Curtains for Three

by Rex Stout

  from his eyes. -Nice flower,” I said brightly.

  158 Bex Stout

  He nodded. “What color do you caD the sepals?”

  “Nankeen yellow.”

  He leaned to put the pot back, still choking it. I swiveled my head. The only people in sight, beyond the glass partition between us and the cool room, were Nero Wolfe and a small group of guests, among whom were the Orwin trio and Bill McNab, the garden editor of the Gazette. As I turned my head back to my man he straightened up, pivoted on his heel, and marched off without a word. Whatever else he might or might not have been guilty of, he certainly had bad manners.

  I followed him, on into the warm room and through, out to the landing, and down the three Sights of stairs. Along the main hall I was courteous enough not to step on his heel, but a lengthened stride would have reached it. The hall was next to empty. A woman, ready for the street in a caracul coat, was standing there, and Saul Panzer was posted near the front door with nothing to do. I followed my man on into the front room, the cloakroom, where Fritz Brenner was helping a guest on with his coat. Of course the racks were practically bare, and with one glance my man saw his property and went to get it. His coat was a brown tweed that had been through a lot more than one winter. I stepped forward to help, but he ignored me without even bothering to shake his head. I was beginning to feel hurt. When he emerged to the hall I was beside him, and as he moved to the front door I spoke.

  “Excuse me, but we’re checking guests out as well as in. Your name, please?”

  “Ridiculous,” he said curtly, and reached for the knob, pulled the door open, and crossed the sill. Saul, knowing I must have had a reason for wanting to check him out, was at my elbow, and we stood watching his back as he descended the seven steps of the stoop.

  Curtains for Three 159

  il?” Saul muttered at me. hook my head and was parting my lips to mutter back, when a sound came from behind us aade us both whirl around—a screech from a a, not loud but full of feeling. As we whirled, t and the guest he had been serving came out of ont room, and all four of us saw the woman in the 1 coat come running out of the office into the hall, pt coming, gasping something, and the guest, a noise like an alarmed male, moved to meet [moved faster, needing about eight jumps to the Indoor and two inside. There I stopped.

  course I knew the thing on the floor was but only because I had left her in there in jjpdothes. With the face blue and contorted, the halfway out, and the eyes popping, it could een almost anybody. I knelt and slipped my jijnside her dress front, kept it there ten seconds, felt nothing.

  I’s voice came from behind. “I’m here.” |got up and went to the phone on my desk and 1 dialing, telling Saul, “No one leaves. We’ll keep ; got. Have the door open for Doc Vollmer.” |-only two whirs the nurse answered, and put on, and I snapped it at him. “Doc, Archie

  Come on the run. Strangled woman. Yeah,

  ���

  shed the phone back, reached for the house iand buzzed the plant rooms, and after a wait had i irritated bark in my ear. “Yes?” in the office. You’d better come down. That tive client I mentioned is here on the floor,
  i this flummery?” he roared.

  160 |ex S5 tout

  “No,ar. C-^>nie down and look at her and then me.”

  The eonneestion went. He had slammed it down, got a sheet of t^hin tissue paper from a drawer, tore i a come, a^ went and placed it carefully ovei Cynthia’s mou*>h and nostrils. In ten seconds it hadnl stirred

  Voices had >een sounding from the hall. Now one o| them eifcred fche office. Its owner was the guest who hadbeeainthes’ cloakroom with Fritz when the screech^ came. He was a chunky broad-shouldered guy with’ sharp donineearing dark eyes and arms like a gorilla’s.; His voice was ^oing strong as he started toward me from the door, tout it stopped when he had come far I enough to get sa. good look at the object on the floor. “My God,” le said huskily. “Yes,Br/’ L agreed. “Howdidit happen?” “Dotfkno^r.” “Who b it?” “Doirtkno^r.”

  He nade hi^ eyes come away from it and up until they met minev and I Save m’m an A for control. It really was a sigi���t.

  “The man at the door won’t let us leave,” he stated. “No, ���. Yo���a can see why.” “I certainly can.” His eyes stayed with me, however. “Bat we know nothing about it. My name is Carlisle, Homeir N. Carlisle. I am the executive vice president of the North American Foods Company. My wife was merely acting under impulse; she wanted to see the office of Nero Wolfe, and she opened the door and entered. Shwe’s sorry she did, and so am I. We have an appointment, and there’s no reason why we should be detained.”

  Curtains for Three 161

  too,” I told him. “But one thing, if noth wife discovered the body. We’re stuck you are, with a corpse here in our office, ?en’t even got a wife who had an impulse.

  nothing. So I guess— Hello, Doc.” ry entering and nodding at me on the fly, was i as he set his black case on the floor and ie it. His house was down the street and he jfconly two hundred yards to trot, but he was l-weight. As he opened the case and got out Homer Carlisle stood and watched flips pressed tight, and I did likewise until I sound of Wolfe’s elevator. Crossing to the i into the hall, I surveyed the terrain. Toward Saul and Fritz were calming down the i in the caracul coat, now Mrs. Carlisle to me. Polfe and Mrs. Mimi Orwin were emerging from srator. Four guests were coming down the tiGene Orwin, Colonel Percy Brown, Bill McNab, aiddle-aged male with a mop of black hair, ayed by the office door to block the quartet on As Wolfe headed for me, Mrs. Carlisle 1 to him and grabbed his arm. “I only wanted to office! I want to go! I’m not—” s pulled at him and sputtered, I noted a detail. 1 coat was unfastened, and the ends of a silk figured and gaily colored, were flying loose, at least half of the female guests had sported I mention it only to be honest and admit that I of touchy on that subject. ITolfe, who had already been too close to too many eh that day to suit him, tried to jerk away, but she on. She was the big-boned flat-chested athletic I, and it could have been quite a tussle, with him rig twice as much as her and four times as big

  162 Rex Stout

  around, if Saul hadn’t rescued him by coming in between and prying her loose. That didn’t stop her tongue, but Wolfe ignored it and came on toward me.

  “Has Dr. Vollmer come?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The executive vice-president emerged from the office, talking. “Mr. Wolfe, my name is Homer N. Carlisle and I insist—”

  “Shut up,” Wolfe growled. On the sill of the door to the office, he faced the audience. “Flower lovers,” he said with bitter scorn. “You told me, Mr. McNab, a distinguished group of sincere and devoted gardeners. PfuilSaul!”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Are you armed?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Put them all in the dining room and keep them there. Let no one touch anything around this door, especially the knob. Archie, come with me.”

  He wheeled and entered the office. Following, I used my foot to swing the door nearly shut, leaving no crack but not latching it. When I turned Vollmer was standing, facing Wolfe’s scowl.

  “Well?” Wolfe demanded.

  “Dead,” Vollmer told him. “With asphyxiation from strangling sometimes you can do something, but it wasn’t even worth trying.”

  “How long ago?”

  “I don’t know, but not more than an hour or two. Two hours at the outside, probably less.”

  Wolfe looked at the thing on the floor, with no change in his scowl, and back at Doc. “You say strangling. Finger marks?”

  “No. A constricting band of something with pres Curtains for Three 163

  j below the hyoid bone. Not a stiff or narrow band;

  liing soft like a strip of cloth—say a scarf.” (folfe switched to me. “You didn’t notify the po

  Jo, sir.” I glanced at Vollmer and back. “I need a

  n

  ‘. suppo
se so.” He spoke to Doc. “If you will leave a moment? The front room?”

  tier hesitated, uncomfortable. “As a doctor

  I to a violent death I’d catch hell. Of course I could ���

  ten go to a corner and cover your ears.” i did so. He went to the farthest corner, the angle by the partition of the bathroom, pressed his i to his ears, and stood facing us. | addressed Wolfe with a lowered voice. “I was , and she came in. She was either scared good or ; on a very fine act. Apparently it wasn’t an act, Ipow think I should have alerted Saul and Fritz, fcdoesn’t matter what I now think. Last October a t named Doris Hatten was killed—strangled—in ent. No one got elected. Remember?”

  said she was a friend of Doris Batten’s and ; her apartment that day and saw the man that s strangling, and that he was here this afternoon, he was aware that she had recognized him, hty she was scared, and she wanted to get you i by telling him that we were wise and he’d bet jf off. No wonder I didn’t gulp it down. I realize dislike complications and therefore might scratch this out, but at the end she touched a iby saying that she had enjoyed my company,

  to open up to the cops.” i do so. Confound it!”

  164 Rex Stout

  I went to the phone and started dialing WAtkins! 8241. Doc Vollmer came out of his corner and went 1 get his black case from the floor and put it on a chairj Wolfe was pathetic. He moved around behind his de and lowered himself into his own oversized custom-1 made number, the only spot on earth where he wa ever completely comfortable, but there smack in frontf of him was the object on the floor, so after a moment ] made a face, got back onto his feet, grunted like anl outraged boar, went across to the other side of the| room to the shelves, and inspected the backbones of| books.

  But even that pitiful diversion got interrupted. As| I finished with my phone call and hung up, sudden; sounds of commotion came from the hall. Dashing a* across, getting fingernails on the edge of the door and pulling it open, and passing through, I saw trouble. A.] group was gathered in the open doorway of the dining I room, which was across the hall. Saul Panzer went bounding past me toward the front. At the front door Colonel Percy Brown was stiff-arming Fritz Brenner with one hand and reaching for the doorknob with the other. Fritz, who is chef and housekeeper, is not supposed to double in acrobatics, but he did fine. Dropping to the floor, he grabbed the colonel’s ankles and jerked his feet out from under him. Then I was there, and Saul with his gun out; and there with us was the guest with the mop of black hair.

  “You damn fool,” I told the colonel as he sat up. “If you’d got outdoors Saul would have winged you.”

  “Guilt,” said the black-haired guest emphatically ‘The compression got unbearable and he exploded. I was watching him. I’m a psychiatrist.”

  “Good for you.” I took his elbow and turned him Curtains for Three 165

  i in and watch all of ‘em. With that wall mirror {include yourself.”

  is illegal,” stated Colonel Brown, who had to his feet and was short of breath. jMierded them to the rear. Fritz got hold of my jfArchie, I’ve got to ask Mr. Wolfe about din

  I said savagely. “By dinnertime this place more crowded than it was this afternoon. Com Jl^coming, sent by the city. It’s a good thing we

  Dom ready.”

  he has to eat; you know that. I should have s in the oven now. If I have to stay here at the attack people as they try to leave, what will

  s,” I said. I patted him on the shoulder. “Ex

  r manners, Fritz, I’m upset. I’ve just strangled

  ; woman.”

  s,” he said scornfully, light as well have,” I declared.

  doorbell rang. I reached for the switch and ton the stoop light and looked through the panel tway glass. It was the first consignment of cops.

  Ill

  opinion Inspector Cramer made a mistake. a, hell, of course he did. It is true that in a room s a murder has occurred the city scientists—mea sniffers, print-takers, specialists, photogra -may shoot the works, and they do. But except circumstances the job shouldn’t take all week, the case of our office a couple of hours should flbeen ample. In fact, it was. By eight o’clock the

  164 Rex Stoi

  I went to the pli 8241. Doc Vollmer, get his black case; Wolfe was pathetic. 1 and lowered made number, the qi ever completely i of him was the obje<3 made a face, got outraged boar, ‘ room to the shehf books.

  But even that p I finished with m^‘j sounds of commol across, getting: pulling it open, andj group was gatheretfl room, which was’ bounding past me w Colonel Percy Br with one hand and i other. Fritz, who is ] posed to double in a? to the floor, he i his feet out from Saul with his gun < with the mop of 1

  “You damn fooVyi you’d got outdo���H*|

  “Guilt,” said ” “The compresskSN was watching him. J

  “Good foryo���u^

  m.

  164 Rex St���

  I went to the ]_ 8241. Doc Vollmeri get his black case i Wolfe was pathetic^ and lowered made number, the^j ever completely < of him was the obj made a face, got outraged boar, room to the she books. 1

  But even that’j! I finished with rip! sounds of con across, getting 1 pulling it open, i group was gathe room, which was bounding past me J Colonel Percy with one hand and) other. Fritz, who iti) posed to double in J to the floor, he j his feet out’from ��� Saul with his gun < with the mop of 1

  “You damn feoljj you’d got outdo

  “Guilt,” said “The compr was watching 1

  “Good for yottS

  m

  164 Rex Stout

  I went to the phone and started dialing WAtkins 98241. Doc Vollmer came out of his corner and went to get his black case from the floor and put it on a chair. Wolfe was pathetic. He moved around behind his desk and lowered himself into his own oversized custom made number, the only spot on earth where he was ever completely comfortable, but there smack in front of him was the object on the floor, so after a moment he made a face, got back onto his feet, grunted like an outraged boar, went across to the other side of the room to the shelves, and inspected the backbones of books.

  But even that pitiful diversion got interrupted. As I finished with my phone call and hung up, sudden sounds of commotion came from the hall. Dashing across, getting fingernails on the edge of the door and pulling it open,, and passing through, I saw trouble. A group was gathered in the open doorway of the dining room, which was across the hall. Saul Panzer went bounding past me toward the front. At the front door Colonel Percy Brown was stiff-arming Fritz Brenner with one hand and reaching for the doorknob with the other. Fritz, who is chef and housekeeper, is not supposed to double in acrobatics, but he did fine. Dropping to the floor, he grabbed the colonel’s ankles and jerked his feet out’from under him. Then I was there, and Saul with his gun out; and there with us was the guest with the mop of black hair.

  “You damn fool,” I told the colonel as he sat up. “If you’d got outdoors Saul would have winged you,”

  “Guilt,” said the black-haired guest emphatically. “The compression got unbearable and he exploded. I was watching him. I’m a psychiatrist.” “Good for you.” I took his elbow and turned him.

  Curtains f���r Three 1���5

  > back in and watch all of ‘em. FA that wall mir*���r ��� can include yourself.”

  ‘This is illegal/’ stated Colonel grown, who kisad nbled to his feet and was short d breath, aul herded them to the rear. Fiiz got hold of *ny eve. “Archie, I’ve got to ask Mr.Wolfe about f3Bnf “

  “Nuts,” I said savagely. “By dmertime this ptsace 1 be more crowded than it was tte afternoon. O���jm

  tty is coming, sent by the city. Ift a good thing-we

  Are a cloakroom ready.”

  f”But he has to eat; you know that. I should feasave

  I ducks in the oven now. If I have to stay here alt. the 1 and attack people as they try to leave, what, will

  ,.-*tr

  |“Nut
s,” I said. I patted him on the shoulder. -=*tExs my manners, Fritz, I’m upset Fve just strai���Bgled

  ; woman.” “Nuts,” he said scornfully.

  might as well have,” I declared, he doorbell rang. I reached for the switeb* and 1 on the stoop light and looked through the ^jjanel ‘-way glass. It was the first consignment of ” cops.

  Ill

  ny opinion Inspector Cramer made a ra^���stake. ���ion, hell, of course he did. It is true that in an room s a murder has occurred the city scientists––mea sniffers, print-takers, specialists, ph���s���togra may shoot the works, and they do. But * except circumstances the job shouldn’t take attB week, _ the case of our office a couple of hours, should t been ample. In fact, it was. By eight o’cfcewek the

  166 Rex Stout

  scientists were through. But Cramer, like a sap, gave the order to seal it up until further notice, in Wolfe’s hearing. He knew damn well that Wolfe spent as least three hundred evenings a year in there, in the only chair and under the only light that he really liked, and that was why he did it. It was a mistake. If he hadn’t made it, Wolfe might have called his attention to a certain fact as soon as Wolfe saw it himself, and Cramer would have been saved a lot of trouble.

  The two of them got the fact at the same time, from me. We were in the dining room-^his was shortly after the scientists had got busy in the office, and the guests, under guard, had been shunted to the front room—and I was relating my conversation with Cynthia Brown. They wanted all of it, or Cramer did rather, and they got it. Whatever else my years as Wolfe’s assistant may have done for me or to me, they have practically turned me into a tape recorder, and Wolfe and Cramer didn’t get a rewrite of that conversation, they got the real thing, word for word. They also got the rest of my afternoon, complete. When I finished, Cramer had a slew of questions, but Wolfe not a one. Maybe he had already focused on the fact above referred to, but neither Cramer nor I had. The shorthand dick seated at one end of the dining table had the fact too, in his notebook along with the rest of it, but he j wasn’t supposed to focus.