—a tall, lanky specimen in a red wool shirt and dungarees who hadn’t shaved for at least three days. As he caught sight of Noel he spoke. “Oh, it’s you, Mr. Tedder?”

“On my own two feet,” Noel said, meeting him and offering a hand. Either he believed in democracy or Wolfe had made it a habit. “How are you, Jake?”

“I’ll make out if they don’t trip me.” Jake gave us a glance. “The roof, huh? We had a shower Friday and it leaked again. I phoned your mother.”

“She’s been … not so good.”

Jake nodded. “Too bad about Mr. Vail. Terrible thing. You know they’ve been after me, but what could I tell ‘em? For nearly a week all kinds of people drivin’ in. I’m takin’ no chances.” His hand went to his hip pocket and came out with a gun, an old black Marley .32. He patted it. “Maybe I couldn’t hit a rabbit, but I can scare ’em off.” He put it back. “You want to see in your mother’s room where it leaked?”

“Not today, Jake.” Noel’s squeak wasn’t so squeaky; perhaps his voice was changing. “My mother may be out this week. These men are detectives from New York and they want to look around in the house. They think there may be something—I don’t know exactly what. You know how detectives are. Is there a door open?”

Jake nodded. “The back door’s open, the one off the kitchen. I cook and eat in the kitchen, better tools there. Your mother knows I do. Lucky I had bacon and eggs on hand when he came Wednesday morning. Terrible thing
about him. I sure do know how detectives are, I do now.” He looked at us. “No offense to you fellows.”

Obviously one of us ought to say something, so I said, “We don’t offend easy. We know how caretakers are too.”

“I bet you do.” He chuckled. “I just bet you do. You want me to help with anything, Mr. Tedder?”

“No, thanks. We’ll make out. This way, Goodwin.” Noel headed for the corner Jake had come from, and we followed.

To prove how competent and experienced we are I could describe the next forty minutes in detail, but it wouldn’t help you any more than it did us. We had learned from Noel that the possibilities were limited. Jimmy Vail had been a town man and had never got intimate with this country place. His bedroom was the only spot in the house he had had personal relations with, so we tried that first, but after we had looked in the two closets and the bottom drawer of a chest, then what? The bed was a big old walnut thing with a canopy, and there was enough room under it for an assortment of wardrobe trunks, but room was all there was.

We went all around, downstairs and up. We even spent ten minutes in the cellar, most of it in a storage room where there were some ancient pieces of luggage along with the other stuff. We looked in the garage, which was big enough for five cars, and there in a corner saw something that would have seemed promising if it hadn’t been there in the open where anyone might have lifted the lid—a big old-fashioned trunk. I did lift the lid and saw something that took me back to my boyhood days in Ohio. But a couple of cardboard boxes had held my two-year collection of birds’ eggs, and here were dozens of compartments, some with one egg and some with two or three. I asked Noel if they were his, and he said no, they had been his father’s, and the trunk held more than three hundred different kinds of eggs. I lifted the tray out, and underneath it was another tray, not so many compartments but bigger eggs. Orrie came for a look and said, “Let’s take that. It may not be worth half a million, but it’s worth something.” I put the top tray back in and was shutting the lid when I heard the sound of a car.