Please Pass the Guilt

"Naturally Mrs. Odell has told you." "She told me that you showed her the LSD. I don't suppose it was flour or sugar, supplied by you. Why would you? Was it?" "No." Cramer drank, emptied the glass, put it down on the table, picked up the bottle, and poured. He picked up the cigar, put it in his mouth, and took it out again. He looked at Wolfe, whose head was tilted back to drink, and waited for Wolfe's eyes to meet his. "Why I came," he said. "Not to ask for help, but I thought it was possible that an exchange might help both of us. We have collected a lot of facts, thousands of facts, some established and some not. Mrs. Odell has certainly told you things that she hasn't told us, and maybe some of the others have too. We might trade. Of course it would hurt. You would be crossing your client, and I would be giving you official information that is supposed to be withheld. You don't want to and neither do I. 72 Please Pass the Guilt But I'm making a straight offer on the square. I haven't asked you if this is being recorded." "It isn't." "Good." He picked up his glass. "That's why I came." Wolfe swiveled, not his chair, his head, to look at me. The look said, as plain as words, "I hope you're appreciating this," and my look said, "I am." He turned back to Cramer and said, just stating a fact, "It won't do, Mr. Cramer." "It won't?" "No. There is mutual respect between you and me, but not mutual trust If I gave you every word spoken to me by Mrs. Odell, and by the others, you would think it possible, even probable, that I omitted something. You say you have thousands of facts. If you gave me ten thousand, I would think it likely that you had reserved at least one. You know as well as I do that in the long record of man's make-believe, there is no sillier formula than the old legal phrase, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.' Pfui." "So you would omit something." "Perhaps. I could add that if I did give you every word, you would know nothing helpful that you don't know now, but you wouldn't believe me." "You're damn right I wouldn't." He looked at the glass in his hand and squinted at it as if he wondered how it got there. "Thanks for the beer." He put the glass, not empty, on the table, saw the cigar, and picked it up. I expected him to throw it at my wastebasket and miss as usual, but he stuck it in the beer glass, the chewed end down. He stood up. "I had a question, I had one question, but I'm not going to ask it. By God, you had the nerve--those men--with me sitting here--" He turned and walked out. I didn't go to see him out, but when I heard the front door open and close, I went to the hall to see that he was out. Back in, I went to the safe to enter the outlay in the petty cash book. Please Pass the Guilt 73 I don't like to leave things hanging. As I headed for my desk, Wolfe said, "I thought I knew that man. Why did he come?" "He said he's desperate." "But he isn't. So healthy an ego isn't capable of despair." I sat. "He wanted to look at you. Of course he knew you wouldn't play along on his cockeyed offer. He thinks be can tell when you've got a good hand, and maybe he can." "Do you think he can? Can you?" "I'd better not answer that, not right now. We've got a job on. Am I to Just sit here and take calls from the help?" "No. You are to seduce either Miss Lugos or Miss Venner. Which one?" I raised one brow. He can't do that. "Why not both?" We discussed it. 10 when I had a chance, after lunch, I looked up "seduce" in the dictionary. "I. To persuade (one) as into disobedience, disloyalty, or desertion of a lord or cause. 2. To lead or draw (one) aside or astray, as into an evil, foolish, or disastrous course or action from that which is good, wise, etc.; as, to be seduced into war; to seduce one from his duty; to tempt or entice; as, pleasures that seduced her from home. 3. To induce to evil; to corrupt, specif., to induce to surrender chastity; to debauch."