Over My Dead Body

She thanked me for the chair and I returned to my own. I had a notion to warn her to lay off of the hvala Bogu stuff, but decided that Wolfe was in no mood for the light touch. He was upright in his chair with his eyes narrowed at her.

"I sent you a message this morning. Miss Lovchen," he said dryly, "by Mr Goodwill, that I would be unable to help you out in your trouble-your friend's trouble."

She nodded. "I got it. I was disappointed, very much, because we're from Yugoslavia and we know you have been there, and we're strangers and there was no one else to go to." She kept the lashes up, her dark eyes at him straight. "I told Neya-my friend-and she was disappointed too. It is a very extremely serious trouble. We talked it over, and there is only one thing to do, and that is you must get her out of it."

"No." Wolfe was still dry, and positive. "I can't engage to do that. But I would like to ask-"

"Pliz!" She snapped it out. "It must be done quick now, because they will all be there at five o'clock to settle it, and that man is not only an American fool, he is the kind of man who would simply make trouble anywhere. And somehow there is a terrible mistake. There is no one we can go to but you. So we talked it over and I saw the only thing to do is to tell you the very good reason why you must help her, and she agreed to it because she had to. The reason is that my friend. Neya Tormic, is your daughter."

Wolfe's eyes popped open to a new record. Not liking the sight of that, I transferred my astonished stare to the girl.

Wolfe exploded. "My daughter? What's this flummery?"

"She is your daughter."

"My daugh-" Wolfe was speechless. He found a piece of his voice:

"You said her name is Tormic."

"I told you her name in America is Neya Tormic, just as mine is Carla Lovchen."

Wolfe, erect, was glaring at her. She glared back. They stayed that way.

Wolfe blurted, "I don't believe it. It's flummery. My daughter disappeared. I have no daughter."

"You haven't seen her since she was three years old. Have you?"

"No."

"You should. Now you will. She's very good-looking." She opened her handbag and fished in it. "I suspected you wouldn't want to believe me, so I got this from Neya and brought it along. Here." She reached to hand him a paper. "There is your name where you signed it…"