Over My Dead Body

We shook, and I met his eyes and liked them, not on account of any candour or friendliness, but because they showed sense.

I inquired, "Ludlow?"

"Right. Percy Ludlow."

"Miss Tormic gave you a fencing lesson yesterday afternoon?"

"That's right."

"Then you're the man I want to see. Was she with you continuously from four o'clock till half past?"

His brow went up and he smiled. "Well, really. All I know about you is that your name is Goodwin."

"I represent Miss Tormic. She has engaged Nero Wolfe. I'm his assistant."

He glanced at her and caught her nod. "Well! Nero Wolfe? That ought to do it. I was told that Miss Tormic said yesterday that she was with me continuously."

"Yeah. What do you say?"

His brow went up again. "I couldn't very well call Miss Tormic a liar. Could I? Let's go down to the office. Driscoll isn't there yet, but he should be, any minute-"

"Then she was with you? You realize that in that case she can't possibly be held on Driscoll's charge?"

"Oh, yes, I quite realize that. But unfortunately there are those two people who claim to have seen her in the hall." He pointed. "Right there, not ten feet from the door of the locker room. And of course Driscoll too."

He was moving. I obstructed him. "Look here, Mr Ludlow, if you'll assure me that you'll stick to it-"

"My dear chap! Assure you? This sort of thing must be handled-anyhow, a dozen or more people have been made acquainted with this charge against Miss Tormic, and whatever is said they should hear. To clear it up, you know."

They were all moving, for the stairs, and I couldn't obstruct all of them, so I went with the current. It was so loony that it dazed me. Carla looked worried and Ludlow looked bland. As for Neya, her attitude could have come only from the sublime assurance of innocence, or the sublime asininity of a nincompoop, or mix it yourself. Here she had a witness who might have been wheedled into standing fast with a class A alibi and she wasn't even bothering to toss him a suggestion. As I trailed them downstairs and entered the office with them, I was trying to figure out a method of enticing Driscoll down to 35th Street, for it certainly seemed likely it would come to that.