Might as Well Be Dead

“We have,” Wolfe said, “and that changes the situation. We must find out what is in that box as soon as possible, and to do so we must, first, demonstrate that Randall was Molloy, and, second, establish your right to access. Since in handling his safe-deposit box a man certainly makes fingerprints, the first presents no technical problem, but it must wait upon the second. When you said, madam, that you would have nothing to do with your husband’s estate, I understood and respected your attitude. Rationally it could not be defended, but emotionally it was formidable; and when feeling takes over sense is impotent. Now it’s different. We must see the contents of that box, and we can get to it only through you. You will have to assert your rights as the widow and take control of the estate. The law can crawl and usually does, but in an emergency it can-What are you shaking your head for?”

“I’ve told you. I won’t do that.”

Hearing her tone, and seeing her eyes and her jaw, he started to glare but decided it wouldn’t work. So he turned to me. “Archie.”

I did the glaring, at him, and then toned the glare down as I transferred it to her. “Mrs. Molloy,” I said, “Mr. Wolfe is a genius, but geniuses have their weak spots, and one of his is that he pretends to believe that attractive young women can refuse me nothing. It comes in handy when an attractive young woman says no to something he wants, because it’s an excuse for passing the buck to me, which he just did. I don’t know what to do with it and he can’t expect me to-he just said himself that when feeling takes over sense is impotent, so what good will it do to try to reason with you? But may I ask you a question?”

She said yes.

“Suppose no good grounds for a retrial or an appeal are found, and the sentence is carried out, and Peter Hays dies in the electric chair, and some time later, when a court gets around to it, that safe-deposit box is opened and it contains something that starts an investigation and leads to evidence that someone else committed the murder. What would your feeling be then?”

She had her lip pinned again, and had to release it to say, “I don’t think that’s a fair question.”

“Why not? All I did was suppose, and it wasn’t inconceivable. That box may be empty, but it could contain what I said. I think the trouble is that you don’t believe there is any evidence, in that safe-deposit box or anywhere else, that will clear Peter Hays, because he’s guilty, so why should you do something you don’t want to do?”