Murder by the Book

Wolfe upturned a palm. "Phelps and O'Malley leave it ogea The girl is lying."

"What the hell for?"

"Force of habit. The etiquette of the sex."

"Nuts. We couldn't brush it off with a gag if we had to take it to a jury. As it is, I suppose we can let it slide. We have to if we're going to buy the confession."

Wolfe turned his head. "Archie. We gave Mr. Cramer the letter from Dykes bearing the notation?"

"Yes, sir."

"The envelope too? The envelope it came to us in?"

"No, sir."

"We have the envelope?"

"Yes, sir. As you know, we keep everything until a case is closed-except what we hand to the cops."

Wolfe nodded. "It may possibly be needed to save us from a charge of accessories." He returned to Cramer. "What about the District Attorney's office? Are they willing to let it slide?"

"They think it's minor. If the rest of the confession stands up, yes."

"Has the confession been shown to Corrigan's associates?"

"Certainly."

"Do they credit it?"

"Yes and no. It's hard to tell because they're half batty. A year ago their senior partner disbarred, and now their new senior partner confessing to three murders and killing himself-they're in a hell of a fix. Briggs thinks they ought to denounce the confession as a fake and hold you liable, but he's just babbling. He doesn't say you or Goodwin shot Corrigan, but he might as well. Phelps arid Kustin say that even if the confession is true it's invalid because it isn't signed, and any publication of it would be libelous. They think we ought to bury it. But they also think we should accept it as true. Why not? Corrigan's dead, and that would make the three murders finished business and they could start gathering up the pieces. Their feeling about you is approximately the same as Briggs', but they're realistic about it. None of them will look O'Malley in the eye, though he gives them plenty of chances to. He sticks it in them and twists it. He sent some flowers to the wife of the juror he bribed, with a letter of apology for thinking she informed on him, and before he sent the letter he read it aloud to them with Lieutenant Row-cliff present and asked their opinion of it."