Champagne for One

Helen Yarmis still had her dignity, but the corners of her wide, curved mouth were apparently down for good, and since that was her best feature she looked pretty hopeless. "All I can do," she said stiffly, "is say what I think. I think Faith killed herself. I told her it was dumb to take that poison along to a party where we were supposed to have a good time, but I saw it there in her bag. Why would she take it along to a party like that if she wasn’t going to use it?"

Wolfe’s understanding of women has some big gaps, but at least he knows enough not to try using logic on them. He merely ignored her appeal to unreason. "When," he asked, "did you tell her not to take the poison along?"

"When we were dressing to go to the party. We lived in an apartment together. Just a big bedroom with a kitchenette, and the bathroom down the hall, but I guess that’s an apartment."

"How long had you and she been living together?"

"Seven months. Since August, when she left Grantham House. I can tell you anything you want to ask, after the way I’ve been over it the last two days. Mrs Robbins brought her from Grantham House on a Friday so she could get settled to go to work at Barwick’s on Monday. She didn’t have many clothes-"

"If you please, Miss Yarmis. We must respect the convenience of Miss Varr and Miss Tuttle. During those seven months did Miss Usher have many callers?"

"She never had any."

"Neither men nor women?"

"No. Except once a month when Mrs Robbins came to see how we were getting along, that was all."

"How did she spend her evenings?"

"She went to school four nights a week to learn typing and shorthand. She was going to be a secretary. I never saw how she could if she was as tired as I was. Fridays we often went to the movies. Sundays she would go for walks, that’s what she said. I was too tired. Anyway, sometimes I had a date, and-"

"If you please. Did Miss Usher have no friends at all? Men or women?"

"I never saw any. She never had a date. I often told her that was no way to live, just crawl along like a worm-"

"Did she get any mail?"

"I don’t know, but I don’t think so. The mail was downstairs on a table in the hall. I never saw her write any letters."

"Did she get any telephone calls?"