Champagne for One

I ignored the dig. "Anyway," I said, "even if the comments showed that you stretched a point to pick Faith Usher, that wouldn’t cross any Ts, since you skipped the party. Did anyone happen to be with you when you were making the selections? Someone who said something like, ‘there’s one with a nice name, Faith Usher, a nice unusual name, why don’t you ask her?’ "

"No one was with me. I was alone." He pointed. "At that desk."

"Then that’s out." I was disappointed. "If you don’t mind my asking, a little point occurred to me as I was driving back from Grantham House-that you were interested enough to take the trouble to pick the girls to be invited, but not enough to go to the party. You even went to a lot of trouble to stay away. That seemed a little inconsistent, but I suppose you can explain it."

"To you? Why should I?"

"Well, explain it to yourself and I’ll listen."

"There’s nothing to explain. I picked the girls because my aunt asked me to. I did it last year too. I told you last night why I skipped the party." He cocked his head, making the skin even tighter on his cheekbone. "What the hell are you driving at, anyhow? Do you know what I think?"

"No, but I’d like to. Tell me."

He hesitated. "I don’t mean that, exactly, what I think. I mean what my aunt thinks-or I’ll put it this way, an idea she’s got in her mind. I guess she hasn’t forgotten that remark you made once that she resented. Also she feels that Wolfe overcharged her for that job he did. The idea is that if you have sold the police and the District Attorney on your murder theory, and if they make things unpleasant enough for her and her guests you and Wolfe might figure that she would be willing to make a big contribution to have it stopped. A contribution that would make you remember something that would change their minds. What do you think of that?"

"It is an idea," I conceded, "but it has a flaw. If I remembered something now that I didn’t put in my statement, no contribution from your aunt would replace my hide that the cops and the D.A. would peel off. Tell your aunt that I appreciate the compliment and her generous offer, but I can’t-"

"I didn’t say she made an offer. You keep harping on your damn statement. What’s in it?"