The League Of Frightened Men Part 17

"Please, Alice. Please -"

After a pause the door closed again. I had a grin inside, a little c.o.c.ky. I said, "You started to say, something you don't understand..." , She didn't go on.. She sat looking at me with a frown in her eyes but her brow smooth and white. She got up and went to a table, took a cigarette from a box and lit it, and picked up an ash tray. She came back to the couch and sat down and took a couple of whiffs. Then she looked at the cigarette as if wondering where it had come from, and crushed it dead on the tray, and set the tray down. She straightened up and seemed to remember I was looking at her. She spoke suddenly: "What did you say your name is?"^.

"Archie Goodwin." r ^ ^ "Thank you. I should know your name.

Strange things can happen, can't they?

Why did you tell me not to talk to Mr.

Cabot?". "No special reason. Right now I don't want you to be talking to anybody but me." She nodded. "And I'm doing it. Mr.

Goodwin, you're not much over half my age and I never saw you before. You seem to be clever. You realized, I suppose, what the shock of seeing my husband dead, shot dead, has done to me. It has shaken Ithings loose. I am doing something very remarkable, for me. I don't usually talk, below the su^6- Inever have' smce childhood, ex^ with tw0 P^P16- ^ husband, my dear husballd- and pau1 Chapin. But ^e aren't talking about my husband, the^'8 nothln8 to say about him. He's de^- He is dead l sha11 have to tell nt^ many tlmes he is dead. He wan^s to go on living in me or I want him to. ^ tmnk -thls is what Iam really saying ^ I thmk I would want pau1, _ ^ ^*s impossible!" She jerked herself up,' ^d her hands g0^^ again "It's ^bsurd to ^ to talk about this even to a stranger and with Lorriedead^.^y,1-'1.,,",., t ^;^ "IfiVbe it s absurd not to. Let it l said, mI.. crack open o^'^P11111 0^, ".

She shook her head- There s notmng to crack ope^- There s n0 reason why I should want to ^abo}lt lt' but 1 d0; Otherwise why should I let you q11^10" me? I saw fart^1-inside myself thls evelung to I have ever seen t)efore; I wasn when I sawW husband dead' ltwasnt i. t a. a alone m my room, looking when I stood,,...', ',.,,, at a picture ^ hu" rymg to reahze he was dead. It was ^^S here with that police inspector, with him telling me that a plea of guilty is not accepted in first degree murder, and that I would have to talk with a representative of the District Attorney, and would have to testify in court j so that Paul Chapin can be convicted and punished. I don't want him punished. My husband is dead, isn't that enough? And if I don't want him punished, what is it I want to hold onto?

Is it pity? I have never pitied him. I have been pretty insolent with life, but not insolent enough to pity Paul Chapin. You told me that he has a box filled with my gloves and stockings which Dora stole for p him, and that Nero Wolfe said it holds his J soul. Perhaps my soul has been put away in ' a box too, and I didn't even know it..."

She got up, abruptly. The ash tray slid off the couch to the floor. She stooped over, and with deliberate fingersi;that showed no sign of trembling picked up the burnt match stick and the cigarette and Put them on the tray. I didn't move to help her. She went to the table with the l^ay and then came back to the couch and , sat down again. She said:; I have always disliked Paul Chapin.

Once, when I was eighteen years old, I promised to marry him. When I learned of his accident, that he was crippled for life, I was delighted because I wouldn't have to keep my promise. I didn't know that then but I realized it later. At no time have I pitied him. I claim no originality in that, I think no woman has ever pitied him, only men. Women do not like him even those who have been briefly fascinated by him. I dislike him intensely.;^ I have thought about this; I have had occasion to a.n.a.lyze it; it is his deformity that is intolerable. Not his physical deformity.

The deformity of his nervous system, of his brain. You have heard of feminine cunning, but you don't understand it as Paul does, for he has it himself. It is a hateful quality in a man. Women have been fascinated by it, but the two or three who surrendered to it I not among them, not even at eighteen got only contempt for a reward. "'wS "Hep^married Dora Ritter. She's a woman?"

"Oh yes, Dora's a woman. But she is consecrated to a denial of her womanhood.

I am fond of her, I understand her. She knows what beauty is, and she sees herself.

That forced her, long ago, to the denial, and her strength of will has maintained it.

Paul understood her too. He married her to show his contempt for me; he told me so. He could risk it with Dora because she might be relied upon never to embarra.s.s him with the only demand that he would find humiliating. And as for Dora she hates him, but she would die for him.

Fiercely and secretly, against her denial, she longed for the dignity of marriage, and it was a miracle of luck that Paul offered it under the only circ.u.mstances that could make it acceptable to her. Oh, they understand each other!"

I said, "She hates him, and she married him." -f B"Yes. Dora could do that."

"I'm surprised she was here today. I understood she had a bad accident Wednesday morning. I saw her. She seems ^ have some character." "It could be called that. Dora is insane.

Legally, I suppose not, but nevertheless she is insane. Paul has told her so many times. She tells me about it, in the same tone she uses for the weather. There are two things she can't bear the thought of: that any woman should suspect her of being capable of tenderness, or that any man should regard her as a woman at all.

Her character comes from her indifference to everything else, except Paul Chapin."

"She bragged to Nero Wolfe that she was married."

"Of course. It removes her from the field. Oh, it is impossible to laugh at her, and you can't pity her any more than you can Paul. A monkey might as well pity me because I haven't got a tail."

I said, "You were talking about your soul."; "Was I? Yes. To you, Mr. Goodwin. I could not speak about it to my friend, Alice I tried but nothing came. Wasn't I saying that I don't want Paul Chapin punished? Perhaps that's wrong, perhaps I ^, do want him punished, but not crudely by r killing him. What have I in my mind?

What is in my heart? G.o.d knows. But I started to answer your questions when you said something something about his punishment -"

I nodded. I said he shouldn't get more than is coming to him. Of course to you it looks open and shut, and apparently it looks the same way to the cops. You heard shots and ran to the foyer and there it was, a live man and a dead man and a gun. And of course Inspector Cramer has already got the other fixings, for instance the motive all dressed up and its shoes s.h.i.+ned, not to mention a willingness to even up with Chapin for certain inconveniences he has been put to. But as Nero Wolfe says, a nurse that pushes the perambulator in the park without putting i the baby in it has missed the point. Maybe ' if I look around I'll find the baby. For example, Dora Chapin left here at seven- twenty. Chapin arrived at seven-thirty, ten 4 minutes later. What if she waited in the hall outside and came back in with him?

Or if she couldn't do that because the maid let him in, he could have opened the door for her while the maid was gone to 1^11 Dr. Burton. She could have s.n.a.t.c.hed -the gun from Burton's pocket and done the shooting and beat it before you could get there. That might explain the light being out; she might have flipped the switch before she opened the outer door so if anyone happened to be pa.s.sing in the outside hall they couldn't see in. You say she hates Chapin. Maybe to him it was entirely unexpected, he had no idea what she was up to -" ^ She was shaking her head. "I don't believe that. It's possible, but I don't believe it." A %, w ^^f' "You say she's crazy." " y "No. As far as Dora could like any man, she liked Lorrie. She wouldn't do .that." ' -i -v ^ '...'k "Not to make a reservation for Chapin in the electric chair?" ',,, Mrs. Burton looked at me, and a little shudder ran over her. She said, "That's no better... than the other. That's horrible." ^ ^ "Of course it's horrible. Whatever we pull out of this bag, it won't be a pleasant surprise for anyone concerned, except. maybe Chapin. I ought to mention another possibility. Dr. Burton shot himself. He turned the light out so Chapin couldn't see what he was doing in time to let out a yell that might have given it away. That's horrible too, but it's quite possible."

That didn't seem to discompose her as much as my first guess.^She merely said, calmly, "No, Mr. Goodwin. It might be barely conceivable that Lorrie wanted.-.. had some reason to kill himself without my knowing it, but that he would try to put the guilt on Paul... on anyone...

No, that isn't even possible."

"Okay. You said it yourself a while ago, Mrs. Burton; strange things can happen.

But as far as that's concerned, anyone at all might have done it anyone who could get into that foyer and who knew Chapin was there and that Dr. Burton would come. By the way, what about the maid that's out this evening? Does she have a key? What's she like?" I ^ "Yes, she has a key. She is fifty-six years old, has been with us nine years, and calls herself the housekeeper. You would ^ste time asking about her." I could still be curious about her key."

"She will have it when she comes in the morning. You may see her then if you wish."

"Thanks. Now the other maid. Could I see her now?*' r,i She got up and went to the table and pushed ab.u.t.ton, and took another cigarette and lit it. I noticed that with her back turned you could have taken her for twenty, except for the coil of hair. But she was slumping a little; as she stood her shoulders sagged. She pulled them up again and turned and came back to the couch, as the inner door opened and the whole outfit appeared: cook, maid, friend Alice, daughter and boyfriend. The cook was carrying a tray. Mrs. Burton said: "Thank you, Henny, not now. Don't try it again, please don't, I really couldn't swallow. And the rest of you... if you don't mind... we wish to see Rose a few minutes. Just Rose."?

"But, mother, really -"

"No, dear. Please, just a few minutes.

Johnny, this is very nice of you. I appreciate it very much. Come here, i Rose."

The kid blushed. "Aw, don't mention it, Mrs. Burton."

They faded back through the door. The maid came and stood in front of us and tried some swallowing which didn't seem to work. Her face looked quite peculiar because it intended to be sympathetic but she was too shocked and scared, and it would have been fairly peculiar at any time with its broad flat nose and plucked eyebrows. Mrs. Burton told her I wanted to ask her some questions, and she looked at me as if she had been informed that I was going to sell her down the river. Then she stared at the pad on my knee and looked even worse. I said: " ^?

"Rose. I know exactly what's in your mind. You're thinking that the other man wrote down your answers to his questions and now I'm going to do the same, and then we'll compare them and if they're not alike we'll take you to the top of the Empire State Building and throw you off.

Forget that silly stuff. Come on, forget it. ^ By the way." I turned to Mrs. Burton: "Does Dora Chapin have a key to the apartment?"

"No." -^ ^ 'Okay. Rose, did you go to the door when Dora Chapin came this evening?"

"Yes, sir."

"You let her in and she was alone." ;i "Yes, sir."

"When she left did you let her out?"

"No, sir. I never do. Mrs. Kurtz don't either. She just went." *:-:?

"Where were you when she went?"

"I was in the dining-room. I was there a long while. We weren't serving dinner, and I was dusting the gla.s.ses in there."

"Then I suppose you didn't let Mr.

Bowen out either. That was the man -"

"Yes, sir, I know Mr. Bowen. No, I didn't let him out, but that was a long time before." ^ t ^ r "I know. All right, you let n.o.body out.

Let's go back to in. You answered the door when Mr. Chapin came." 2 "Yes, sir." ^ ^ "Was he alone?", " I, "Yes, sir." i, "You opened the door and he came in and you shut the door again."

"Yes, sir."

"Now see if you can remember this. It doesn't matter much if you can't, but maybe you can. What did Mr. Chapin say to you?" She looked at me, and aside at Mrs.

Burton, and down at the floor. At first I thought maybe she was trying to fix up a fake for an answer, then I saw that she was ^just bewildered at the terrible complexity of the problem I had confronted her with by asking her a question that couldn't be answered yes or no. I said, "Come on. Rose. You know, Mr. Chapin came in, and you took his hat and coat, and he said -" ^ %. ^ She looked up. I didn't take his hat and coat. He kept his coat on, and his gloves. He said to tell Dr. Burton he was there.", "Did he stand there by the door or did he walk to a chair and sit down?"

"I don't know. I think he would sit down. I think he came along behind me but he came slow and I came back in to tell Dr. Burton."

"Was the light turned on in the foyer ^en you left there?" yr ,r'i- ^ "Yes, sir. Of course."

"After you told Dr. Burton, where did you go?" I went back to the dining-room."

"Where was the cook?"

"In the kitchen. She was there all the time." I' "Where was Mrs. Burton?"

"She was in her room dressing. Wasn't you, madam?"

I grinned. "Sure she was. I'm just getting all of you placed. Did Dr. Burton go to the foyer right away?" I She nodded. "Well... maybe not right away. He went pretty soon. I was in the dining-room and heard him go by the door."; t _ "Okay." I got up from my chair. "Now I'm going to ask you to do something. I suppose I shouldn't tell you it's important, but it is. You go to the dining-room and start taking down the gla.s.ses, or whatever you were doing after you told Dr. Burton. I'll walk past the dining-room door and on to the foyer.

Was Dr. Burton going fast or slow?"

She shook her head and her lip began to quiver. "He was just going."

"All right, 141 just go. You hear me go by, and you decide when enough time has pa.s.sed for the first shot to go off. When the time has come for the first shot, you yell Now loud enough for me to hear you in the foyer. Do you understand? First you'd better tell -"

I stopped on account of her lip. It was getting into high. I snapped at her, "Come on out of that. Take a look at Mrs. Burton and learn how to behave yourself. You're doing this for her. Come on now."

She clamped her lips together and held them that way while she swallowed twice.

Then she opened them to say: "The shots all came together."

"All right, say they did. You yell Now when the time comes. First you'd better go and tell the people inside that you're going to yell or they'll be running out here -"

Mrs. Burton interposed, "I'll tell them.

Rose, take Mr. Goodwin to the study and show him how to go."

She was quite a person, that Mrs.

I Burton. I was getting so I liked her.

Maybe her soul was put away in a box somewhere, but other items of her insides, meaning guts, were all where they ought to be. If I was the kind that collected things I wouldn't have minded having one of her gloves myself.

Rose and I went out. Apparently she avoided the bedrooms by taking me around by a side hall, for we entered the study direct from that. She showed me how to go, by another door, and left me there. I looked around; books, leather chairs, radio, smoke stands, and a flattop desk by a window. There was the drawer, of course, where the gat had been kept.

I went over to it and pulled it open and shut it again. Then I went out by the other door and followed directions.

I struck a medium pace, past the diningroom door, across the central hall, through a big room and from that through the drawing-room; got my eye on my watch, opened the door into the foyer, went in and closed it -It was a good thing the folks had been warned, for Rose yelling no-w so I could hear it sounded even to me, away off in the foyer, like the last scream of doom.

I went back in faster than I had come for fear she might try it again. She had beat it back to the room where Mrs. Burton was.

When I entered she was standing by the couch with her face white as a sheet, looking seasick. Mrs. Burton was reaching up to pat her arm. I went over and sat down.

I said, I almost didn't get there. Two seconds at the most. Of course she rushed it, but it shows it must have been quick. Okay, Rose. I won't ask you to do any more yelling. You're a good brave girl. Just a couple more questions. When you heard the shots you ran to the foyer with Mrs. Burton. Is that right?", "Yes, sir."

"What did you see when you got there?" j"i didn't see anything. It was dark."

"What did you hear?"

"I heard something on the floor and then I heard Mr. Chapin saying Mrs.

Burton's name and then the light went on and I saw him." _ "What was he doing?"

"He was trying to get up."

"Did he have a gun in his hand?"

"No, sir. I'm sure he didn't because he had his hands on the floor getting up." "And then you saw Dr. Burton."

"Yes, sir." She swallowed. "I saw him after Mrs. Burton went to him."

"What did you do then?"

"Well... I stood there I guess... then Mrs. Burton told me to go for Dr.

Foster and I ran out and ran downstairs and they told me Dr. Foster had just left and I went to the elevator -" "Okay, hold it."

I looked back over my notes. Mrs.

Burton was patting Rose's arm again and Rose was looking at her with her lip ready to sag. My watch said five minutes till eleven; I had been in that room nearly two hours. There was one thing I hadn't gone into at all, but it might not be needed and in any event it could wait. I had got enough to sleep on. But as I flipped the pages of my pad there was another point that occurred to me which I thought ought to be attended to. I put the pad and pencil in my pocket and looked at Mrs. Burton: "That's all for Rose. It's all for me too, except if you would just tell Rose -"

She looked up at the maid and nodded at her. "You'd better go to bed, Rose.

Good night."

"Oh, Mrs. Burton -"

"All right now. You heard Mr.

Goodwin say you're a brave girl. Go and get some sleep."* The maid gave me a look, not any too friendly, looked again at her mistress, and turned and went. As soon as the door had closed behind her I got up from my chair.

I said, "I'm going, but there's one more thing. I've got to ask a favor of you.

You'll have to take my word for it that Nero Wolfe's interest in this business is the same as yours. I'll tell you that straight. You don't want Paul Chapin to burn in the electric chair for killing your husband, and neither does he. I don't know what his next move will be, that's up to him, but it's likely he'll need some kind of standing. For instance, if he wants ^ ask Inspector Cramer to let him see the gun he'll have to give a better reason than ^die curiosity. I can't quite see Paul Chapin engaging him, but how about you?

If we could say we were acting on a commission from you it would make things simple. Of course there wouldn't be any fee, even if we did something you wanted done. If you want me to I'll put that in writing."