Death of a Doxy (Crime Line)

"No," I said, "I'm not being clever. All we need is a reasonable doubt. For instance, what if we can show the police that there's another man, or woman, who had a good motive? Or what if they learn that Isabel told someone – it could be your wife – that someone had threatened to kill her? If and if and if. For our purpose, Mr. Wolfe's and mine, it doesn't have to be strong enough to charge him and try him, just the doubt. But even if they nailed him, his trial might not be as bad, for your wife, as Orrie Cather's trial is sure to be. We know something about the line they think they have on Orrie."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you that. We got it in confidence."

He was squinting at me. "You know, Mr. Goodwin, I'm a mathematics teacher and I like problems. Since this is so close to us, though it's closer to my wife than to me, it isn't just a problem, but still my mind has the habit." He put a hand on his wife's knee. "You won't mind, dear, if I admit I would like to help with this problem. But I won't. I know how you feel. You do exactly what you want to do."

"Fair enough," I told him. And to her: "You saw your sister often, didn't you?"

She had put her hand on top of his. "Yes," she said.

"Once or twice a week?"

"Yes. Nearly always we had dinner together on Saturday and went to a show or a movie. My husband plays chess Saturday evenings."

"According to the newspaper, when you went there day before yesterday you got no answer to your ring and the superintendent let you in. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"That was an important moment, when you entered the bedroom. I don't want to jar you again, Mrs. Fleming, I truly don't, but it's important. What was your first thought when you saw your sister's dead body there on the floor?"

"I didn't – it wasn't a thought."

"First there was the shock, of course. But when you saw the – when you realized she had been murdered, it would have been natural to have the thought He killed her or She killed her, something like that. That's why it's important; a first thought like that is often right. Who was the he or the she?"

"There wasn't any he or she. I didn't have any such thought."

"Are you sure? At a time like that your mind jerks around."

"I know it does, but I didn't have a thought such as that then or any other time, that he killed her or she killed her. I couldn't even try to guess who killed her. All I know is there mustn't be a trial."