Death of a Doxy (Crime Line)

"Nor do I know," Wolfe said. "Mr. Cramer. Why not be forthright? You came here last Monday in the pretense that you hoped to get information that would strengthen your case against Mr. Cather, though you knew you would get none. Not from Mr. Goodwin. What you really wanted was to learn if my support of Mr. Cather was more than a gesture. What you want now is to learn if I have collected any evidence that will weaken your case against Mr. Cather. Why not be straightforward and ask me?"

"All right, I ask you. Have you?"

"Yes."

"What evidence?"

"I'm not prepared to divulge it."

"By God, you admit it. You admit you have evidence in a murder case and you withhold it."

Wolfe nodded. "It's a nice point. If I withhold evidence that would help to convict a man of murder I am obstructing justice, yes. But if I withhold evidence that would help to acquit a man, is that obstructing justice? I doubt if the point has ever arisen juridically. We could ask some -"

"Ask my ass. If you've got evidence that would help to clear Cather, it will help to convict someone else. I want it."

"That's nonsense. Thousands of men have been cleared by alibis, with no bearing on another's guilt. I have no evidence, none whatever, that would help to convict anyone of the murder of Isabel Kerr. I have a suspicion, a surmise, but that isn't evidence. As for the guarding of Miss Jaquette and the shots fired at her, how does that concern your effort to indict Mr. Cather? As Mr. Goodwin said, they couldn't have been fired by him, he's in custody. Under suspicion of murder."

"He hasn't been charged with homicide."

"You're holding him without bail. Consider a hypothesis. Suppose that Miss Jaquette had a private reason to fear that someone might try to do her violence, a reason she would not reveal, and arranged for protection, and got shot at. Do you think you could force her to disclose her secret, or could force me to?"

"Balls." Cramer was getting hoarse. He always did, with Wolfe. "You try being forthright. Will you give me your word of honor that your guarding her and the shots fired at her had no connection with the murder of Isabel Kerr?"

"Of course not. I suspect there was a connection. If so I would like to establish it – with evidence."

"You haven't already established it?"

"No."