Death of a Doxy (Crime Line)

"Yes. There is a possibility of earning a hundred thousand dollars, and we would share it equally. It would come from the man who paid Isabel Kerr's bills – the man you call the lobster. He was here just now, and we -"

"He was here? You know him?"

"Yes. It was his third visit. He was here twice last week. He is a man of wealth and what is called standing. To you his name is X and will remain X. He fears that his name will become public in connection with what he calls his diversion and a sensational murder, and you and Mr. Goodwin and I will try to prevent it. If we succeed, he will pay. For that you have my word, he will pay. His fear is extreme. Shall I go on?"

She had put the glass down, not quite empty. "You are serious," she said.

"Yes."

"You mean it."

"Yes."

"All right, go on. How do we prevent it?"

"That's the question. Probably we can't, but possibly we can. If I go on I must tell you things that must not be repeated, and first you must answer two questions. Are you willing to help?"

"How? I don't see how I can help."

"You already have. You have established the identity of the blackmailer indubitably, and the identity of the murderer as a sound conclusion. If you can help with this, are you willing?"

She looked at me. I not only looked back, I nodded. She told Wolfe, "Yes, I'm willing."

"Do you engage to keep secret what I tell you in confidence?"

"Yes, that's all right. I can do that."

"Then you're a paragon. But there are things you have to know – for instance, that Mr. Goodwin and I learned X's name from Orrie Cather. Miss Kerr told his name to two people only, Orrie Cather and her sister. That may be safely assumed, because she didn't even tell you. Mrs. Fleming told her husband, so there are five people who know it. I will answer for three of the five: Mr. Goodwin, Mr. Cather, and me. There would be some question about Mr. Cather if he were going to be tried for murder, but he isn't. That leaves Mr. and Mrs. Fleming as the only sources for the disclosure of X's name. I am taking pains to make sure that it's clear to you."

"You sure are. Have I told you that I can say the alphabet backward?"

"You have told Mr. Goodwin and Mr. Cramer. So can I. Now for the fact that gives us our one chance in a thousand. There is one person who dreads the publication of X's association with Miss Kerr even more intensely than X does. Tell her, Archie."