met was a stony gaze. He got up and came, past me and
into the hall. When he was four paces along I went and
opened the door to the front room.
Chapter 9
I put Anne Talbot in the chair nearest me because
from her face and the way she moved it seemed
likely that she might need smelling salts any
minute, and there were some in my drawer. Next to her
was Jules Khoury, then Mrs. Oliver, and then Ambrose
Perdis. I had expected remarks as they entered, espe-
cially from Mrs. Oliver, who had been waiting more
than three hours, but there hadn’t been a peep from
anyone. I felt like an usher at a funeral.
Wolfe took them in. “Since you are here,” he said, “I
assume that you are prepared to act on my proposal.
Mrs. Oliver?”‘
I had her in profile and couldn’t see her deep-set
yellow eyes, and from that angle her sagging jowl was
even less attractive. She opened her bag and took out a
slip of paper. “This is a cashier’s check,” she said, “on
the Knickerbocker Trust Company for two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, made out to me. I’ll endorse
it. Or I won’t.”
“That will of course depend. Mrs. Talbot?”
Anne Talbot’s lips parted but no sound came. She
tried again and got it out. “I have a certified check for
sixty-five thousand dollars and forty thousand dollars
in cash. I’ll pay the rest as soon as I can—I think I can
pay it in a month, but it might take longer. Of course
you’ll want me to sign something, a note, whatever you
say, I tried—” She had to swallow. “I tried—” Another
swallow. “I did the best I could.”
“Mr. Perdis?”
“I have a certified check for my share.”
“The full amount?”
“Yes.”
The Homicide Trinity 127
“Mr. Khoury?”
“I have nothing.”
“Indeed. Then why are you here?”
“I want to know what’s in the box. If there’s anything
worth a quarter of a million to me, I’ll buy it.”
“The deadline is midnight.” Wolfe glanced at the
clock. “You would have ninety minutes.”
“I don’t think so. I don’t think Mrs. Hazen knows
about this. I think you’re putting the screws on us
without her knowledge. Whatever you’re doing, I want
to know what’s in the box.”
“Well.” Wolfe’s eyes left him to take in the others.
“This situation was not covered by the terms of my
proposal. Two of you are prepared to comply with the
terms and should not suffer for Mr. Khoury’s dissent.
As for you, Mrs. Talbot, I am willing to accept your
declaration of good faith, that you have done your best.
You will of course commit yourself in writing to pay the
balance. As for you, Mr. Khoury, if you are willful so am
I. Whatever the box contains that relates to you will be
turned over to the police at midnight. Archie, get the
box and the key.” Back to them: “We have procured a
key that will serve.”
Thinking it desirable to keep up appearances, I first
got a Marley from the drawer and loaded it. Then to the
cabinet for the key, and then to the safe. As I worked
the combination my back was to them, but as I opened
the door and took out the box I had an eye on them, not
only for appearances. It was conceivable that Perdis or
Khoury, or both, had come with the idea of getting
something for nothing if a chance offered. All four of
them had twisted around in their chairs to follow me,
and they twisted back as I circled around to Wolfe’s
desk. As I was putting the box down the phone rang. It
would. I was going to tell Wolfe to take it, but didn’t
have to.
He lifted the receiver. “Yes? . . . Yes, Saul . . .
indeed . . . That isn’t necessary. . . . Satisfactory. . . .
No, stay there, Archie is here . . . How sure are
128 Rex Stout
you? . . . Very satisfactory. . . . No, call again in an
hour or so.”
As he hung up there was a gleam in his eye. “Open it,”
he said. I inserted the key, fiddled with it a little, got it,
lifted the lid all the way, stared a second for effect, and
said, “It’s empty,” and when Perdis bounced up and
came, my hand jerked up with the gun, not having been
told that that part of the performance was over. I
slipped the gun in my pocket and turned the box on its
edge so that all could see the shiny inside. Perdis
blurted at Wolfe, “Damn you! You’ve got it! You had a
key!” Mrs. Oliver squawked something. Anne Talbot
lowered her head and covered her face with her hands.
Jules Khoury stood up, vetoed whatever he had in-
tended, and sat down again. He spoke. “Use your head,
Perdis. He didn’t even know it was empty. Why would
he—”
“You’re wrong,” Wolfe snapped. “I did know it was
empty. I knew it last night when I made my proposal.”
They were speechless. Anne Talbot lifted her head.
“I made the proposal,” Wolfe said, “not out of caprice, to
plague you, but for a purpose, and the purpose has been
served. You have the gun, Archie? Go and stand at the
door. No one is to leave.”
I obeyed. Perdis, still on his feet, was in the way, so I
detoured around back of the chairs. He was yapping,
and Khoury was up again. Of course I hadn’t the dim-
mest idea what was coming next as I shut the door and
put my back to it, gun in hand, but apparently Wolfe
had. Ignoring them, he had lifted the receiver and was
dialing. Since he hadn’t consulted the book and there
were only three phone numbers he bothered to keep in
his head, I knew who he must be getting, even before he
spoke and asked for Mr. Cramer. In a moment he had
him.
“Mr. Cramer? The situation has developed as I ex-
pected. How soon can you be here with Mrs.
Hazen? . . . No. I will not. I told you more than half an
hour ago that I would almost certainly call
you. . . . No. I told you that her presence would be
The Homicide Trinity 129
essential. If you come without her you won’t be
admitted. . . . Yes. I am prepared to suggest a
substitute. . . . Yes. . . . Yes!”
Mrs. Oliver was on her feet too; they all were, except
for Anne Talbot, and as Wolfe hung up Perdis said
through his teeth, “Damn you, you gave it to the po-
lice!”
“No,” Wolfe said. “Are you a dunce? Would I contrive
such a hocus-pocus just to pass the time? Confound it,
sit down! I have something to say that you would prefer
to hear before Mr. Cramer arrives.”
“I’m leaving,” Mrs. Oliver said. “This was all a trick
and you’ll regret it. I’m going.”
“No one is going. Mr. Goodwin wouldn’t shoot you,
but he wouldn’t have to. Sit down.”
Khoury, with his chair right back of his knees, merely
had to bend them. Perdis, going to his chair, jostled
Mrs. Oliver and didn’t apologize. She turned to face me
at the door, decided that Wolfe was right, I wouldn’t
have to shoot, and sat.
“You heard me on the phone,” Wolfe told them. “Mr.
Cramer will be here shortly, and Mrs. Hazen will be
with him. The nature of your peculiar relations with Mr.
Hazen will have to be divulged to him, that can’t be
helped, but he doesn’t have to know of your invasion of
that house yesterday evening. It’s only fair—don’t in-
terrupt me, there isn’t much time—”
Perdis persisted. “You have no evidence of our rela-
tions with Hazen.”
“Pfui. Your bid to Mr. Goodwin? It’s only fair that
three of you should know about the box. All that I told
you about it last evening was true—Mr. Hazen showing
it to his wife and telling her that if he died she should
get it and bum the contents, and Mr. Goodwin getting it
from beneath the drawer after sending you from the
room. Asked by Mr. Perdis if I had opened it, I said no.
But Mr. Goodwin had, and it was empty.”
“I don’t believe it,” Mrs. Oliver said. “It’s a trick.”
Wolfe nodded. “I concocted a trick, that’s true, but
it’s a fact that the box was empty. That’s what you have
130 Rex Stout
a right to know, three of you. It’s an understatement to
say that you would like to know where the former
contents are, but I have no idea and neither has Mr.
Goodwin, and I’m sure Mrs. Hazen hasn’t. The obvious
conjecture is that Mr. Hazen transferred them to some