The Doorbell Rang (The Rex Stout Library)

Wolfe blinked at her. The light there wasn't like the office, and besides, his eyes had had a hard day. "My interest is centered on Morris Althaus," he said. "Did you know him well?"

She shook her head. "Not really, no."

"You lived under the same roof."

"Well… that doesn't mean anything in New York, you know that. I moved there about a year ago, and when we met in the hall one day we realized we had met before-at Mrs Bruner's office, the day he was there with that man, Odell. After that we had dinner together sometimes-maybe twice a month."

"It didn't progress to intimacy."

"No. No matter how you define 'intimacy.' We weren't intimate."

"Then that's settled and we can get to the point. The evening of Friday, November twentieth. Did you dine with Mr Althaus that evening?"

"No."

"But you were out?"

"Yes, I went to a lecture at the New School."

"Alone?"

She smiled. "You're like Mr Goodwin, you want to prove you're a detective. Yes, I was alone. The lecture was on photography. I'm interested in photography."

"What time did you get back to your apartment?"

"A little before eleven o'clock. About ten minutes to eleven. I was going to listen to the eleven-o'clock news."

"And then? Be as precise as possible."

"There isn't much to be precise about. I went in and went upstairs-it's one flight-and into my apartment. I took my coat off and got a drink of water, and I was starting to undress when I heard footsteps out on the stairs. It sounded as if they were trying to be quiet, and I was curious. There are only four floors, and the woman on the top floor was away-she had gone to Florida. I went to the window and opened it enough to put my head out, and three men came out and turned left, and they turned at the corner, walking fast." She gestured. "That was all."

"Did they, one or more of them, hear you open the window and look up?"

"No. I had the window open before they came out."

"Did they speak?"

"No."

"Did you recognize them? Any of them?"

"No. Of course not."

"Not necessarily 'of course.' But you didn't."

"No."

"Could you identify them?"

"No. I didn't see their faces."

"Did you notice any peculiarities-size, manner of walking?"

"Well… no."

"You didn't?"

"No."

"So you went to bed."

"Yes."

"After you entered your apartment, before you heard footsteps on the stairs, did you hear any sound above you, in Mr Althaus's apartment?"

"I didn't notice any. I was moving around, taking my coat off and putting it away, and the water was running, getting it cold enough to drink. And his room had a thick carpet."