Free Homicide Trinity by Rex Stout Page B

partners what Miss Aaron said to Mr. Goodwin, in revealing the nature of the menace to their firm, I served my legitimate personal interest and I violated no law.”
    “You knew damn well we were withholding it!”
    Wolfe’s shoulders went up an eighth of an inch. “I am not bound to respect your tactics, either by statute or by custom. You and I are not lawyers; ask the District Attorney if a charge would hold.” He upturned a palm. “Mr. Cramer. This is pointless. You have a warrant for my arrest as a material witness?”
    “Yes. And one for Goodwin.”
    “But you don’t serve them, for the reason you have given, so they are only cudgels for you to brandish. To what end? What do you want?”
    A low growl escaped Sergeant Purley Stebbins, who had stayed on his feet behind Cramer’s chair. There is one thing that would give Purley more pleasure than to take Wolfe or me in, and that would be to take both of us. Wolfe cuffed to him and me cuffed to Wolfe would be perfect. The growl was for disappointment and I gave him a sympathetic grin as he went to a chair and sat.
    “I want the truth,” Cramer said.
    “Pfui,” Wolfe said.
    Cramer nodded. “Phooey is right. If I take Goodwin’s statement as it stands, if he put nothing in and left nothing out, one of those three men—Edey, Heydecker, Jett—one of them killed Bertha Aaron. I don’t have to go into that. You agree?”
    “Yes.”
    “But if a jury takes Goodwin’s statement as it stands, it would be impossible to get one of those men convicted. She got here at 5:20, and he was with her in thisroom until 5:39, when he went up to you in the plant rooms. It was 6:10 when he returned and found the body. All right, now for them. If one of them had a talk with her yesterday afternoon, or if one of them left the office when she did, or just before or just after, we can’t pin it down. We haven’t so far and I doubt if we will. They have private offices; their secretaries are in other rooms. Naturally we’re still checking on movements and phone calls and other details, but it comes down to this. That list, Purley.”
    Stebbins got a paper from his pocket and handed it over and Cramer studied it briefly. “They had a conference scheduled for 5:30 on some corporation case, no connection with Sorell. In Frank Edey’s office. Edey was there when Jett came in a minute or two before 5:30. They were there together when Heydecker came at 5:45. Heydecker said he had gone out on an errand which took longer than he expected. The three of them stayed there, discussing the case, until 6:35. So even if you erase Edey and Jett and take Heydecker, what have you got? Goodwin says he left her here, alive, at 5:39. They say Heydecker joined the conference at 5:45. That gives him six minutes after tailing her here to phone this number, come and be admitted by her, kill her, and get back to that office more than a mile away. Phooey. And one of them couldn’t have come and killed her after the conference. On that I don’t have to take what Goodwin says; he phoned in and reported it at 6:31, and the conference lasted to 6:35. How do you like it?”
    Wolfe was scowling at him. “Not at all. What was Heydecker’s errand?”
    “He went to three theaters to buy tickets. You might think a man with his income would get them through an agency, but he’s close. We’ve checked that. He is. They don’t remember him at the theaters.”
    “Did neither Edey nor Jett leave the office at all between 4:30 and 5:30?”
    “Not known. They say they didn’t, and no one saysthey did, but it’s open. What difference does it make, since even Heydecker is out?”
    “Not much. And of course the assumption that one of them hired a thug to kill her isn’t tenable.”
    “Certainly not. Here in your office with your necktie? Nuts. You can take your pick of three assumptions. One.” Cramer stuck a finger up. “They’re lying. That conference didn’t start at 5:30 and/or Heydecker didn’t join