I said, “What time this morning did you phone that guy Francis Horrocks?”
She stared. It got her. She swallowed. “But I-he-he promised…”
“So you did phone him. Swell. You forgot to mention it when I asked you about it a while ago.”
“But you didn’t ask me if I had phoned.”
“Oh, didn’t I? Now that was careless.” I threw up my hands. “To hell with it. Suppose you tell me what you phoned him about. I hope it wasn’t a secret.”
“No, it wasn’t.” She came a step to me. “Must you be so sarcastic? There was nothing… it was just personal.”
“As for instance?”
“Why, it was really nothing. Of course, he sent those roses. Then… I had had an engagement to dine with him Monday evening, and when I made the appointment with Mr. Wolfe I had to cancel the one with Mr. Horrocks, and when he insisted I thought that three hours would be enough with Mr. Wolfe, so I told Mr. Horrocks I would go with him at ten o’clock to dance somewhere, and probably he went to the apartment and waited around there I don’t know how long, and this morning I supposed he would keep phoning there and of course there would be no answer, and he couldn’t get me at the office either, and besides, I hadn’t thanked him for the roses-”
I put up a palm. “Take a breath. I see, romance. It’d be still more romantic if he came to visit you in jail. You’re quite an adventuress, being as you are over ninety per cent nincompoop. I don’t suppose you know that according to an article in yesterday’s Times this Horrocks is the nephew of the Marquis of Clivers and next in line for the title.”
“Oh, yes. He explained to me… that is… that’s all right. I knew that. And Mr. Goodwin, I don’t like-”
“We’ll discuss your likes later. Here’s something you don’t know. Horrocks is downstairs in the office saying that he’s got to see you or he’ll run and get the police.”
“What! He isn’t.”
“Yep. Somebody is, and from his looks I’m willing to admit it’s Horrocks.”
“But he shouldn’t… he promised… send him away!”
“He won’t go away. If I throw him out he’ll yell for a cop. He thinks you’re here under duress and need to be rescued-that’s his story. You’re a swell client, you are. With the chances Nero Wolfe’s taking for you- all right. Anyhow, whether he’s straight or not, there’s no way out of it now. I’m going to bring him up here, and for God’s sake make it snappy and let him go back to his uncle.”
“But I- good heavens!” She brushed her hair back. “I don’t want to see him. Not now. Tell him… of course I could… yes, that’s it… I’ll go down and just tell him-”
“You will not. Next you’ll be wanting to go and walk around the block with him. You stay here.”
Outside in the hall I hesitated, uncertain whether to go up and tell Wolfe of the party we were having, but decided there was no point in riling him- I went back down, tossing Fritz a nod as I passed by, and found the young diplomat sitting in the office with his arms sdll folded. He put his brows up at me. I told him to come on, and let him go first. Behind him on the stairs I noticed he had good springs in his legs, and at the top his air pump hadn’t speeded up any. Keeping fit for dear old England and the bloody empire. I opened the door and bowed him in and followed him.
Clara Fox came across to him. He looked at her with a kind of sickening grin and put out his hand. She shook her head. “No. I won’t shake hands with you. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? You promised me you wouldn’t. Causing Mr. Goodwin all this trouble…”
“Now, really. I say.” His voice was different from what it had been downstairs, sort of sweet and concentrated. Silly as hell. “After all, you know, it was fairly alarming… with you gone and all that… couldn’t \find a trace of you… and you look frightful, very bad in the eyes…”
“Thank you very much.” All of a sudden she began to laugh. I hadn’t heard her laugh before. It showed her teeth and put color in her cheeks. She laughed at him undl if I had been him I’d have thought up some kind of a remark. Then she stuck out her hand. “All right, shake. Mr. Goodwin says you were going to rescue me. I warned you to let American girls alone- you see the sort of thing it leads to!”
With his big paw he was hanging onto her hand as if he had a lease on it. He was staring at her. “You know, they do, though. I mean the eyes. You’re \really quite all right? You couldn’t expect me-”
I butted in because I had to. I had left the door open and the sound of the front doorbell came up plain. I glanced at Francis Horrocks and decided that if he really was a come-on I would at least have the pleasure of seeing how long he looked lying down, before he got out of that house, and I got brusque to Clara Fox. “Hold it. The door bell. I’m going to shut this door and go down to answer it, and it would be a good idea to make no sounds until I get back.” The bell started ringing again. “Okay?”
Clara Fox nodded.
“Okay, Mr. Horrocks?”
“Certainly. Whatever Miss Fox says.”
I beat it, dosing the door behind me. Some smart guy was leaning on the button, for the bell kept on ringing as I went down the two flights. Fritz was standing in the hall, looking belligerent; he hated people that got impatient with the bell. I went to the door and pulled the curtain and looked out, and felt mercury running up my backbone. It was a quartet. Only four, and I recognized Lieutenant Rowcliff in front. It was him on the button. I hadn’t had such a treat for a long while. I turned the lock and let the door come as Far as the chain.
Rowcliff called through, “Well1 We’re not ants. Come on, open up.”
I said, ‘Take it easy. I’m just the messenger boy.”
“Yeah? Here’s the message.” He unfolded a paper he had in his hand. Having seen a search warrant before, I didn’t need a magnifying glass- I looked through the crack at it. Rowcliff said, “What are you waiting for? Do you want me to count ten?”
I SAID, “Hold your horses, lieutenant. If what you want is in here it can’t get out, since I suppose you’ve got the rear and the roof covered. This isn’t my house, it belongs to Nero Wolfe and he’s upstairs. Wait a minute, I’ll be right back.”
I went up three steps at a time, paying no attention to Rowcliff yelling outside. I went in the south room; they were standing there. I said to Clara Fox, “They’re here. Make it snappy. Take Horrocks with you, and if he’s in on this I’ll kill him.”
Horrocks started, “Really-”
“Shut up! Go with Miss Fox. For God’s sake-”
She might have made an adventuress at that; she was okay when it came to action. She darted to the table and grabbed her handbag and handkerchief, dashed back and got Horrocks by the hand, and pulled him through the door with her. I took a quick look around to make sure there were no lipsticks or powder puffs left behind, shoved the table toward the window where it looked more natural, and beat it. In the hall I stopped one second to shake myself. Noises of Rowcliff bellowing on the stoop floated up. Horrocks and Clara Fox had disappeared. I went down to the front door and slid the bolt and flung it open.
“Welcome,” I grinned. “Mr. Wolfe says he wants the warrant for a souvenir.”
They trooped in behind Rowcliff. He grunted. “Where’s Wolfe?”
“Up with the plants. Until eleven o’clock. He told me to tell you this, that of course you have the legal right to search the endre premises, but that the city will pay for every nickel’s worth of damage that’s done if he has to go to City Hall himself to collect it.”
“No! Don’t scare me to death. Come on, boys. Where does that go to?”
“Front room.” I pointed. “Office. Kitchen. Basement stairs. The rear door is down there, onto the court.”
He turned, and then whirled to me again. “Look here, Goodwin. You’ve had your bluff called. Why not save time? Why don’t you bring this Fox woman down here, or up here, and call it a trick? It’d save a lot of messing around.”